The only child of Muhammad to survive him, Fatima was from early times taken up by Shi'a Islam, for whose adherents she is the virgin mother, the heavenly intercessor with untold power before God's throne, and the grieving mother of al-Husayn, the Shi'a's most important martyr. During her life she was impoverished and weak, neglected, marginalized, and divested of justice: but her reward in heaven comprises incalculable riches, all those in heaven will bow their heads to her, and her company will be the angels and the friends of God. Here, for the first time, her story is told.

As the first volume of the Sebastianyotho series, this book collects Sebastian P. Brock's articles related to Ephrem the Syrian. The articles cover a wide array of topics, including a biographical overview of the saint, an exposition of St. Ephrem's importance for Christianity today and his relevance as a theologian, an analysis of some of his works, and a bibliographic guide to editions of these works. While most of the articles were previously published, many are updated and some are published in English for the first time.

Often through ordinary things and ordinary events we glimpse the divine. Living the Sacred Story tells of a seemingly ordinary journey that yielded extraordinary spiritual growth and understanding. From her arrival in Istanbul to her extended sojourn in the Old City of Jerusalem, Bonnie Glassford recounts scenes from an ancient landscape in which people of today live and work. From the perspective of the Ecce Homo Convent in Jerusalem, she encounters Christians, Jews and Muslims living their lives against the rich backdrop of the Holy Land. Living the Sacred Story follows the footsteps of Biblical figures. It combines travel, spirituality, humour, pathos, new insights, personal growth and Biblical reflection. Within an exotic landscape that is the cradle of western civilization, through encounter with the lands described in classical literature and the Bible, and through meeting the people who now live in those lands, the reader becomes aware of a rich inner landscape that we carry around with us. Ultimately the story arrives at the awareness that in the most ordinary events, and the lives of the most ordinary folk, we see the divine.

In 1944, Albania erupted in civil war. The communist party prevailed and acted quickly and brutally. By 1946, through executions, imprisonments, and mass banishments, the communists broke the back of Albania's freedom.

A young Franciscan Catholic and man of heroic character in this time of inhumanity, Friar Zef Pllumi was arrested, brutally tortured, imprisoned, and sent to labor camps. Through deeply personal descriptions of shocking atrocities, Fr. Pllumi focuses on his extraordinary will to survive and his powerful faith. His intense desire to "live to tell" honors those martyred with Christ's name on their lips. Fr. Pllumi was initially released in 1949.

Fr. Pllumi's memories are a brave confrontation of communism. His story's power lays in the fact that despite obscene efforts, the communist party could not succeed. As Fr. Pllumi states, "They think people are frightened before dying, but what they don't realize is that when you've arrived to a certain agonizing point, nothing is frightening anymore."

Fr. Pllumi's historical memoir also delivers clear lessons for today. Amid the many horrors, differences in beliefs melted away. Christians, Muslims, Albanians, Italians, and French alike, although wounded physically, emotionally, and spiritually, were still alive to help each other and stand together and triumph for mankind.

Gail is a wife, mother of three, grandmother of five, singer, song writer, and musician with numerous other gifts and talents. She was raised in a God fearing home where church was her life. She gave her heart to Jesus openly at five years of age. She has always had a passion for justice and righteousness. Even as a child you could find her listening to the religious debates of ministers when other children were elsewhere playing. The world she loved and cherished came crashing down a few months after her thirtieth birthday. In her search for answers, attempting to save her husband from leaving their church, she uncovered what proved to be devastating revelations. It all culminated the fall of 1984. It has taken her these many years to release to the public a minuscule account of those horrible first days and months. Having been a single mom her passion for children never ceases. What she came to realize through all the struggles stemming from her 1984 experience is we all do carry within our being the 'child'. Gail's eternal optimistic view of life is evident in her writings. Her husband says though she can appear to those who don't know her as na ve, it is her love for people that causes her to believe in someone way past what would be considered normal. You will experience her captivating story as you read the pages within.

Jonathan Edwards has been recognized as the most influential evangelical theologian of all time. Before his death at the age of fifty-four, he had sparked a new movement of Reformed evangelicals who played a major role in fueling the rise of modern missions, preaching revivals far and wide, and wielding the cutting edge of American theology. He has never gone out of print, and Christians today continue to flock to seminars and conferences on him. In this biography of the great preacher and teacher, historian Douglas Sweeney locates for us the core and key to Edwards' enduring impact. Sweeney finds that Edwards' profound and meticulous study of the Bible securely anchored his powerful preaching, his lively theological passions and his discerning pastoral work. Beyond introducing you to Edwards' life and times, this book will provide you with a model of Christian faith, thought and ministry.

A memoir of the 1930's depression era to the present time about a farm family in the central United States, how they lived, worked, and died. Covers the depression years and how this family of seven brothers and their parents made it through those and following years. Some history of older generations is given along with stories of childhood and school years activities. A significant part of the book is used to tell of the difficulties of raising a fairly large family during those tough times. Stories of the author and his own family in later years are recorded to show a lifetime of their trials and tribulations along with the good times they experienced. A comparison of a Christian and non-Christian influence on a family can be seen.

Life-beautiful and fragile, is filled with mysteries. . .spawned from love, nutured with hope, held fast by faith. Intense feelings and emotions make up these mysteries. Experience these mysteries with laughter and tears. . .all in one book!