Your Grace-Filled Guide to Relationships It's hard, sometimes, to get over that thing your husband said weeks ago; or to resolve that tension with your colleague at work; or to fix a lifelong friendship that's taken a bad turn. The biggest problem with relationships is they always seem to involve sinners--including ourselves. So how can we form strong, resilient bonds with people who, like us, are bound to mess up? Thankfully, it's not all on us. Through stories and biblical teaching, Jessica Thompson helps us move beyond trying to "fix" the people we interact with, and shows us a better way. Though our relationships may be marred by tension and frustration, because we are welcomed and known by Christ, they don't have to stay that way. "Nothing changes the way we relate to others more than knowing how God relates to us. Knowing how God loves us and forgives us and is gracious and merciful toward us and forbears with us inevitably affects the way we think about other people. My good friend Jessica Thompson has written a book that articulates who God is for us and then shows how that changes the way we are toward others. Thank you, Jessica, for reminding me that God always meets my mess with his mercy and my failure with his forgiveness. Knowing this makes me want to love God and others."--Tullian Tchividjian, founder of Liberate and author of One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World "We need grace in all our relationships. So much loneliness, feeling betrayed, alienation, anger, vengeance, sadness, grief find their roots in relational conflict. Jessica humbly guides us to see that only by being a recipient of God's grace can we be agents of grace in our relationships. She does this with humor, honesty, and confession from her own experience, not with advice as a relational guru."--Justin S. Holcomb, Episcopal priest, seminary professor, and author of On the Grace of God "Everyday Grace is for all who have struggled to accept their children and honor their parents and initiate with their neighbors and forgive their spouses and respect their bosses and celebrate their rivals. But it is not filled with practical tips that would trivialize the difficulty of these things. Nor is it a book of relational psychology that would strategize a resolution to these things. Instead, it is filled with the Scriptures that speak to these things--helping us to rest in Christ's covering of all our relational failure and inviting us to change by the power of the Holy Spirit."--Nancy Guthrie, Bible teacher and author "Relational paradise was lost when our first parents fell into sin. Our desire for change in this area is anywhere between cautiously optimistic and downright cynical. What I enjoy about Everyday Grace is that Thompson simply cannot get over the one hope for true reconciliation: God, in Christ, has befriended us."--Gloria Furman, author of Glimpses of Grace and Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full "Relationships are hard. We know this. Jessica Thompson knows this too and shares how she fights to take her gaze off herself and onto the only one who can help our broken relationships--Jesus. Her method doesn't come from a list of ways to implement change; rather, she focuses on the gospel that transforms hearts and minds. Be encouraged by the good news as you read Everyday Grace, for it is the gospel that is our only Hope for our relationship problem."--Trillia Newbell, author of Fear and Faith: Finding the Peace Your Heart Craves and United: Captured by God's Vision for Diversity

Family meals have always played a significant role in the lives of the Thompson sisters - Jessica, Georgia and Maxine. So much so that they created a blog, thebookerycook.com, to celebrate their love of food. Instead of photographing their chosen dishes, however, they made contact with artists all over the world, who supplied dedicated artworks, in a huge variety of styles and media, to illustrate the recipes. The Bookery Cook is a collection of 100 of these recipes, each illustrated with original artwork. Perfect for lovers of art and food alike, The Bookery Cook will be a welcome addition to any kitchen or coffee table. Key points: an engaging and unique recipe book with glorious illustrations; the perfect gift for lovers of both art and food; 100 recipes and 100 original artworks

Ambitious Science Teaching outlines a powerful framework for science teaching to ensure that instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds. The practices presented in the book are being used in schools and districts that seek to improve science teaching at scale, and a wide range of science subjects and grade levels are represented. The book is organized around four sets of core teaching practices: planning for engagement with big ideas; eliciting student thinking; supporting changes in students’ thinking; and drawing together evidence-based explanations. Discussion of each practice includes tools and routines that teachers can use to support students’ participation, transcripts of actual studentteacher dialogue and descriptions of teachers’ thinking as it unfolds, and examples of student work. The book also provides explicit guidance for “opportunity to learn” strategies that can help scaffold the participation of diverse students. Since the success of these practices depends so heavily on discourse among students, Ambitious Science Teaching includes chapters on productive classroom talk. Science-specific skills such as modeling and scientific argument are also covered. Drawing on the emerging research on core teaching practices and their extensive work with preservice and in-service teachers, Ambitious Science Teaching presents a coherent and aligned set of resources for educators striving to meet the considerable challenges that have been set for them.

'The moon was speckled like a bird's egg. It hung reliably in the blackness above Will Turnbull and Nessa Grier who sat side by side on a bench as the leaves fell around them, landing softly on the thick, wet grass. Their knees were just touching, hearts pounding hard.' Nessa Bruce waits for her husband to come through the double doors. She'd waited for him to return home from Afghanistan for what felt like forever, and now the moment was finally here. But Jake isn't... Jake Bruce hasn't come home, and it looks like he never will. Nessa's life - and that of her daughter Poppy - is turned upside down in an instant. What has happened to the elusive man at the centre of their world? They hold onto the hope that he is still out there somewhere, alive... but as time passes by, Nessa is forced to look at her life, at the decisions she has made and the secrets she has kept. For maybe somewhere within it all lies the answer to the question she's desperate to answer - where is the man she loves? The Waiting Game is perfect for reading groups with lots of twists and turns, and big topics such as mental ilness, discussed in a fresh and sensitive way.

Ben Lawrence seems to have it all - the hot job, the flashy car, the luxurious apartment. But one tragic day in his past mars his future. Since the events of that day he hasn't truly got close to anyone. He made a promise that love was the price he would pay for his mistakes. When Effy Jones - a bright, ambitious charity founder - walks into the PR firm where Ben works, neither realise that their lives are about to be turned upside down. Paper Swans tells of how love can conquer all, and how when everything is broken one person can help to put the pieces together...

For fans of 500 Days of Summer, Notting Hill and New Girl, This is a Love Story is a very exciting first novel from Jessica Thompson. This is a love story. Boy meets girl and girl falls for boy - that much is true. But when Sienna meets Nick it's not the way it happens in love stories. It's because of a squirrel on water skis... She sees Nick's dangerous brown eyes and thinks, Don't. Fall. Into. Them. Who will be there to catch Sienna when she falls? She is so fragile. She has so many secrets, and he is not that serious. Funny and sad, this is the story of two people destined never to come together in the great love affair they crave more than anything else.

Alvin was quite a proud character. He would often appear from nowhere, but he always made his presence known. One day he might be seen sneaking grapes from the grapevine while another day he could even make Grandpa let out a curdling yell. Yes, this proud prankster had a job to do by watching over the family farm. Follow along with Alvin's adventures as he shows us that God is the real protector.

This book investigates communication and collaboration in an interdisciplinary academic research team. The author uses grounded practical theory and a systems perspective to identify structures, processes and dilemmas influencing collective communication competence and capacity for collaboration in a team. The communication structures include: trust, presence, humor, encounter talk, language, boredom, challenging statements and reflexive talk. The structures influence four communication processes: debating expertise, shared learning and language use, shared vision and interdisciplinary products. The team also encountered four communicative dilemmas or tensions: selecting measurement sites, negotiating the tension between simplicity and complexity, negotiating the tension between social and natural science paradigms, and learning how to write collaboratively. The author used participant observation and qualitative methodology to identify the structures, processes and dilemmas. The ethnographic analysis was the basis for a systems model of interdisciplinary team dynamics. The systems model is a reflective communication tool for interdisciplinary team members and facilitators and provides a dynamic understanding of communication and collaboration behaviors embedded in interdisciplinary research teams.

The Honest, Loving Answers Children Need to Hear What should you say when your five-year-old asks about his dying grandma? Or when your seven-year-old wonders if the devil is real? Or when the sixth graders in your Sunday school class are talking about a tragedy they heard about on the news? When it comes to the dark and tragic aspects of our world, it can be hard to know what to say and how much. Mother/daughter team Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson will carefully walk you through difficult conversations, one topic at a time. Speaking from personal experience, informed by child development research, these two moms offer practical insights and age-appropriate guidance. Talking about tough topics may not be as hard as you think, and, more important, you'll see how these conversations can lead to meaningful discussions of God's unchanging goodness. "I love this book! I will recommend it again and again. It is street-level theology for children that drips with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Parents, read it, live with it, share it daily with your children, and not only will they learn and grow, you will, too."--Paul David Tripp, president, Paul Tripp Ministries "This is a scripturally rooted and profoundly wise guide for parents who desire to weave gospel truths into the answers to their kids' toughest questions. I highly recommend this book. It takes the pressure off of parents to have all the perfect answers, reveals the radical nature of God's grace, and weaves the 'scarlet thread of redemption' through every answer."--Jeannie Cunnion, MSW, author of Parenting the Wholehearted Child "These hard questions aren't random--children wonder about these issues, and they impact our everyday lives. Now talking about these questions doesn't have to be overwhelming for lack of resources. I'm so thankful for Elyse and Jessica's hard work, precision, and focus on Christ in this book."--Gloria Furman, author of Glimpses of Grace and Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full "Martin Luther once said he measured his ability as a preacher by his ability to communicate the gospel to the young. This book is filled with such gospel truth, so simply articulated. No one has helped me connect the gospel to parenting more than Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson."--J. D. Greear, PhD, author of Ready to Launch: Jesus-Centered Parenting in a Child-Centered World and Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart "As a mother of seven, I'm always interested in grace-filled, Bible-based answers to the tough questions of this life. Elyse and Jessica do a beautiful job of balancing truth with grace, while offering parents practical, solid answers to topics that many parents cringe over. I'll be looking at this great guide again and again, not because it contains all the answers, but because the authors humbly point parents back to the only source of truth that's ever existed: the Bible."--Heidi St. John, author and speaker "This is a great book to help answer the big theological questions of little children."--Pastor Mark Driscoll "Elyse and Jessica have written a must-have book for parents and those involved with ministry to children. It provides helpful, gracious, wise, and faithful answers to some of the most difficult questions children can ask about the Christian faith.."--Justin S. Holcomb, Episcopal priest and seminary professor The Honest, Loving Answers Children Need to Hear What should you say when your five-year-old asks about his dying grandma? Or when your seven-year-old wonders if the devil is real? Or when the sixth graders in your Sunday school class are talking about a tragedy they heard about on the news? When it comes to the dark and tragic aspects of our world, it can be hard to know what to say and how much. Mother/daughter team Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson will carefully walk you through difficult conversations, one topic at a time. Speaking from personal experience, informed by child development research, these two moms offer practical insights and age-appropriate guidance. Talking about tough topics may not be as hard as you think, and, more important, you'll see how these conversations can lead to meaningful discussions of God's unchanging goodness. "I love this book! I will recommend it again and again. It is street-level theology for children that drips with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Parents, read it, live with it, share it daily with your children, and not only will they learn and grow, you will, too."--Paul David Tripp, president, Paul Tripp Ministries "This is a scripturally rooted and profoundly wise guide for parents who desire to weave gospel truths into the answers to their kids' toughest questions. I highly recommend this book. It takes the pressure off of parents to have all the perfect answers, reveals the radical nature of God's grace, and weaves the 'scarlet thread of redemption' through every answer."--Jeannie Cunnion, MSW, author of Parenting the Wholehearted Child "These hard questions aren't random--children wonder about these issues, and they impact our everyday lives. Now talking about these questions doesn't have to be overwhelming for lack of resources. I'm so thankful for Elyse and Jessica's hard work, precision, and focus on Christ in this book."--Gloria Furman, author of Glimpses of Grace and Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full "Martin Luther once said he measured his ability as a preacher by his ability to communicate the gospel to the young. This book is filled with such gospel truth, so simply articulated. No one has helped me connect the gospel to parenting more than Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson."--J. D. Greear, PhD, author of Ready to Launch: Jesus-Centered Parenting in a Child-Centered World and Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart "As a mother of seven, I'm always interested in grace-filled, Bible-based answers to the tough questions of this life. Elyse and Jessica do a beautiful job of balancing truth with grace, while offering parents practical, solid answers to topics that many parents cringe over. I'll be looking at this great guide again and again, not because it contains all the answers, but because the authors humbly point parents back to the only source of truth that's ever existed: the Bible."--Heidi St. John, author and speaker "This is a great book to help answer the big theological questions of little children."--Pastor Mark Driscoll "Elyse and Jessica have written a must-have book for parents and those involved with ministry to children. It provides helpful, gracious, wise, and faithful answers to some of the most difficult questions children can ask about the Christian faith.."--Justin S. Holcomb, Episcopal priest and seminary professor

Jessica Thompson's first book This is a Love Story was described by Closer as 'Reminiscent of One Day.' This second novel will make you laugh, it will make you cry, and it will keep you turning the page. They are just words but they mean so much. As a dark evening draws in, the lives of three women are changed forever. The worlds they have been living in, the people they thought they knew - in an instant it all changes. But when everything seems to shatter around them, could three little words be enough to help put the pieces back together again? Jessica Thompson's debut novel, This is a Love Story, received brilliant reviews on publication: 'Thompson's first novel is a triumph... What I really enjoyed was the way Thompson conveys the whole world of young, single London, the clothes, the music, the furnishings and the central, abiding love of the great city itself, full of excitement and potential. Infectious.' Daily Mail 'Reminiscent of One Day, this moving, quirky love story is sob-inducingly romantic.' 4* Closer

A guide to help Christians parent their children with grace and an emphasis on the cross.

How are parents to raise children so they don't become Pharisees (legalists) or prodigals (rebels)? It's all about grace-filled, gospel-driven parenting, says the mother/daughter team of Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. Christian parents, in their desire to raise godly children, can tend toward rule-centered discipline. There is, however, a far more effective method--a grace-motivated approach that begins with the glorious truth of God's love for sinners.

In Give Them Grace, parents will learn how to connect the benefits of the cross--especially regeneration, adoption, and justification--to their children's daily lives. Chapters address topics such as our inability to follow the law perfectly, God's forgiveness and love displayed at the cross, and what true heart obedience looks like. Fitzpatrick and Thompson also discuss discipline, dealing with popular culture, and evangelism as a way of life. Parents will find this book a great resource for raising grace-filled, Jesus-loving kids.