Some words in the larger Christian vocabulary are technical terms such as are typical of any specialized field (think "predestination" or "rapture"). Others are seeming "everyday" words that take on a special meaning when used in the Christian context (think "adoption" or "walk").

Here are thorough, contextualized definitions-usually in two pages or less-of 200 of the most important terms used in Christian theology, with an emphasis upon their relevance for today. Four professors with ties to Dallas Seminary generated 50 definitions each. Then an outside editor reviewed and popularized the manuscript to make it accessible to the widest possible audience. The resulting explanations help demystify each term for the reader and let him see it within the Bible's broader message.

The story of three sisters, all Wisconsin National Guard members, going off to war together brought local media attention-when Michelle Witmer became the first female National Guard member to be killed-in-action the story brought National attention. When her parents went public with their request to have their surviving daughters taken out of harm's way, the story went round the world. Using the letters, emails, and phone calls received during their deployment, John Witmer describes his daughters' experiences in Iraq and provides insight not only into the lives of female soldiers, but into the lives of families who wait for soldiers. Sisters in Arms illuminates the changing roles of women in the military while sharing the deeply personal story of a family's struggle to come to terms with profound loss.

Sisters in Arms is a twenty-first century war story - the Witmer family's personal war story. Michelle Witmer was the first female National Guard member in history to be killed in action and the first Wisconsin National Guard combat fatality since WWII. The Witmer family's struggle with the complex issue of family members serving side-by-side received world-wide media attention and Michelle Witmer's story would later be included in the HBO documentary "Last Letters Home." Using the letters, emails and phone calls received during their deployment, John Witmer describes his daughters experiences in Iraq and provides insight not only into the lives of female soldiers, but into the lives of families who wait for soldiers. Sisters in Arms illuminates the changing roles of women in the military while sharing the deeply personal story of a family's struggle to come to terms with profound loss.