This enlightening book examines the physical objects found in elite Virginia households of the eighteenth century to discover what they can tell us about their owners' lives and religious practices. Lauren F. Winner looks closely at punch bowls, needlework, mourning jewelry, baptismal gowns, biscuit molds, cookbooks, and many other items, illuminating the ways Anglicanism influenced daily activities and attitudes in colonial Virginia, particularly in the households of the gentry.

After her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner found that her life was indelibly marked by the rich traditions and spiritual practices of Judaism. She set out to discover how she could incorporate some of these practices into her new faith. Winner presents eleven Jewish spiritual practices that can transform the way Christians view the world and God. Whether discussing attentive eating, marking the days while grieving, the community that supports a marriage, candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.

SEX. Splashed across magazine covers, billboards, and computer screens--sex is casual, aggressive, and absolutely everywhere. And everybody's doing it, right?
In "Real Sex," heralded young author Lauren F. Winner speaks candidly to Christians about the difficulty--and the importance--of sexual chastity. With honesty and wit, she talks about her struggle to live a celibate life. Never dodging tough terms like "confession" and "sin," Winner grounds her discussion of chastity first and foremost in Scripture. She confronts cultural lies about sex and challenges how we talk about sex in church. Her biblically grounded observations and suggestions will be especially valuable to unmarried Christians struggling with the sexual mania of today's culture.
"Real Sex" is essential reading for Christians grappling with chastity and a valuable tool for pastors.

"Advent is about learning to love the waiting..." Waiting is the primary lesson of Advent, says Paula Gooder. In the company of the biblical characters with whom the candles on the Advent wreath are traditionally associated, she helps us to discover very different kinds of waiting: * Abraham and Sarah--who waited a lifetime for the fulfillment of God's promises.* The Hebrew prophets--who waited for God's intervention, both longed for and feared.* John the Baptist--whose ministry marked the end of one era and anticipated the new.* Mary--whose life was shaped by waiting and by events beyond her control. "The Meaning Is in the Waiting" is arranged for daily reading in the hectic run-up to Christmas. This thoughtful book will enable you to grow more fully into a way of being that is expectant rather than urgent, more focused on God's presence right now than on some imagined future. You will venture on this journey in companionship with the God who waits with us.

Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson is one of the most eminent public intellectuals in America today. In addition to literary elegance, her trilogy of novels (Gilead, Home, and Lila) and her collections of essays offer probing meditations on the Christian faith. Many of these reflections are grounded in her belief that the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformer John Calvin still deserves a hearing in the twenty-first century. This volume, based on the 2018 Wheaton Theology Conference, brings together the thoughts of leading theologians, historians, literary scholars, and church leaders who engaged in theological dialogue with Robinson's published work-and with the author herself.

A daily devotional reader to guide lovers of the Word through the forty days of Lent and Easter, rich with spiritual insight from leading Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox writers Explore the meaning of Lent, its importance in spiritual formation, its significance in the preparation for Easter, and throughout the holy season of Christ's Resurrection. Leading North American spiritual writers reflect on what one theologian has called the "bright sadness" of Lent: that it is not about feeling broken and lost, but about cleansing the palate so we can taste and live life more fully. During Lent and Easter, we encounter the God who in all of life is for us-for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Even in death we can find resurrection. In God For Us readers will find: - Daily readings with scriptures, meditations, and prayers, beautiful edited by Greg Pennoyer and Gregory Wolfe - One beloved spiritual writer featured each week Introduction: Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, OMI Shrove Tuesday and the First Week of Lent: Richard Rohr, OFM Second Week of Lent: Lauren F. Winner Third Week of Lent: Scott Cairns Fourth Week of Lent: James Schaap Fifth Week of Lent: Luci Shaw Holy Week and Easter: Kathleen Norris - Studies throughout the forty days on "The Feasts and Fasts of Lent" by Beth Bevis

Loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, according to many sources. In an age of mobility and fraying civic life, we are all susceptible to its power. But what if loneliness is a necessary part of the human condition? What if it is a current that leads us deeper into belonging--to ourselves, to each other, and to God?In The Great Belonging, writer and spiritual director Charlotte Donlon reframes loneliness and offers us a language for the disquiet within. Instead of turning away from the waters of loneliness for fear they will engulf us, she invites us to wade in and see what we find there. In vulnerable, thoughtful prose, Donlon helps us understand our own occasional or frequent loneliness and offers touchpoints for understanding alienation. We can live into the persistent questions of loneliness. We can notice God's presence even when we feel alone in our doubts. Ultimately, Donlon claims, we can find connection that emerges from honesty, and she offers tools, resources, and practices for transforming loneliness into true belonging.