We talk a lot about resurrection. What about the death that must come first? Through story and biblical insight, Rick James reminds us that when Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him, he is describing a path of death, not a path to death.

Giving up our own plans in order to meet someone else's needs. Allowing God to shape our dreams, even as we lose a relationship, a job, a hoped-for future. Being alert to these daily opportunities to die to ourselves is how we discover that every act of dying, done in faith, leads to spiritual growth.

As we learn to embrace the little deaths of everyday existence, we lose our taste for lifeless religiosity. Our appetite for a thriving, vibrant life in Christ grows--and our own experience motivates others to live out their extraordinary mission on earth. In truth, death is not an ending. It is the only way to experience abundant life.

Midnight Dude: Selected Readings 18 wonderful stories by 18 talented authors. This cornucopia of gay themed short fiction is a showcase for the talent of the authors at AwesomeDude.com. There is something for everyone: fantasy and stark realism, war and sports, humor and pathos, angst and passion. The one constant is fine writing. These are stories that will hook you and keep you avidly turning pages. Midnight Dude: Selected Readings is but a small sample of the quality fiction available on the site and each of these stories will grant you, dear reader, escape into the magical world of your imagination.

Great. Another book about Jesus. Whose agenda will the author be lugging along this time? Author Rick James begins by clearing his throat. Free of creeds, quarrels and specialized theologies, he speaks of Jesus. No dogma, no politics, no moral at the end. Jesus. What he said. What he did. And what, exactly, was the point. The answers about Jesus, according to Rick James, are in the context. In his own unconventional way, James recalls the specific contexts that color Jesus' story, bringing forward this man you've heard so much--and so little--about.

To fans of sassy and savvy urban music, the name Rick James will forever be associated with the mainstream emergence of funk--that bottom-heavy blend of rock and soul that sparked a multiracial musical revolution in the 1970s and 1980s and has since influenced everything from rap to raves, punk to progressive rock. Along with the fame, the Grammy Award, and superstardom came drug abuse and even felony convictions, all of which are chronicled in this gripping, posthumous tell-all of the funk revolution.