Showing results for "Unexpected" in Christian Living

Encouragement and practical steps from bestselling author Christine Caine to help you move from anxiety about the unexpected to embracing confident faith in a good God. Is it possible to have peace in an uncertain world? To not only expect the unexpected but embrace it? Most of us want to have...

Many of us have our "go to" verses. The ones we memorize, post on social media, and hang on our walls. But sometimes we need a fresh word or promise for the season we find ourselves in - something that ignites our faith in the face of fear, doubt, loneliness, insecurity, or overwhelming circumstances. In this powerful, accessible new audiobook, author and speaker Laurie Short mines the Scriptures, revealing insights and promises from 40 verses we often overlook. Digging in to these "in between" verses, she unearths fresh wisdom, guidance, and encouragement.

Life is an unpredictable journey full of twists and turns. The good news is that while we don’t always know what’s going to happen, we can always trust that God uses everything in our lives as an invitation to rely on him more deeply and completely. In this audio Bible study, bestselling...

Happiness and purpose—we work ceaselessly for them, but what does God have to say about our efforts? Through engaging and encouraging stories about serving the people of Uganda, Unexpected Joy challenges us to move beyond achievement and self-reliance and instead embrace a life of sincere obedience and joy. With wisdom and wit, author Kelly C. Miller balances foundational Christian doctrine with real-life experiences. Through the lens of his personal story, you will discover how the joy God offers is not a future prize to be earned but a gift to be received right now.

Unexpected Blessings helps special-needs families move past the pain and confusion of their circumstances and slowly and firmly face the future with hope. Filled with real-life stories and hard-earned wisdom, this book shines a light on the possibilities and blessings that come when parents see their new purpose in life - which was God's purpose for them all along.

How does a pro-choice doctor who once performed abortions for Planned Parenthood wind up on the opposite side of this embattled issue? Dr. Patricia Giebink was overpowered by God’s perspective at a healing conference, becoming a pro-life advocate who repented before millions for doing abortions. As the author tells her emotional story, you'll come away with a new understanding of the complexity of life, the risks of abortion, the power of prayer, and the greatness of God’s love and forgiveness - which is big enough to cover the pain of all affected by this controversial procedure.

Jillian Benfield was living life in the spotlight as a TV journalist, but after receiving a life-altering diagnosis for her unborn son, she realized no camera-ready outfit could dress up her grief. Overcoming this unexpected circumstance wasn't an option. She would have to undergo it instead. In doing so, she discovered who she was and who God wanted her to become.

Sam Wegner believed he was handling the burden of his wife's battle with breast cancer well, but when the disease metastasized and becam incurable, the weight of waiting for the inevitable crushed him. Overwhelmed, he turned to the Scriptures for relief only to uncover a surprising truth: waiting is an inescapable component of God's design for spiritual growth.

In Finding Joy on Death Row: Unexpected Lessons from Lives We Discarded, Williams journeys into the hearts and minds of those sentenced to death, illuminating for listeners the ways in which the human spirit can suffer—and soar. Finding Joy on Death Row includes dozens of statements from those facing capital punishment. The testimonies and contemplations of those sentenced to die offer listeners a unique opportunity to hear from individuals whose lives are marked by their looming execution. And yet these prisoners have—in the midst of grim circumstances—managed to find joy.

From the founder of This Gathered Nest YouTube channel, an uplifting story of Angela Braniff's unusual path to becoming the mother to seven children through various methods of adoption and biological approaches, encouraging women and mothers to embrace the unique purpose that God has put in...

Interruptions: They're aggravating - sometimes infuriating. They make us want to tell people what we think of them. But how we handle interruptions actually tell us more about ourselves. The prophet Jonah's existence was interrupted by a call of God that would require a complete change of life. And it scared him enough to make him run in the opposite direction. Yet, what seemed to him to be an unnecessary and useless interruption was really an opportunity for Jonah to be involved in something the likes of which the Old Testament world had never seen before.

It’s easy to feel overburdened by life’s demands. Looking out into the world as well as under the roof of our home may cause us to question, “How did we get here? And how will we get through?” Jillana Goble has been there. With honesty, faith, and a dose of humor, her debut memoir, A Love-Stretched Life, chronicles what she's continually learning on the suspension bridge between reality and hope. A mom via foster care, birth, and adoption—in that order—for nearly two decades, Jillana has experienced life’s curveballs.

You count a pregnancy by weeks, and Kayla Aimee had ticked off only 24 of the 40 when she unexpectedly went into labor. She thought her church upbringing had prepared her for every circumstance, but when tragedy struck and threatened to take the life of her newborn daughter, it felt as though once-solid ground had turned to glass beneath her feet, destined to shatter everything she held sacred. When swept into a story of suffering, we all find ourselves vulnerable, questioning everything we thought we knew as we wonder, "Where is God in this?"

With an understanding voice that will speak into your own circumstances, Kristen Strong walks beside you along the less traveled but more satisfying third way - the back road way - to belonging: remaining in Christ and relaxing into the unique role God has for you. Along the way, you will learn simple, doable actions that not only will help you feel and know that you belong but will welcome others in as well.

Most of us are regular people who have good days and bad days. Our lives are radically ordinary and unexciting. That means they're the kind of lives God gets excited about. While the world worships beauty and power and wealth, God hides his glory in the simple, the mundane, the foolish, working in unawesome people, things, and places.

FINALIST FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD A relentlessly optimistic memoir by one of the most influential Black business leaders in America today, offering hope and practical guidance for navigating life’s most difficult challenges “Do you want to be lifted up? You have come to the right place...

In Giving Is the Good Life, best-selling author Randy Alcorn teaches life-changing biblical principles of generosity and tells stories of people who have put those radical principles into practice. Each story is a practical application that can help stimulate your imagination and expand your dreams of serving Jesus in fresh ways. These real-life models give you not just words to remember but footprints to follow.

John MacArthur reveals how God worked through ordinary people in some unexpected ways. Far from the children's tales depicted in picture books and nursery rhymes, the men and women highlighted in the Bible were unnervingly real. They faltered. They struggled. And at times they fell short. Yet...

Author David Bennett came out to his parents as gay when he was 14 and entered Sydney's active gay community a few years later. In A War of Loves, he shares his growing desire as a gay rights activist to see justice for LGBTQI people, his journey through new age religions and French existentialism, and his university years as a postmodernist - before Jesus Christ showed up in his life in a highly unexpected way, leading him down a path he never would have imagined or predicted.

Despite protests and warnings from friends and family, author Madeleine L’Engle, at the age of seventy-four, embarked on a rafting trip to Antarctica. Her journey through the startling beauty of the continent led her to write Penguins and Golden Calves, a captivating discussion of how opening oneself up to icons, or everyday “windows to God,” leads to the development of a rich and deeply spiritual faith.