Recommendations based on "Grace for the Moment"

New York Times Bestseller“A touching series of essays in which Evans, with Chu’s invisible pen, explores how one might find a path forward in Christianity beyond conservative evangelicalism” -Eliza Griswold, The New Yorker“Evans died at 37, but a beautiful new book captures her brave outlook. . . . I could not help but notice the poetry in Evans’s prose. . . . What readers will find in these pages was someone deeply human: funny, irreverent, curious, wise, forgiving, nonjudgmental.” -Maggie Smith, The Washington PostA collection of original writings by Rachel Held Evans, whose reflections on faith and life continue to encourage, challenge, and influence.Rachel Held Evans is widely recognized for her theologically astute, profoundly honest, and beautifully personal books, which have guided, instructed, edified, and shaped Christians as they seek to live out a just and loving faith.At the time of her tragic death in 2019, Rachel was working on a new book about wholeheartedness. With the help of her close friend and author Jeff Chu, that work-in-progress has been woven together with some of her other unpublished writings into a rich collection of essays that ask candid questions about the stories we’ve been told—and the stories we tell—about our faith, our selves, and our world.This book is for the doubter and the dreamer, the seeker and the sojourner, those who long for a sense of spiritual wholeness as well as those who have been hurt by the Church but can’t seem to let go of the story of Jesus. Through theological reflection and personal recollection, Rachel wrestles with God’s grace and love, looks unsparingly at what the Church is and does, and explores universal human questions about becoming and belonging. An unforgettable, moving, and intimate book.

When everything we've been clinging to falls apart, how do we know what to keep and what to let go of? I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet, now a New York Times bestseller, is a clear-eyed look at where we go from here--and how we can transform our lives along the way.Just after her fortieth birthday, author Shauna Niequist found herself in a season of chaos, change, and loss unlike anything she'd ever faced. She discovered that many of the beliefs and practices that she usually turned to were no longer serving her.After trying--and failing--to pull herself back up using the same old strategies and systems, she realized she required new ones: courage, curiosity, and compassion. She discovered the way through was more about questions than answers, more about forgiveness than force, more about tenderness than trying hard.In I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet, Niequist chronicles her journey--from her life-changing move from the Midwest to Manhattan to the power of unlearning what is no longer helpful and accepting the unknowns that come with midlife, heartbreak, and chronic pain.With her characteristic candor and grace, Niequist writes about her experience learning how to: Discover new ways of living when the old ways stop working Embrace the challenges and delights of releasing our expectations for how we thought our lives would look Trust God's goodness in a deeper, more profound wayFollow Niequist as she endeavors to understand grief, to reshape her faith, and to practice courage when it feels impossible.Praise for I Guess I Haven't Learned That Yet:"Gentle. Loving. This tender book asks us to listen to our pain, lean into our discomfort, and trust that we can be lifted back on our feet by God and each other."--Kate C. Bowler, New York Times bestselling author of No Cure for Being Human"This book is a masterpiece. It is a journey and an invitation and a joy and a heartbreak and all the things you need to read to be reminded that hope can still be found."--Annie F. Downs, New York Times bestselling author of That Sounds Fun

A gorgeous memoir that honors life’s deep griefs, great joys, and unsettled in-betweens through every sacred season, assuring us that we are never aloneExquisitely told and urgently resonant, Even After Everything is a love letter to anyone who has opened their heart only to be hurt. Stephanie Duncan Smith proposes that it’s not through grit or forced resilience that you will find a way forward, but through receiving the full spectrum of our lives, just as we receive the empathy of God-with-us in every moment.Duncan Smith’s disorientation began when she lost her first pregnancy on the winter solstice, just as the world readied to celebrate its most historic birth on Christmas. Then a new yet uncertain pregnancy unfolded parallel to the pandemic, until nearly one year to the day of her loss, she gave birth to her daughter at the peak of mortality in their city. These contradictions compelled Duncan Smith into a desperate search for steadiness, which she found in the liturgical year as a grounding force and the promise that we are seen by God in every season.In Even After Everything, Duncan Smith traverses the church’s circle of time and reorients herself and us in the sacred story told through Advent, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, and Ordinary Time. She reveals the sacred year—through its endless interplay of love, loss, risk, and resurrection—as a mirror to the human experience, an anchor for turbulent times, and a womb strong enough to encompass every human care. At its heart lives the promise of God-with-us, inviting us into the spiritual practice of taking courage in the trust that we are accompanied in everything, and love will always have the last word.

Most of us feel overwhelmed at the idea of embarking on a grand plan for spiritual formation. As much as we'd like to, it just hasn't happened yet. Enter My One Word--an easy and surprisingly powerful practice that will allow God to form your character at a deep, sustainable level with just one word.The concept of My One Word is simple: swap the long list of resolutions for a single word that represents what you most hope God will do in you, and let it become the lens through which you examine your heart and life for an entire year. As you focus on your word, you position yourself for God to form your character at a deep, sustainable level.Join author Mike Ashcraft, who has led his congregation through the My One Word practice for more than five years, and Proverbs 31 Ministries author and speaker Rachel Olsen, who has lived the practice, as they share their insightful and good-humored approach to personal improvement.The stories of growth and change throughout My One Word will: Give you encouragement to discern one word to focus on Deepen your relationship with God Help you make changes that last Are you ready to embrace the life-changing power of My One Word? Let Mike and Rachel be your guides along the way.Praise for My One Word:"You are only one decision away from a totally different life. One change in spiritual disciplines can open up new dimensions of grace and power. Use My One Word to stop repeating the past and start creating the future."--Mark Batterson, author of New York Times bestseller The Circle Maker;lead pastor of National Community Church" My One Word is a lens that can change every area of your life. This is more than a to-do list and more than a New Year's resolution--this can be a lifestyle with pretty dramatic results."--Kyle Idleman, author of Not A Fan and When Your Way Isn't Working; teaching pastor of Southeast Christian Church

Building on the astonishing success of The Power of Now, Eckhart Tolle presents readers with an honest look at the current state of humanity: He implores us to see and accept that this state, which is based on an erroneous identification with the egoic mind, is one of dangerous insanity.Tolle tells us there is good news, however. There is an alternative to this potentially dire situation. Humanity now, perhaps more than in any previous time, has an opportunity to create a new, saner, more loving world. This will involve a radical inner leap from the current egoic consciousness to an entirely new one.In illuminating the nature of this shift in consciousness, Tolle describes in detail how our current ego-based state of consciousness operates. Then gently, and in very practical terms, he leads us into this new consciousness. We will come to experience who we truly are—which is something infinitely greater than anything we currently think we are—and learn to live and breathe freely.

ECPA BESTSELLER—Over one million copies sold! • What Would Your Life be Like if Anything Were Possible? Born without arms or legs, Nick Vujicic overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, fulfilling, and “ridiculously good” life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness. Now an internationally successful motivational speaker, Nick eagerly spreads his message: the most important goal is to find your life’s purpose and to never give up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in your way.Nick tells the story of his physical disabilities and the emotional battle he endured while learning to deal with them as a child, teen, and young adult. “For the longest, loneliest time, I wondered if there was anyone on earth like me, and whether there was any purpose to my life other than pain and humiliation.” Nick shares how his faith in God has been his major source of strength, and he explains that once he found a sense of purpose—inspiring others to better their lives and the world around them--he found the confidence to build a rewarding and productive life without limits. Let Nick inspire you to start living your own life without limits.Nick offers practical advice for realizing a life of fulfillment and happiness by building trust in others, developing supportive relationships, and gaining strength for the journey. He encourages the reader by showing how he learned to accept what he could not control and focus instead on what he could.   Includes a Life Without Limits Personal Action Plan to help anyone determine their unique path to a successful life.

What the Eldredge bestsellers Wild at Heart did for men, and Captivating did for women, LOVE & WAR will do for married couples everywhere. John and Stasi Eldredge have contributed the quintessential works on Christian spirituality through the experience of men and the experience of women and now they turn their focus to the incredible dynamic between those two forces.   With refreshing openness that will grab readers from the first page, the Eldredges candidly discuss their own marriage and the insights they’ve gained from the challenges they faced. Each talks independently to the reader about what they’ve learned, giving their guidance personal immediacy and a balance between the male and female perspectives that has been absent from all previous books on this topic.   They begin LOVE & WAR with an obvious but necessary acknowledgement:  Marriage is fabulously hard.  They advise that the sooner we get the shame and confusion off our backs, the sooner we'll find our way through.   LOVE & WAR shows couples how to fight for their love and happiness, calling men and women to step into the great adventure God has waiting for them together. Walking alongside John and Stasi Eldredge, every couple can discover how their individual journeys are growing into a story of meaning much greater than anything they could do or be on their own.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the acclaimed author of Bird by Bird comes a personal, wise, very funny, and “life-affirming” book (People) that shows us how to find meaning and hope through shining the light of faith on the darkest part of ordinary life. "Anne Lamott is walking proof that a person can be both reverent and irreverent in the same lifetime. Sometimes even in the same breath." —San Francisco ChronicleLamott claims the two best prayers she knows are: "Help me, help me, help me" and "Thank you, thank you, thank you." She has a friend whose morning prayer each day is "Whatever," and whose evening prayer is "Oh, well." Anne thinks of Jesus as "Casper the friendly savior" and describes God as "one crafty mother."Despite—or because of—her irreverence, faith is a natural subject for Anne Lamott. Since Operating Instructions and Bird by Bird, her fans have been waiting for her to write the book that explained how she came to the big-hearted, grateful, generous faith that she so often alluded to in her two earlier nonfiction books. The people in Anne Lamott's real life are like beloved characters in a favorite series for her readers—her friend Pammy, her son, Sam, and the many funny and wise folks who attend her church are all familiar. And Traveling Mercies is a welcome return to those lives, as well as an introduction to new companions Lamott treats with the same candor, insight, and tenderness.Lamott's faith isn't about easy answers, which is part of what endears her to believers as well as nonbelievers. Against all odds, she came to believe in God and then, even more miraculously, in herself. As she puts it, "My coming to faith did not start with a leap but rather a series of staggers."

Women today feel pressure to be the best wife, mom, and professional possible, often at the expense of our own identities. But what if you accepted that you're loved right now, just as you are? Join jewelry designer Lisa Leonard as she inspires you to find yourself again--even amid the mess of real life. When Lisa said her wedding vows, she was determined to be the best wife she could be. When her first son was born with a severe disability, Lisa promised herself she would always be the mother he needed. When she began her jewelry business, Lisa committed to giving it her all. Over the years, the exhaustion of trying to be everything to everyone took its toll. Lisa knew it wasn't working. She wanted to change things, but how? One evening, in tears and desperation, Lisa realized that somewhere along the way, she had lost herself. As you explore Lisa's own journey to finding freedom from the things that were holding her back, her story will teach you how to: Find more peace and joy in your everyday life Stop trying to be everything to everyone Discover your truest self   In Brave Love, Lisa shares her story of finding her own voice again--and walks with you as you do the same. Praise for Brave Love: "I'm so thankful for the path that Lisa Leonard has walked, from perfection and performance toward connection and grace, and I'm thankful as well for her vulnerability and creative storytelling. Her journey is one that will resound with so many women." --Shauna Niequist, New York Times bestselling author of Present Over Perfect

Love Is Calling. How Will You Answer? One of our greatest desires is to know we are loved by our Creator. Yet the depth of our apprehension is often equally strong: If I listen, we wonder, what will God say? If I open myself up to blessings, what will God require in return? As we trace this line of thinking, the God of all goodness becomes, in our minds, the God of our worst fears. Embrace a Love That’s Worth the Risk. God is far greater than our most expectant dreams. While he does often ask everything of us, he actually wants everything for us. He doesn’t want blind loyalty or bored religious compliance; he longs for nothing less than our entire passionate self–something most of us have yet to glimpse. God’s desire is that people lean in, listen, and wrestle with him so that they can respond to him without fear. Can this God be trusted? Absolutely. Will the journey be easy? Not a chance. But once you learn to listen to love, you’ll find that there’s only one way you can adore this unmanageable, unpredictable, wild, and unruly God: with your whole heart.