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Struggling with God: mental health and Christian spirituality
Church & Leadership, Everyday Life, The Inner Journey'Remarkably beautiful and pastoral' JUSTIN WELBY, ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY 'Brimming with wisdom and humanity' DAME SARAH MULLALLY, DBE, BISHOP OF LONDON Struggling with God gets right to the heart of a great predicament for many Christians. When it feels as if our struggles are overwhelming - and our capacity for faith and hope and love is diminished - how is it possible to maintain, never mind nourish, our relationship with God? The truth, as this deeply compassionate volume reminds us, is that Jesus came alongside people wrestling with mental health problems. Many familiar conditions, such as anxiety and depression, and more severe ones, including bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia, are addressed by the authors here. Dispelling common myths and misconceptions, they explore the impact such mental health disorders can have on individual Christians, Church and society.. Each chapter includes biblical reflections relevant to its theme, prayers, questions to facilitate individual/group study, and pointers to further reading. In short, the book presents a Christian vision of spiritual and mental wellbeing through prayerful struggling with God.£14.99 -
Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land: Re-shaping the Church for a Changed World
Culture & MissionThe most devastating experience of God's people in the Old Testament was the exile. But rather than destroying them, it resulted in them emerging from it with a fresh understanding of God and committed to new ways of worshipping him. For many churches and individual Christians, the Covid pandemic has also been a form of exile. How far have we emerged with fresh understanding of our faith, new ways of being and doing church, a reinvigorated commitment to the mission task? Mission, particularly the clear proclamation of the Gospel, is the core task of the church, our response to Jesus' Great Commission to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Every individual Christian has their part to play in this, learning how to sing the Lord's song (the gospel) effectively in our current context, which is not always entirely friendly. Every Christian community, every local church, needs to be able to sing the same song through the quality of their life together. Whenever new people join us, we need to offer them a positive experience: comfortable facilities, meaningful worship, relevant teaching, and, above all, a genuine, warm welcome. Without this, any message we may proclaim is likely to fall on deaf ears.£14.99 -
Easter Reflections
Lent & Easter, Resources for the Christian Year, Scripture & PrayerEaster Reflections contain nine of Mary's Easter themed pieces of artwork along with thoughtful meditations, prayers and comments intended to provide a preparation for Easter Day. We have also included ‘Behind the Scenes’ bonus pages with the stage drawings of some of the artwork from first lines to the finished piece to demonstrate how Mary produces her art. Easter Reflections is a glossy softcover book which is perfect bound, A5 size (14.8X21cm) and 28 pages.£6.99 -
Comfort in Uncertain Times: Helping children draw close to God through Biblical stories of anxiety, loss and transition
Everyday Life, Scripture & PrayerUncertainty and change can be hard, and even more so for a child. Feelings of confusion, powerlessness and insecurity may be overwhelming. Scripture is full of people just like our children who had to cope with uncertainty and transition and flourished as they saw God's hand and presence within it all. Designed as a series of stories and discussions for families, this book lays a biblical foundation for who God is in uncertain times and how to stay connected to him.£8.99 -
Brightest and Best: 31 Advent Devotions on Jesus
Advent & Christmas, Daily ReadingsThis 31-day Advent devotional built around the words of well-loved carols will bring comfort and hope in the darkest time of the year. In a world of poverty, prejudice, and sickness it can be hard to sing "Tis the season to be jolly" and mean it. We are in a world laden with darkness and grief, and yet by the end of November, so much around us seems to be yelling: HAVE A HAPPY CHRISTMAS. Is this what advent is then? A building pressure to put reality on hold for a while, and to just Have a Good Time? Brightest and Best is a collection of Advent devotions that point to the comfort that God has promised: the coming of Jesus. Philippa Wilson communicates joyful, uplifting, and glorious Christmas truths in fresh ways. The purpose of each devotion is to stir up hope and faith, and praise for Jesus, as well as to encourage readers to think biblically and deeply about the carols we sing each year. Each devotion includes a passage of Scripture to ponder, a short, encouraging reading, the lyrics of a popular Christmas carol. Part One is focused on Christmas, and all that it means that Jesus has come. Part Two covers the days leading up to the new year; readings to cover that tricky post-Christmas period to give you courage for whatever lies ahead.£9.99 -
How Not To Be Afraid: Seven ways to live when everything seems terrifying.
Everyday LifeWe live in a time where we seem more afraid than ever. The rise of populism, polarization and aggression in politics, the media and popular culture, and the climate crisis have coincided with the collapse of previously cherished norms and expectations about economic stability, community life, and even the future of the planet. And all this before the pandemic struck. No wonder we are overwhelmed by anxiety. Popular speaker, storyteller and activist Gareth Higgins exposes the root causes of fear and shows how we can break its power through life-giving stories, simple spiritual exercises and practical steps to take as individuals and communities. He contends that it's time to tell ourselves new stories about the world in which we live, stories that will liberate the greater forces of love, courage and joy. Reflecting on his experience of growing up during the Troubles in Ireland, he shares authentic wisdom that can enable us not only to find calm in the storm, but even to calm the storm itself.£14.99 -
Invitation to Retreat: The Gift and Necessity of Time Away with God
Seasons of Life, The Inner Journey"Come away and rest awhile." Jesus invites us to be with him, offering our full and undivided attention to him. When we choose retreat, we make a generous investment in our friendship with Christ. We are not always generous with ourselves where God is concerned. Many of us have tried to incorporate regular times of solitude and silence into the rhythm of our ordinary lives, which may mean that we give God twenty minutes here and half an hour there. And there's no question we are better for it! But we need more. Indeed, we long for more. In these pages Transforming Centre founder and seasoned spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton gently leads us into retreat as a key practice that opens us to God. Based on her own practice and her experience leading hundreds of retreats for others, she will guide you in a very personal exploration of seven specific invitations contained within the general invitation to retreat. You will discover how to say yes to God's winsome invitation to greater freedom and surrender. There has never been a time when the invitation to retreat is so radical and so relevant, so needed and so welcome. It is not a luxury, but a necessity of the spiritual life.£14.99 -
Beauty Born Anew: Part 3 of the Dorchadas Trilogy
FictionAfter the dramatic events described in The Fairest of Dreams, life has calmed a little for Douglas Romer. He is now happily settled in the Irish coastal town of Dingle with his new set of friends. But he is concerned for Kath, who has become seriously ill. This brings to Dingle her daughters with their own set of issues. Douglas invites friends from the UK and USA over to visit, all who happen to arrive just when Kath is getting very close to death. How will they all get on together? And what is going on in the troubled soul of Father Pat? And there is Alice - after his desperate bereavement, could Douglas ever love another woman? Once again it is Dorchadas who is Douglas' close companion and confidant, though he hints disturbingly about the time drawing near for him to cease his work as an angel in human form.£13.99 -
The Fairest of Dreams: Part 2 of the Dorchadas Trilogy
FictionThe story picks up from where The Face of the Deep ends. Douglas Romer has returned to Dingle, Ireland, and continues to be on sick leave following his breakdown. He is stronger following the transforming experience of Gethsemane, and yet is haunted by the fact that the killer of his wife may be turning his sights on Douglas. Once again he teams up with his friend, Dorchadas, the retired angel, and with other friends he has made in Dingle. He also encounters some other characters who, until now, he only knew as figures from the past. As the story progresses, Douglas becomes increasingly aware of the force of dark powers bearing down upon him. How will he and his friends resist their destructive force?£13.99 -
The Face of the Deep: Part 1 of the Dorchadas Trilogy
FictionDouglas Romer’s career as a Vicar comes crashing down as he fails to come to terms with his young wife’s sudden and violent death. He takes a temporary leave of absence from his Sheffield parish and heads to the coastal town of Dingle in his wife’s homeland of Ireland. Here he meets various people whose lives become intricately tied to his. Among these new friends is Dorchadas, a man who claims to be a retired angel. He also meets several people whom he never imagined meeting, not least because they come from a time long before his.£11.99 -
The Jesus Way: a conversation in following Jesus.
Spiritual GrowthContinuing Peterson's major evaluation of contemporary Christian spirituality, THE JESUS WAY asks what it means to authentically follow Christ in the modern world. As with other books in the series, THE JESUS WAY is written for both academic and serious lay audiences. Challenging but rewarding, it combines first-rate scholarship with illustrations drawn from raw human experience.£10.99 -
A Fragile Hope: cultivating a hermitage of the heart.
Everyday Life, The Inner JourneyWe are living in challenging times. And it is easy to escape, pine for the “good old days, or unrealistically dream our way into the future. Instead, we are invited, in this book, to face our troubled world, to identify our inner struggles of faith, and to voice our anxieties and pain. And most importantly we are invited to wrestle with the God who so often seems absent. Living with a fragile hope, we are called by the gospel to nurture an inner life that responds with faith and courage to the brokenness of our world and the woundedness of our inner being. About the Author Charles Ringma has taught in universities, colleges and seminaries in Asia, Australia and N. America. And he has worked in urban and overseas mission for several decades. He is Emeritus Professor of Regent College, Vancouver, is a Franciscan Tertiary (tssf) and companion of Northumbria Community, Brisbane. Besides working for justice, he plants rain forest trees, grows vegetables and pens books on Christian spirituality.£14.00
