Adult

In this piercing collection of short fiction, Justin Taylor captures the lives of men and women unmoored from their pasts and uncertain of their futures. A man writes his girlfriend a Dear John letter, gets in his car and just drives. A widowed insomniac is roused from malaise when an alligator appears in her backyard. A group of college friends try to stay close after graduation, but are drawn away from --- and back toward --- each other by the choices they make.

In the third unforgettable book by New York Times bestselling author Emma Chase, Matthew Fisher --- the best friend of Drew Evans from TANGLED and TWISTED --- wants to settle down, but he’ll have to overcome the mistrust of the vividly unique Dee Dee Warren.

Maddy Carson is a mass of contradictions. She loves her job as Script Supervisor on a hit TV show, but hates "Hollywood." Super-organized and down-to-earth, Maddy is clearly one of the best at her job. Could Wolf County, her beloved hometown in the mountains, be saved from a financial crisis by creating a reality show featuring the eccentrics in the small ski village? Maddy is determined to try.

Mia Dennett is abducted one night by an enigmatic stranger named Colin Thatcher, whose job was to kidnap Mia as part of a wild extortion plot and deliver her to his employers. But the plan takes an unexpected turn when Colin suddenly decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin. Mia's mother and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family's world to shatter.

The last time the United States looked on its own citizens with suspicion, the results were ruined dreams, shattered lives…and murder in Jerry Ludwig’s BLACKLIST.

Have you ever felt a tension between developing your internal spiritual life and the call to outward service in the world? Those of us who are more naturally activists risk becoming bitter, tired and burned out. Those of us who gravitate toward the contemplative life may struggle to connect our spirituality with the world around us. How do we allow the life of Jesus to flow through our whole bodies into our everyday lives? Jesus calls us to a spirituality that involves our everyday actions and interactions with others and extends our sphere of influence. In this raw, honest, whole-life approach to Christian formation, Tom Smith introduces us into a "rhythm of life" that that brings flourishing to our personal spirituality that then extends to our service in the world.

One day Travis Scholl discovered a labyrinth in his neighborhood. As he began to walk it, he found this ancient practice offered a much-needed path away from life's demands, allowing him to encounter God in quiet solitude. With no end, but only a center, labyrinths become a physical symbol of prayer and our journey with God. Each step unites faith and action as travelers take one step at a time, living each moment in trust and willingness to follow the course set before them. Providing a historical and modern context for this unique spiritual discipline, Scholl weaves his own journey through a labyrinth with the Gospel of Mark's telling of the twists and turns of Jesus' life, providing 40 reflections ideal for daily reading during Lent or any time of the year.

The story of each person is a story of want --- desires unmet, hopes dashed, passions pursued and ambitions fulfilled. But when desire is informed by Scripture and re-formed by our spiritual practices, it can root us more deeply in the fundamental belief that God is good and generous and can invite us into active kingdom participation. Jen Pollock Michel guides us on a journey of understanding who we are when we want, and reintroduces us to a God who gives us the desires of our hearts.

Challenging the idolatrous underpinnings of worry, former Christianity Today executive Amy Simpson encourages us to root our faith in who God is, not in our own will power. We don’t often give much thought to why worry offends God, but indulging anxiety binds us to mere possibilities and blinds us to the truth. Correctly understanding the theology of worry is critical to true transformation. This is a book not just for people who worry; this is a call to the church to turn its eyes from the things of earth and fix its eyes on the author and completer of our faith.

Conflict happens. It's a painful reality of life in a fallen world. But we don't need to be content with broken relationships --- conflict resolution is possible. God's intention for us and for the world is for all to live in peace with one another, and Christian peacemakers have an unparalleled opportunity to be true ambassadors of reconciliation. Rick Love, founder and president of Peace Catalyst International, shares the principles that have guided his peacemaking efforts around the world. Masterfully blending Scripture and personal experience, he provides a biblical framework for how the God of peace seeks restoration for all who experience conflict --- in the home and workplace and even across international borders.