In this Cowley Cloister Book, Sam Portaro explores questions of discernment and vocation through meditations on the life and unfolding vocation of Jesus. Rather than seeing vocation as a single goal to obtain once and for all, Portaro includes all the many dimensions of life experience, heredity, family roots, relationships, and personal maturity in his consideration of how we as Christians discern who we are called to become. Who am I, where am I going, and how do I find a life of my own? What is my calling? These questions are urgent for us all, and they were no less urgent for Jesus in youth and young adulthood. In these meditations on finding our place in the world, Sam Portaro invites his readers to navigate the turning points of their own lives by reflecting on the life of Jesus as he came to discover that he was called by God. This book helps inform our own sense of vocation and calling by exploring aspects of Jesus' vocation as it was gradually revealed to him over the course of his life. Vocation, Portaro writes, does not come as "a bolt from the blue," but emerges gradually from our history, the events and people of our lives. He then sets out to show us how the life of Jesus and the words of Scripture can become part of this conversation. The meditations look at the essentials of Jesus' life, moving from the importance of roots and family (the gospel's tracing of Jesus' family tree) to the hiddenness of vocation (Jesus' boyhood and the "hidden years"), temptation (forty days in the wilderness), separation from family (the calling of the disciples), first awareness of his calling (the Transfiguration), and the fruits of vocation (the road to Jerusalem). Jesus' life is the essential pattern we all trace through our lives and where we are to find our place. Crossing the Jordan has emerged out of retreats for college students, and it is provocative reading for those who are thinking about their own life choices or ministering to those who are. A good resource for clergy, teachers, chaplains, you

This moving, coming-of-age story follows a young white girl who overcomes family prejudice and cultural differences when she befriends a black girl in a small working-class town Twelve-year-old Cassie narrates the dramatic events that unfold when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Despite their parents’ deeply held prejudice against each other’s family—exemplified by the fence Cassie’s father builds between their two houses—the girls find they share more similarities than differences. Mutual interests in reading and running draw them together, and their wariness of each other disappears. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A family crisis and celebration provide opportunities for the families to reach an understanding. Author Adrian Fogelin addresses the complex issues of bigotry and tolerance with sensitivity and intelligence. Readers will find her story of how two adolescent girls, through their own example, teach racial tolerance to the adults in a small Florida town powerful and compelling.

The NIV Study Bible is the #1 bestselling study Bible in the world's most popular modern English Bible translation. This best-loved Bible features a stunning four-color interior with photographs, maps, charts, and illustrations. One look inside this white Italian Duo-Tone(TM) edition reveals why this Bible is a favorite for over 9 million people.

God promised his people a new place to live, but the mighty Jordan River stands in their way.

As a complete heathen and living a wild life of booze, weed, and married men, Melany was involved in most things she ought not to have been. As a proud atheist and believing in reincarnation, she did not believe in angels or demons, God, Satan, heaven or hell. While living and working in the Middle East, the spirit realm opened up to her one evening. Here, she was physically attacked by two demons, who told her that they were going to kill her. After a failed attempt at finding an exorcist she called out to God, telling Him that if He was real, that He should show up in a way that she could not deny. He did. Melany got radically touched by Jesus Christ that night and an amazing God adventure began that, to date, has taken her to six nations of the world. For the believer, this book will set your heart on fire for "the more" of God, realizing that you do not need to have a title or a twenty-year walk with the Lord to be used of Him in a powerful way. To the non-believer, this book will compel you to reconsider eternity.

Jordan is a key area of migration within the Levantine corridor that links the continents of Africa and Asia. 'Crossing Jordan' examines the peoples and cultures that have travelled across Jordan from antiquity to the present. The book offers a critical analysis of recent discoveries and archaeological models in Jordan and highlights the significant contribution of North American archaeologists to the field. Leading archaeologists explore the theory and methodology of archaeology in Jordan in essays which range across prehistory, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Hellenistic and Roman periods, Nabatean civilization, the Byzantine period, and Islamic civilization. The volume provides an up-to-date guide to the archaeological heritage of Jordan, being an important resource for scholars and students of Jordan's history, as well as citizens, non-governmental organizations and tourists.