Our minds are so powerful and what we choose to think and believe can greatly impact how we feel about ourselves and the world around us. Being happy starts with controlling the message that we speak to ourselves in our heads. "Don't Think of Pink Elephants" is perfect for all ages and opens our minds to the importance of positive thoughts and the power that these messages have over us. Come along on the journey as we explore how to program our brains to find true happiness in this fun light-hearted read!

Lisa was having a bad day. Things were not going well since morning, until the time she rode the bus home from school. She was in a bad mood! Her daddy never likes to see Lisa in a bad mood, so he steps in to try and make her smile. Maybe he can even make her laugh. Daddy has a way of making people laugh with silly animal images. If that isn't enough to make someone laugh, his silliness and ability to make himself laugh could cheer anyone up. Will his tactics work for Lisa this time? You will see.

Now in paperback! Sometimes Sophie worries -- not during the day when she is busy with family and friends, but at night when everything is calm and quiet. Her family all try to help, but somehow they just make her worries worse. Until her mother thinks of a new approach ... that might just involve an elephant or two! But wait, don't think about purple elephants, whatever you do! Whimsical and humorous, this little girl's story of finding a way to ease her worry will resonate with children and parents everywhere.

Why are zombies consuming the popular imagination? This book--part social analysis, part theological critique, and part devotional--considers how the zombie can be a way to critically situate our culture, awash with consumer products. Matthew Tan considers how zombies are the endpoint of social theory's exploration of consumer culture and its postsecular turn towards an earthly immortality, enacted on the flesh of consumers. The book also shows how zombies aid our appreciation of Christ's saving work. Through the lens of theology and the prayer of the Stations of the Cross, Tan incorporates social theory's insights on the zombie concerning postmodern culture's yearning for things beyond the flesh and also reveals some of social theory's blind spots. Turning to the Eucharist flesh of Christ, Tan challenges the zombie's secularized narrative of salvation of the flesh, one where flesh is saved by being consumed and made to die. By contrast, Jesus saves by enacting an alternative logic of flesh, one that redeems the zombie's obsession with flesh by eucharistically giving it away. In doing so, Jesus saves by assuming the condition of the zombie, redirecting our logic of consumption and fulfilling our yearning for immortality.

When her five-year-old daughter came home from school with bodily bruises, it was assumed to be innocent schoolyard play. But when she woke in the middle of the night to an unstoppable bloody nose, it became the beginning of a heart wrenching journey through doctor's visits and a family's struggle to make life-and-death decisions in the midst of agonizing uncertainty. Pink Elephants is the story of a family pushed to the brink, as they face their daughter's rare life-threatening illness. The Texeira family discovered the most essential ingredients in surviving great adversity: their unwavering faith, gratitude for each day, and the power in each family member's inner strength. Told from the mother's perspective, Pink Elephants takes us into the private moments of tenderness, the fragility of childhood innocence, and the reminder that control over a situation is an illusion. As the Texeira family shows us, life isn't planned-it is lived.

"As GMTV anchor, I interview hundreds of people every year. However well they interview, every single person would find it easier to explain their case by following these simple principles." EAMONN HOLMES, GMTV Presenter "[Drop the Pink Elephant]...tackle[s] every aspect of personal communication in a crisp, entertaining style." THE PLAIN ENGLISH SOCIETY "There can be no whitewash at the White House." (Richard Nixon). These nine words turned the American nation against their President. Why? Because people hadn't linked the White House with a cover up until Nixon himself made the connection. His own denial created the story. It is perhaps the most famous Pink Elephant in history. But what exactly is a 'Pink Elephant'? Pink Elephants are the unnecessary negatives that clutter your conversation and meaning, sending out the wrong signals to anyone you communicate with. In Drop the Pink Elephant, Bill McFarlan reveals how to avoid the deadly trap of allowing poor communication skills to obscure your meaning and reduce your effectiveness. Drop the Pink Elephant is filled with helpful, simple and practical advice on how to make your words count for more. Put these straightforward lessons into practice and you will notice immediately how much more effectively you are able to communicate with others. Sharpen your conversation by: * FIRST SPOTTING, THEN DROPPING THE PINK ELEPHANT * GETTING RID OF THE JARGON * LEARNING TO SPEAK IN PICTURES * RECOGNISING WHEN YOU SHOULD APOLOGISE OR THANK PEOPLE * CAPTIVATING AN AUDIENCE N.B. No animals were hurt in the making of this book. (Can you spot your first Pink Elephant?)

Much too often, the mental aspect of sport performance is overlooked. While all top athletes are in outstanding physical condition and technically exceptional, mental preparation is often what separates the best from the rest. This is just as true for young athletes as it is for pros and Olympians. And even though relatively few athletes will ever reach the top of their sport, the attitudes and life lessons learned from mental training—such as motivation, confidence, focus, perseverance, and resilience—will serve them well in all aspects of their lives. In Train Your Mind for Athletic Success: Mental Preparation to Achieve Your Sports Goals, Dr. Jim Taylor uses his own elite athletic experience and decades of working with some of the world’s best athletes to provide competitors of every ability with insights, practical exercises, and tools they can use to be mentally prepared when it really counts. His Prime Sport System explores the attitudes that lay the foundation for athletic success, the mental obstacles that can hold athletes back, the preparations they must take, the mental muscles they should strengthen, and the mental tools they need to fine tune their competitive performances. Most importantly, Dr. Taylor shows athletes practical strategies they can use to become mentally strong so they can perform their best when it matters most. Train Your Mind for Athletic Success goes well beyond the typical mental skills that are discussed in other mental training books. Readers will not only learn why mental preparation is so important to athletic success, but also where they personally are in each area thanks to brief mental assessments in each section of the book. In addition, each chapter includes exercises to show athletes how to incorporate mental training directly into their overall sport training regimen. The most comprehensive and in-depth book on mental preparation for athletes available, Train Your Mind for Athletic Success is an essential read for athletes, coaches, and parents.