Brad Zervas reveals something quite different from his previous literary efforts in Faith, Family, Furry, and Fire. While his other books focus on practical ways to raise our boys and support our fathers, this work explores the Way of St. Francis and the belief that all living things deserve our consideration. When embraced, this idea could lead us to a more just and sustainable world order. As an ecologist, defender of plants and animals, and as a man who turned away from material riches, St. Francis discovered that all living things exist in the dominion of his “Father.” He blazed a trail that others have tried to follow for centuries. The author observes that while we have worked tirelessly to find ways to divide ourselves into specific groups with the intent of somehow elevating ourselves so that God sees us and not the other, it has always been the other that has been able to show us the depths and possibilities of kindness. He concludes that faith, family, fire, and furry remain embedded in our lives—the four basic elements that knowingly and unknowingly comprise the very chemistry that shapes us—pilgrims each walking toward our last and final surrender.

The odyssey of Michael takes him from tortured soul to bold believer. It is a story of heart-wrenching psychological turmoil and spiritual transformation. Michael lives out the joys and conflicts of a person coming to an understanding of the full meaning of genuine faith. Michaels astonishing heroics as he rescues a little girl from a burning building sets up a captivating narrative. Through Fire to Faith follows Michaels internal struggles from happy times with his wife and daughter to the vicious attack in a park, to his descent into active alcoholism, to the tragic accident that rips his family from him, to the story of his healing and conversion at the caring hands of his beloved Emilee and others along his way, and to his final dramatic battle with his internal demons. Michaels personal journey is a story that anyone who is searching for the power of mercy and the reality of faith can identify with and take to heart.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit, this book is dedicated to the suffering people of Ukraine especially the children who are the most helpless victims of the Russian invasion. One day while the author was tending to her zoo, an image of the Holy Wound of Jesus flashed vividly upon her mind which guided her in writing of the hostilities of the war and how steadfast and burning faith serves to help people overcome life’s ordeals on a daily basis of routine in the backdrop of a global pandemic and raging war. This book is a must read as it is the fruit of an encounter with God in the simple everyday life of a widow who has been called to write of heaven’s caveats for today’s world.

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

How one activity can lead to lifelong benefits for your child: “Parents, teachers, and all who love children will be inspired.” —Amy Dickinson, New York Times bestselling author of Strangers Tend to Tell Me Things Longtime elementary school teacher Kim Jocelyn Dickson believes every child begins kindergarten with a lunchbox in one hand and an “invisible toolbox” in the other. In this book, she shares with parents the single most important thing they can do to foster their child’s future learning potential and nurture the parent-child bond that is the foundation for a child’s motivation to learn. Drawing on both neuroscientific research and her own experience as an educator, she concludes that the simple act of reading aloud has a far-reaching impact that few of us fully understand—and our recent, nearly universal saturation in technology has further clouded its importance.In The Invisible Toolbox, parents, educators, and early literacy advocates will discover:Ten priceless tools that fill their child’s toolbox when they read aloud to their childTools parents can give themselves to foster these gifts in their childrenPractical tips for how and what to read aloud to children through their developmental stagesDos and don’ts and recommended resources that round out all the practical tools a parent will need to prepare their child for kindergarten and beyondHow parents can build their own toolboxes so they can help their children build theirs

A FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: THE WASHINGTON POST, NPR, TIME, THE SEATTLE TIMES, MINNEAPOLIS STAR-TRIBUNE, SLATE, LIBRARY JOURNAL, KIRKUS, AND MANY MORE “Lauren Groff is a writer of rare gifts, and Fates and Furies is an unabashedly ambitious novel that delivers – with comedy, tragedy, well-deployed erudition and unmistakable glimmers of brilliance throughout.” —The New York Times Book Review (cover review) From the award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author of The Monsters of Templeton, Arcadia, Florida and Matrix, an exhilarating novel about marriage, creativity, art, and perception. Fates and Furies is a literary masterpiece that defies expectation. A dazzling examination of a marriage, it is also a portrait of creative partnership written by one of the best writers of her generation. Every story has two sides. Every relationship has two perspectives. And sometimes, it turns out, the key to a great marriage is not its truths but its secrets. At the core of this rich, expansive, layered novel, Lauren Groff presents the story of one such marriage over the course of twenty-four years. At age twenty-two, Lotto and Mathilde are tall, glamorous, madly in love, and destined for greatness. A decade later, their marriage is still the envy of their friends, but with an electric thrill we understand that things are even more complicated and remarkable than they have seemed. With stunning revelations and multiple threads, and in prose that is vibrantly alive and original, Groff delivers a deeply satisfying novel about love, art, creativity, and power that is unlike anything that has come before it. Profound, surprising, propulsive, and emotionally riveting, it stirs both the mind and the heart.