The “poignant account of one woman’s struggle for health and faith—and the tireless devotion of family” in the face of a devastating illness (Peter DeHaan, PhD). Sally Stap was living a happy life with a successful career, juggling the usual concerns about job, daughters, and everyday obligations. But her world was shattered when she was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma—a benign but large brain tumor that would require a major invasive operation to remove. Smiling Again is a story of perseverance and appreciating the beauty of life in spite of pain. Writing with a poignant blend of honesty, dry humor, faith, and inquisitiveness, Sally recounts the shock of diagnosis, the long and painful process of recovery, her eventual retirement due to disability, and ultimately the contentment she found in accepting a new life journey. No matter what trials you may face, Sally’s experience teaches us that even when the worst happens, God is still present and visible—sometimes in unexpected ways. Your future self may be different from who you were before, but those changes can lead you in new and rewarding directions.

"In this insightful and deeply personal work, Kathleen Norris, an award-winning poet and author of both Dakota: A Spiritual Geography and The Cloister Walk, draws on her life experiences, her poetry and her love of the Benedictine tradition to discuss the mysterious way that the daily or "quotidian" can open us to the transforming presence of God." "This volume is the text of the 1998 Madeleva Lecture in Spirituality, sponsored by the Center for Spirituality at Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Dr. Norman Golb's classic study on the origin of the Dead Sea Scrolls is now available online. Since their earliest discovery in 1947, the Scrolls have been the object of fascination and extreme controversy. Challenging traditional dogma, Golb has been the leading proponent of the view that the Scrolls cannot be the work of a small, desert-dwelling fringe sect, as various earlier scholars had claimed, but are in all likelihood the remains of libraries of various Jewish groups, smuggled out of Jerusalem and hidden in desert caves during the Roman siege of 70 A. D. Contributing to the enduring debate sparked by the book's original publication in 1995, this digital edition contains additional material reporting on new developments that have led a series of major Israeli and European archaeologists to support Golb's basic conclusions. In its second half, the book offers a detailed analysis of the workings of the scholarly monopoly that controlled the Scrolls for many years, and discusses Golb's role in the struggle to make the texts available to the public. Pleading for an end to academic politics and a commitment to the search for truth in scrolls scholarship, Who Wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls? sets a new standard for studies in intertestamental history "This book is 'must reading'.... It demonstrates how a particular interpretation of an ancient site and particular readings of ancient documents became a straitjacket for subsequent discussion of what is arguably the most widely publicized set of discoveries in the history of biblical archaeology...." Dr. Gregory T. Armstrong, 'Church History' Golb "gives us much more than just a fresh and convincing interpretation of the origin and significance of the Qumran Scrolls. His book is also... a fascinating case-study of how an idee fixe, for which there is no real historical justification, has for over 40 years dominated an elite coterie of scholars controlling the Scrolls...." Daniel O'Hara, 'New Humanist'

5th Place Winner of the 2020 Writer's Digest Poetry Contest and a Semi-finalist in the 2020 National Poetry Society of Virginia Poetry Contest The title Searching for Nova Albion comes from a pilgrimage Pamela Cranston, an Episcopal priest, once made to Drake's Beach near Point Reyes, California. There, in 1579, Sir Francis Drake landed the first English ship in North America, which he called Nova Albion (New Britain). The title poem is a protest against abuses of the environment and of power, wherever and whenever they happen. Inspired by the works of George Herbert, Gerard Manley Hopkins, R. S. Thomas, David Scott, and Rowan Williams, the author aspires to follow in their footsteps as a fellow poet-priest. Searching for Nova Albion displays a distinctive kind of spiritual sensibility found both within twentieth century English classical music and the Northern California landscape. These poems display a love for the roots and beauty of the English language, as well as an appreciation for the mystical, but also keep a critical eye to question, laugh with, or doubt Christian tradition. Common themes that arise are unexpected encounters with nature and the numinous; questions about life, death, and eternity; writing and finding one's voice; dealing with loss and defeat; and the recompense of joy.

Classic study explores the Eleusinian mysteries of ancient Greece; Asiatic cults of Cybele, the Magna Mater, and Attis; Dionysian groups; Orphics; Egyptian devotees of Isis and Osiris; Mithraism; and others.

Redeeming Ruth is the inspirational, true story of an abandoned baby, a devastating diagnosis, and the way God loves broken, hurting people through us—even though we may be broken and hurt, too. When Meadow met her, Ruth was a sixteen-month-old child that some church friends were hosting from an orphanage in Uganda. She had cerebral palsy and was so weak she couldn’t lift her head. Meadow had always felt a call to adopt, but was this what God meant? Part family drama, part travel adventure, and part memoir, Redeeming Ruth is a heartwarming, against-all-odds story about the most unlikely pairing of a normal American family and a physically handicapped orphan girl from Uganda. Much more than an adoption story, this book explores what happens when we sacrificially reach out and share God’s love with others. Ruth’s story will attract families considering adoption, people raising or teaching children with special needs, caregivers, and those grieving the loss of a loved one, ministering to people with disabilities, or striving to serve God despite their own wounded hearts and broken dreams. Features:Includes a Reader’s Guide at the end of the book for each chapter for group discussion or personal reflection.An eight-page insert with personal photos will be included.All personal proceeds from this book benefit an African missions organization.Meadow Rue Merrill is an award-winning journalist with two decades of published writing experience. She is also a contributing writer for “Motherlode,” a popular column of the New York Times. She began reporting for The Times Record, a daily newspaper in Brunswick, Maine, and spent the following eight years corresponding for The Boston Globe. Most recently she has written for Harvard University. She has regular columns with The Portland Press Herald, Maine’s largest newspaper and Down East magazine.