Silver drops of floating stars held in grass to drink as tea funnelled down to roots and soil to form a dewy starlight sea Kris Jepsen Kris Jepsen has learned to be readyand to listen to Gods voice whenever He speaks. In her first collection of writings, she shares prayers and poems intended to lift others up to reflect on their lives and reach for something better through faith and Gods love. In her short prayers, Kris encourages others to embrace hope as the day begins and peace as the sun sets, to see the loveliness of the world and impart kindness, to be comforted by Gods presence, and to be meaningful and useful to all. Within poignant poems, Kris reflects on love, wonder, and nature while exploring an inspirational encounter with a homeless woman, the relationship between mother and daughter as life comes full circle, and a beautiful conversation between St. Peter and God. In this compilation of poems and prayers, a woman of faith reflects on the wonder of love, nature, and the daily inspiration that surrounds all of us.

All religions have worked hard to give you the impression that I'm a stiff; the kind of guy you'd never invite to a party. . . . I like laughter and the people who do it; from the twitterers to the chucklers to those whose laughter roars out in a gallop of explosions. To me, laughter is taking a bite out of life and saying, "Just right." Signed: God Clever yet cynical Tim Conroy, a failed idealist with a chip on his shoulder, is unable to find a secure place for himself in 1960s South Side Chicago. He narrates his bittersweet struggles with God, sex, career, and education in a voice that evokes an Irish Catholic Holden Caulfield. This poignant, skillfully told tale concludes John R. Powers's memorable coming-of-age trilogy that includes The Last Catholic in America and Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?

Sixteen-year-old Titus Bass fears one fate more than any other: never to experience the great wilderness or the wildness inside himself. So late one night he snatches a squirrel gun and a handful of biscuits, flees into the woods, and doesn’t look back. From Louisville past the Chickasaw bluffs and the Natchez Trace all the way to New Orleans, he plunges into the rough-and-tumble life along the banks of the Mississippi: a volatile, violent country of boatmen and river bandits, knife fights and Indian raids, strong liquor and stronger women. Yet beyond the great river stretches the vast, unexplored expanse of the Great Plains. And it is here that young Titus will seek his future, and risk everything to seize it.

In Pure, Linda Kay Klein uses a potent combination of journalism, cultural commentary, and memoir to take us “inside religious purity culture as only one who grew up in it can” (Gloria Steinem) and reveals the devastating effects evangelical Christianity’s views on female sexuality has had on a generation of young women. In the 1990s, a “purity industry” emerged out of the white evangelical Christian culture. Purity rings, purity pledges, and purity balls came with a dangerous message: girls are potential sexual “stumbling blocks” for boys and men, and any expression of a girl’s sexuality could reflect the corruption of her character. This message traumatized many girls—resulting in anxiety, fear, and experiences that mimicked the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—and trapped them in a cycle of shame. This is the sex education Linda Kay Klein grew up with. Fearing being marked a Jezebel, Klein broke up with her high school boyfriend because she thought God told her to and took pregnancy tests despite being a virgin, terrified that any sexual activity would be punished with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. When the youth pastor of her church was convicted of sexual enticement of a twelve-year-old girl, Klein began to question purity-based sexual ethics. She contacted young women she knew, asking if they were coping with the same shame-induced issues she was. These intimate conversations developed into a twelve-year quest that took her across the country and into the lives of women raised in similar religious communities—a journey that facilitated her own healing and led her to churches that are seeking a new way to reconcile sexuality and spirituality. Pure is “a revelation... Part memoir and part journalism, Pure is a horrendous, granular, relentless, emotionally true account" (The Cut) of society’s larger subjugation of women and the role the purity industry played in maintaining it. Offering a prevailing message of resounding hope and encouragement, “Pure emboldens us to escape toxic misogyny and experience a fresh breath of freedom” (Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and founder of Together Rising).

Invite children to embark on another journey to discover more about God and His incredible creation. Based on Louie Giglio's popular messages about science and the Bible, How Great Is Our God shows kids the awe-inspiring connection between the natural world and the God who created it. The bestselling children's devotional Indescribable: 100 Devotions for Kids About God and Science resonated with more than 500,000 kids, parents, and teachers. Now Louie Giglio offers 100 more devotions about God and science that will expand the curiosity of kids ages 6–10. Including amazing scientific facts, beautiful photography, and fun illustrations, How Great Is Our God covers numerous topics: Space and time Earth and weather The human body Animals Plants And more! John 8:12 says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” This mind-bending, not-so-typical devotional will deepen your kids’ awe and appreciation for God's wild imagination and infinitely creative creation, from the pink lake in Senegal to the Earth's trip around the sun to the water-holding frog that can live up to five years without a drink (what?!). Explore Louie Giglio's other books in the bestselling Indescribable Kids series: Indescribable Indescribable for Little Ones The Wonder of Creation

The author follows a well-known literary tradition of combining the genres of lyric and prose, a tradition that reached its peak in the Romantic period but has since fallen into some disfavor. This nowadays-unusual combination allows him to circle around his dual theme -anticipating manhood from a boy's perspective, or revisiting boyhood from the perspective of middle age- in a fresh and productive manner.