Often, Christmas can come and go far too quickly, leaving us in holiday whiplash and wishing we had been more intentional to prepare our hearts for the TRUE Reason for the season. This study aims to remind us why we celebrate Christmas and to be drawn into a deeper relationship with Christ as we consider the four aspects of the Christian faith represented by the Advent season: hope, peace, joy, and love.

We live in a time of unprecedented change when it comes to women's lives. All around the world, women are demanding the safety, respect, and opportunities they have always deserved but seldom grasped. Have you ever stopped to wonder, "Where do I fit into this story?" Ronne Rock is a good person to ask. In this stirring book, she takes you on a global adventure to discover your divine design as a woman of influence and impact. Through powerful and personal stories of women in Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Caribbean, you'll learn what it means to lead in a world where leadership isn't easy, how to serve with grace in cultures that aren't always graceful, and how to embrace your God-given physical, emotional, and spiritual DNA. As you discover the lives of real women who are influencing their communities with grace and gumption--even in countries where oppression weighs most heavily--you'll feel inspired to reclaim your God-designed influence and impact right where you are.

The Christmas season is full of preparations. You pull out the decorations, mail cards, plan gatherings, shop, attend programs and performances—all to celebrate the day Christ was born. But amidst all the readying and activities, are you taking time to prepare your heart? Perhaps the checklists and busyness of all of our traditional preparations distracts us from the significance of Advent and Christmas itself. All of these distractions may even cause us to miss some of the blessings we are truly meant to receive during this season of celebration and joy. Through thoughtful reflection, author Naomi Beale invites us each to purposefully experience Advent daily. Standing still intentionally in anticipation of Christmas Day magnifies the HOPE, PEACE, JOY and LOVE to be found in this season. These meditations with focused scripture will enhance the celebration of Christmas, encourage daily awareness of these gifts, and point to being in the Advent of the eternal light and love to come.

This book is a look at life. It chronicles the little things that bring us hope and those that bring us joy. It recalls the thoughts that come to us in the middle of the night and those that are drawn from tearful happiness as well as deep pain. It is a journey along the memory lanes of our dreams and the routes to finding the strength to deal with our fears and anxieties. It is a celebration of our spirit, faith, and quest for inner peace and renewal; as well as the many milestones and emotions of life. These poems reflect the authors love of people, nature, and the small things that make life so fascinating and well worth living. Add your thoughts and feelings about each poem to that poems blank page in this book and share with fellow readers by posting your insights on-line to our web site at: www.Hope-and-Joy.com

Embracing Advent includes four weeks of short daily readings to encourage you to: Hold on to HOPE, Find PEACE, Choose JOY, and LOVE and Be Loved. This is an Advent devotional meant to prepare you for the Christmas season. These readings can be used as individuals or in a bible study. Use this daily devotional to take a few minutes each day to step away from the holiday chaos and prepare your body, soul, and mind to whole-heartedly celebrate Christmas this year!

Students, parents, and educators at all levels are increasingly frustrated, demoralized, burned out, and discontented with education and schooling today. At no previous time has it been more necessary to revitalize hope in the promise of education or to reestablish joy in teaching and learning than the current moment. In this timely and inspirational volume, authors from diverse disciplines consider and affirm the many places across curriculum and context where hope and joy are or can be strong and vibrant. Drawing on the life-affirming ideals of renowned education philosopher and school founder Daisaku Ikeda, Hope and Joy in Education will reenergize educational research, theory, and practice. Featuring contributions from such luminaries as Theodorea Berry, Cynthia Dillard, Walter Gershon, Francyne Huckaby, Johnny Lupinacci, and Anita Patterson, this book reminds readers that the classroom is still a magical space, brimming with the brilliant and creative energy of young people. “This is a necessary text at a necessary time if we are to revitalize hope in the promise of education.” —From the Foreword by Cynthia B. Dillard, University of Georgia “A beacon of light toward desirable collective futurities in a world of increasing complexity, uncertainty, and vulnerability.” —Ming Fang He, Georgia Southern University “These essays are just what we need in these turbulent, uncertain times: a thoughtful focus on hope and joy as the path to educating for a more just, equitable, relational, and peaceful state of being.” —Denise Taliaferro Baszile, Miami University “This insightful book urges educators to center hope and joy in our work—not by turning away from the despair of the moment, but by fostering dialogue, seeking connection, and always remembering that the true aim of education for teachers and students alike is to become more fully human.” —Gregory Michie, Chicago public school teacher

How can a fourth-century theology be relevant today? Is the Bible meant to be taken literally? Can Jesus be stripped of some of his titles? These are just a few of the questions that the author, a Progressive Christian Episcopal clergyperson, answers in this provocative book. Cramming for the Finals offers fresh ideas on how to look at God/Creator, Jesus the human, Paul, Mary (wife of Jesus), the Bible, Mariology, dogma, and doctrine. As the author takes you through his fascinating life's journey, he reveals the tremendous power that the man Jesus, who was executed almost two thousand years ago, still can have on individuals and the world today. You'll discover new ways to look at ancient ideas, why we need to promote God and demote Jesus, how four-thousand-year-old ideas can work now, ways to think outside the institutional church's tight little box, and how to save the church from itself. This book challenges longstanding beliefs to make Christianity speak to people in the twenty-