Wade Whitehouse, divorced, estranged from his young daughter, spends his days as a well-driller, snow-plow operator, and policeman, his nights in a wind-swept trailer park. But when a union boss is killed in an apparent hunting accident near Wade's home, and he is convinced that it is murder, he seizes the event as a chance to right many wrongs—unaware that as he unravels the mystery he himself will become unravelled. Soon his hunger for justice and self-respect become inseparable from a desperate violence.

Can anything good come out of suffering? Is there anything purposeful in the grief or pain you may be feeling right now? There are no easy answers to these questions and any attempt at an answer runs the risk of seeming trite or inappropriate to our unique situation. The author of this book has a terminal illness, which has produced in him not only an uncertainty about the future, but a deep sense of compassion for those who are also suffering. The book is his attempt to bring encouragement to those who feel helpless and alone by giving a perspective on affliction that is not ordinarily discussed. The book is not a daily devotional, but a compilation of the blogs he has written over the last three years that have been helpful to many. You may not be walking the path of affliction, but you could give the book a read and pass it on to someone who is on the journey.

Focusing on the intersection of Christianity and politics in the American penitentiary system, Jennifer Graber explores evangelical Protestants' efforts to make religion central to emerging practices and philosophies of prison discipline from the 1790s through the 1850s. Initially, state and prison officials welcomed Protestant reformers' and ministers' recommendations, particularly their ideas about inmate suffering and redemption. Over time, however, officials proved less receptive to the reformers' activities, and inmates also opposed them. Ensuing debates between reformers, officials, and inmates revealed deep disagreements over religion's place in prisons and in the wider public sphere as the separation of church and state took hold and the nation's religious environment became more diverse and competitive. Examining the innovative New York prison system, Graber shows how Protestant reformers failed to realize their dreams of large-scale inmate conversion or of prisons that reflected their values. To keep a foothold in prisons, reformers were forced to relinquish their Protestant terminology and practices and instead to adopt secular ideas about American morals, virtues, and citizenship. Graber argues that, by revising their original understanding of prisoner suffering and redemption, reformers learned to see inmates' afflictions not as a necessary prelude to a sinner's experience of grace but as the required punishment for breaking the new nation's laws.

Who am I? What am I here for? Does anyone love me? Do I have worth? Adversity can lead to doubt on the deepest levels: compared to others who have it "all together," our lives, with our difficulties, can seem beyond our ability to deal with daily tasks, let alone bigger topics like purpose, love, or faith. Daniel Ritchie was born facing a unique kind of adversity: he was born without arms. Yet after he surrendered his life to Christ as a young man, he learned that only in Christ could true worth and purpose be found--freeing him from others' comparisons and restrictions to live a full life that seemed impossible. Daniel's story will teach you to tackle life's challenges with grace and creativity--as he shows you how to see your life through Christ's eyes.