Marvin was raised by parents that are passionate for God. In his childhood, he was exposed to several people that were themselves examples of true disciples. In High School, he stopped struggling against the tug of God and became a follower of Jesus. Out of his love for God he has been a worship leader for many years. In the winter of 2016 God began to stir his heart to a deeper walk. In February of 2017 he resigned his position as Worship Pastor to take sabbatical for the refreshment of his body and spirit. It was the preface to what he and his wife have dubbed, “the year of the unexpected”. In the summer of 2017, Marvin began an intentional pursuit of God that would eclipse his previous efforts at discipleship. This is the diary of his walk, originally intended for his children, but at their urging, for any that could be encouraged by it.

“‘A Better Man,' with its mix of meteorological suspense, psychological insight and criminal pursuit, is arguably the best book yet in an outstanding, original oeuvre.” —Tom Nolan, The Wall Street Journal "Enchanting... one of his most ennobling missions." —Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review Catastrophic spring flooding, blistering attacks in the media, and a mysterious disappearance greet Chief Inspector Armand Gamache as he returns to the Sûreté du Québec in the latest novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny. It’s Gamache’s first day back as head of the homicide department, a job he temporarily shares with his previous second-in-command, Jean-Guy Beauvoir. Flood waters are rising across the province. In the middle of the turmoil a father approaches Gamache, pleading for help in finding his daughter. As crisis piles upon crisis, Gamache tries to hold off the encroaching chaos, and realizes the search for Vivienne Godin should be abandoned. But with a daughter of his own, he finds himself developing a profound, and perhaps unwise, empathy for her distraught father. Increasingly hounded by the question, how would you feel..., he resumes the search. As the rivers rise, and the social media onslaught against Gamache becomes crueler, a body is discovered. And in the tumult, mistakes are made. In the next novel in this “constantly surprising series that deepens and darkens as it evolves” (New York Times Book Review), Gamache must face a horrific possibility, and a burning question. What would you do if your child’s killer walked free?

A lot of professors give talks titled 'The Last Lecture'. Professors are asked to consider their demise and to ruminate on what matters most to them: What wisdom would we impart to the world if we knew it was our last chance? If we had to vanish tomorrow, what would we want as our legacy? When Randy Pausch, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, was asked to give such a lecture, he didn't have to imagine it as his last, since he had recently been diagnosed with terminal cancer. But the lecture he gave, 'Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams', wasnt about dying. It was about the importance of overcoming obstacles, of enabling the dreams of others, of seizing every moment (because time is all you have and you may find one day that you have less than you think). It was a summation of everything Randy had come to believe. It was about living. In this book, Randy Pausch has combined the humour, inspiration, and intelligence that made his lecture such a phenomenon and given it an indelible form. It is a book that will be shared for generations to come.

The National Book Critics Circle Award–winning author delivers a collection of essays that serve as the perfect “antidote to mansplaining” (The Stranger). In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters. She ends on a serious note— because the ultimate problem is the silencing of women who have something to say, including those saying things like, “He’s trying to kill me!” This book features that now-classic essay with six perfect complements, including an examination of the great feminist writer Virginia Woolf’s embrace of mystery, of not knowing, of doubt and ambiguity, a highly original inquiry into marriage equality, and a terrifying survey of the scope of contemporary violence against women. “In this series of personal but unsentimental essays, Solnit gives succinct shorthand to a familiar female experience that before had gone unarticulated, perhaps even unrecognized.” —The New York Times “Essential feminist reading.” —The New Republic “This slim book hums with power and wit.” —Boston Globe “Solnit tackles big themes of gender and power in these accessible essays. Honest and full of wit, this is an integral read that furthers the conversation on feminism and contemporary society.” —San Francisco Chronicle “Essential.” —Marketplace “Feminist, frequently funny, unflinchingly honest and often scathing in its conclusions.” —Salon

What if the only way you could get out of your marriage was to become the perfect husband? Nick and Maya Wakefield's relationship has been in crisis since Maya left her high-powered legal career to stay home with their now 3-year-old twins. Today she feels invisible, anxious, and under-appreciated, and Nick has checked out of family life. Sex is a distant memory and the love is gone. A workaholic and a consummate flirt, Nick has decided he wants out. But he balks when their old friend, a divorce attorney, shows him that as sole breadwinner, he stands to lose the most. Together, he and his friend hatch a plan: Nick will act like an ideal husband and father in order to ease the pain of leaving and make out better in court. So he encourages Maya to go back to work, spends time with the kids, and even takes her on a vacation without them. But with his cynical ruse comes a surprising change of heart. Nick is astonished to find his actual emotions match his act and now his marriage is truly on the mend. That is, until Maya finds out, and Nick's world falls to pieces. Now his only hope of saving his family is to prove to his wife that he really is the man he was pretending to be. A Better Man is a sharply observant novel of the pitfalls of marriage and success, and how one couple must lose it all before they can hope to find their way back.

BETTER MAN describes one man's journey through romantic relationships. The author navigates college as a gay man, then graduate school, and then present day as a practicing licensed clinical mental health counselor. This book is a story about love, heartbreak, and the difficult lessons learned while traveling the treacherous road of dating. Striving to become a better man, the author learns about his own values, what he's looking for in a partner, and that sometimes the bravest thing you can do is run. Getting through breakups, navigating partners with differing values, and having the realization that just because sparks fly when you meet doesn't always mean it's meant to be--these are just a few of the harder truths the author learns along the way. BETTER MAN is a firsthand account of three major relationships told through the eyes of the author as he experienced them. There's a shift in perspective from one's early twenties into their mid-thirties. Realizations are made, and past experiences are seen with a newly discovered clarity. As the author gets further in his study of psychology and gains a greater understanding of things like communication and what it means for a relationship to be "healthy," his relationships continue to grow increasingly toxic. Will he throw in the towel and simply decide it's best to assume he's had his last kiss? Or dust himself off and begin again? Let's hope there's a hopeless "new" romantic on the other side of the door. So now, on to the story of us...

Deida explores the most important issues in men's lives--from career and family to women and intimacy to love and spirituality--to offer a practical guidebook for living a masculine life of integrity, authenticity, and freedom.