In the first collection of Paradise on Earth with Words, poet Eric Scott Grand celebrates those liminal spaces where humankind meets deep blue sea. Baptized by the great Pacific Ocean, Grand's words praise all the warm, bright gifts that wash up here in their stream-of-consciousness tidal flow. From beach days and surfing to wondrous animal-life to dreams of mermaids, these freewheeling poems populate an oceanic paradise that calls out to the author and his readers alike. This book is a signed and sealed invitation to a place you'll never want to leave.

The fear of the unknown at war with the burning need to see distant shores... In the late 1800s, one man set out across an ocean in an ancient sailing vessel, determined to seek his family's fortune in a new land. What grew from his bravery and triumph is a family saga that spans several generations and countless homelands. Paradise on Earth is the intricately woven story of a family that left its native province of Punjab in the then British India (presently in Pakistan) for the breathtaking shores of Kenya and the beauty of its hinterlands. A tale of faith, family, and the entrepreneurial spirit is recorded here, along with awe-inspiring descriptions of the geography, its people, its history, and what it means to survive, adapt and thrive in a new land. Written first as a memoir for the generations that came after, this story is equal parts genealogy, history, and travelogue, sure to delight anyone who craves adventure.

When the ground quakes and blazing balls of fire fall from the sky, a religious sect interprets it as the fulfillment of long-held prophecies foretelling the end of the world. The members flee to their religious sanctuary, believing that this global cataclysm is the portent of a new paradise of eternal happiness. Inside, one cold and starving man struggles to hold onto his hope for the future. He's sacrificed everything for his faith in the prophecy, including his family. As the tortuous night drags on, he struggles to hold onto his hope for the future and grapples with a lifetime of beliefs, and expectations. If he survives to see the paradise earth, will it be worth it? Paradise Earth is a deconstruction of faith at the end of the world and beyond."

In this introduction to Scripture, Leland Ryken organizes biblical passages into literary genres including narratives, poetry, proverbs, and drama, demonstrating that knowledge of a genre's characteristics enriches one's understanding of individual passages. Ryken offers a volume brimming over with wonderful insights into Old and New Testament books and passages--insights that have escaped most traditional commentators.

The Words is the first volume of the Risale-i Nur and consists of thirty-three independent parts or Words, which explain and prove aspects of the fundamental matters of belief. These consist of such matters as God s existence and unity, the manifestation of the Divine Names and attributes in creation, the resurrection of the dead and the hereafter, prophethood, the miraculousness of the Qur’an, the angels, the immortality of man s spirit, Divine Determining (fate or destiny), together with such questions as the true nature of man and the universe, and man s need to worship God. Each subject is explained with comparisons and allegories, and demonstrated with reasoned arguments and logical proofs. The most profound aspects of the truths of belief, which were formerly studied only by advanced scholars, are explained in such a way that everyone, even those to whom the subject is new, may understand without difficulty. This work answers brilliantly the attacks made on the Qur’an in the name of science and philosophy, and demonstrates the rationality of belief in God and logical absurdity of denial. It shows too that man s happiness and salvation both in this world and the next lie only in belief in God and knowledge of God.