Congregations are increasingly developing partnerships as a way of engaging directly in global missions. One of the most common ways they do this is forming relationships with congregations in other parts of the world. This book looks at the reasons that churches seek out missions partners, how the partnership phenomenon developed, and what beliefs, concepts, structures, and practices inform the healthiest mission partnerships. With insights drawn from a survey of churches from across the country and around the world, this book provides data-driven insights to guide the practice of international congregational partnerships.

"Maureen and Francine Carter are twins and best friends. They participate in the same clubs, enjoy the same foods, and are partners on all their school projects. But just before the girls start sixth grade, Francine becomes Fran -- a girl who wants to join the chorus, run for class president, and dress in fashionable outfits that set her apart from Maureen. A girl who seems happy to share only two classes with her sister! Maureen and Francine are growing apart and there's nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?"--Provided by publisher.

The development of how twins relate to each other and their single partners is explored through life stories and clinical examples in this telling study of twin interconnections. While the quality of a nurturing family life is crucial, Dr. Klein has found there are often issues with separation anxiety, loneliness, competition with each other, and finding friendships outside of twinship. When twin lives are entwined because of inadequate parenting and estrangement, twin loss is possible and traumatic, creating a crippling fear of expansiveness—an inability to be yourself. Therapists and twins seeking an understanding of twin relationships will find this clinically compelling book a valuable resource.

Prudent Advice isn't what your mother taught you--it's more. Delivering 500 mini-lessons meant to educate and entertain, Curtis writes with wit and fresh insight into motherhood wrought from her own experiences and those of her blog followers. Time-honored canons such as "Dress appropriately for work" and "You reap what you sow" mingle with more unconventional prudence such as "Talk to strangers" and "Don't be afraid to get lost." She teaches how to jump-start a battery and make summer squash with goat cheese pasta--everything a mother wants for her little girl. Curtis emphasizes the importance of being ethical, practicing kindness, thinking for oneself, and seeing the beauty in everything and everyone, especially on the inside. This compelling guide also offers poetry, inspirational quotes, and recipes meant to embellish cultural perspective and cultivate a well-rounded, sophisticated woman. Prudent Advice will inspire mothers and daughters to celebrate their differences while unearthing shared core values that bond them together as family.

A hilarious story of one man’s obsession and a brilliant reckoning of a nation’s cultural confusion—from a master Japanese novelist. When twenty-eight-year-old Joji first lays eyes upon the teenage waitress Naomi, he is instantly smitten by her exotic, almost Western appearance. Determined to transform her into the perfect wife and to whisk her away from the seamy underbelly of post-World War I Tokyo, Joji adopts and ultimately marries Naomi, paying for English and music lessons that promise to mold her into his ideal companion. But as she grows older, Joji discovers that Naomi is far from the naïve girl of his fantasies. And, in Tanizaki’s masterpiece of lurid obsession, passion quickly descends into comically helpless masochism.

New Understandings of Twin Relationships takes an experience-based approach to exploring how twin attachment and estrangement are critical to understanding the push and pull of closely entwined personal relationships. Based on the research expertise of each of the authors (all identical twins in their own right), and vignettes from twins across the globe, this book describes the inner workings of the twin-world, showing how the twin-world creates experiences that are often more intense and intricately textured than those in the singleton-world. Chapters debunk myths surrounding twinship and analyze the developmental stages of the twin relationship as well as the effect of being a twin on one’s mental health from different perspectives. The authors articulate how attachment, separation anxiety, loneliness, estrangement, and the subjective experience of the twin and non-twin "other" impact behavior, thinking, and feeling. Through its careful study of the many psychological challenges that twins face throughout their lifetime, this text will help psychologists, scholars, clinicians, and twins themselves attain a deeper understanding of all interpersonal relationships.

Why would a twin forgo her own needs to make sure her same-age sibling is always taken care of, when her sister doesn't even appreciate her sacrifices? What would cause a twin to experience severe anxiety and panic attacks when he and his brother go away to separate colleges? What makes it so difficult for some twins to develop friendships and romantic relationships? The "twin mystique"-our culture's idealization of the twin relationship-and twins' own expectations contribute to their difficulties. A therapist who understands the psychology of twinship can articulate what is actually going on between the siblings. In Twins in Session, therapists will learn what's behind these and other issues: A twin who is having problems with a same-age sibling may think of himself or herself as part of a couple in conflict. Since twins are conditioned to expect effortless intimacy with their twin, they often feel deeply distraught when problems arise between them. Rage often underlies the anxiety that some twins experience due to their being perceived as, and essentially functioning as, one half of a single entity. Twins in Session will help therapists become a trusted outsider who can give twin clients perspective about their twinship issues and help them develop healthier relationships. Book jacket.