Life is filled with opportunities to practice nonviolence. If we kept track, we'd be surprised at how often we get to choose a violent or nonviolent response to a given situation. Seizing these moments is a spiritual practice that shapes a nonviolent heart. Many people doing this together shapes the heart of a nonviolent world. This book is a humble and accessible approach to nonviolence based on the belief that no one is perfectly nonviolent. We are all works in progress. Each chapter presents an imaginative interpretation of a scripture story about seizing a nonviolent moment that sheds new light on nonviolence and its spirituality. Stories of contemporary peacemakers woven throughout offer lessons for living a spirituality of nonviolence for our times. Prophetic words from the US Catholic bishops emphasize the essential role of peacemaking in renewing the earth. Questions following each chapter inspire personal reflection and make the book a welcome resource for classrooms, parishes, and small groups. The more we seize the nonviolent moments in our lives, the more we are transformed by them. And the more we experience the power of nonviolence within ourselves, the more we believe in its potential to transform our troubled world.

This collection of short reflections will remind you to live your passion, take time out, and expand your horizons. Each page suggests a way to be mindful ot the here and now, helping you to recall the value of taking action in the present-and following through.

In 2013 California adopted a new funding formula that includes a significant reinvestment in public education after years of budget cuts. The new law allocates funds differently, directing more resources to students with higher needs and providing more local control and greater transparency. This revolutionary change presents California districts with the opportunity to fundamentally transform how they use resources. But with an influx of funds after years of budget cuts comes a temptation to simply reverse the cuts. This paper explores how districts can seize this moment to create systems that ensure all students reach new, higher standards. We argue that districts should: (1) Think strategically; (2) Think transformation; and (3) Think school leader empowerment. And we offer seven ideas for how districts can transform the way they use resources by connecting their people, time, and money to student and teacher needs.

In the story of every great company and career, there is one defining moment when luck and skill collide. This book is about making that moment happen. According to Frans Johansson’s research, successful people and organizations show a common theme. A lucky moment occurs and they take advantage of it to change their fate. Consider how Diane von Furstenberg saw Julie Nixon Eisenhower on TV wearing a matching skirt and top, and created the timeless, elegant wrap-dress. That was a “click moment” of unexpected opportunity. Johansson uses stories from throughout history to illustrate the specific actions we can take to create more click moments, place lots of high-potential bets, open ourselves up to chance encounters, and harness the complex forces of success that follow.

In this inspiring book, Erwin McManus uses the biblical account of Israel's war with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13 and 14) and the characters of Saul and Jonathan to demonstrate the difference between living a life of purpose and adventure, and living one of apathy and missed opportunity. In the midst of a less-than-hopeful battle, Saul-who should have been leading-rested beneath a pomegranate tree as Jonathan seized the divine moment that would impact the future of Israel. Through this story McManus artfully illustrates the eight characteristics of an adventurer's heart, what he calls "the Jonathan factor." Using powerful examples from his own life and ministry, along with fresh biblical teaching, McManus asserts that God crafts divine moments specific to each of us-priceless opportunities for us to actively engage in God's big-picture plan. Apathy and apprehension prevent us from being all we are meant to be for God's kingdom. But by developing the characteristics McManus outlines, Christians can move from mundane to miraculous living.

There are moments in life when change creates the opportunity for you to take a different path. The choices you see and the decisions you make in those moments define the future course and direction of your life. You have a second chance to become what you might have been, if you had made different choices. Often, however, the fear of change will prevent you from seizing the moment to create the life you desire. In Defining Moments, the author provides personal examples and proven techniques that will inspire and prepare you to evaluate what's important to you now, and explore the option of choosing a new path that will lead to a life that is a more fulfilling life for you. After reading this book, you will see choices you didn't see before, feel confidence you didn't feel before and be ready to take actions you haven't had the courage to take to create the life you desire. Lack of clarity, limiting beliefs and fear of change will no longer prevent you from experiencing the life you were meant to live. Defining Moments is divided into three main sections: Part One: "Achieving Clarity: What Do I Really Want?" includes chapters on Change, Choices, Vision and Values. Part Two: "Preparing for Success: Breaking Through Barriers," includes chapters on Beliefs, Decisions and Relationships. Part Three: "Embracing the Future Waiting for You: How to Create the Life You Want," includes chapters on Action, Power, Expectations and Transformation. Defining Moments also includes an Appendix where all exercises and thought-provoking questions are compiled in one section that the reader can use as a workbook. The practical guidance Rita provides is based on her professional experience as an international organizational change consultant to Fortune 500 clients and career coach to more than 11,000 individuals, plus her own experience of taking the road less traveled to embrace the unknown and reinvent her life.

Choices unlock divine moments. Pastor and author Erwin Raphael McManus invites readers to choose a life of blazing urgency. Are you willing to risk failure? Are you ready to get in the game? You may stumble, but you will find yourself falling forward, propelled toward the God-inspired adventure He intends you to live. Using the biblical characters of Saul and Jonathan during Israel’s war with the Philistines (1 Samuel 13 and 14), Chasing Daylight (formerly titled Seizing Your Divine Moment) demonstrates the difference between living a life of purpose and adventure and living one of apathy and missed opportunity. While Saul rested beneath a pomegranate tree, Jonathan seized the divine moment and redirected the future of Israel. McManus uses Jonathan’s example to artfully illustrates the eight characteristics of an adventurer’s heart, what he calls “the Jonathan factor”: Taking initiative Accepting uncertainty Stewarding influence Embracing risk Continuing to advance Creating impact Moving in obedience Awakening potential We have but one life. We are given one opportunity to pursue our dreams and fulfill our divine purpose. Every moment counts, and we must engage them with fierceness and zeal. In Chasing Daylight, Erwin Raphael McManus offers the tools to put an end to passive observation and start seizing the raw, untapped potential of your life with God.