Stepping through Troubled Times is a cry in the wilderness. It cuts through the media hype and fear mongering to show why Americans must stand strong. Biblical truth reveals a clear parallel between political liberalism and the lost nature of man as evidenced by fear of global catastrophe and widespread religious hypocrisy. A subtle tyranny has grown out of failure to accept responsibility for our own actions and developed into a cry for government to provide all our needs. Dr. Nelsen focuses the Word of God upon both the political unrest and our personal failure of faith which has led America down the destructive path towards socialism. The reason for the Stepping through Troubled Times is two-fold: (1) Confusion of Americans: Patriotic Americans and Christians in general are confused by the media hype and fear-filled news reports that inundate our daily lives. Political correctness and hypocrisy is pervasive in our culture. Discerning truth has become much more difficult in recent years. Moral relativism has replaced the awareness of right and wrong. Immoral behavior is more acceptable in this generation than ever before. Tolerance of evil has become a requirement, and Christian values are seen as bigotry. (2) The depth of our trouble: Most Americans are unaware of the extent of socialist ideology in our government and society. Soft tyranny has invaded our thinking and legislative action has restricted the fundamental freedoms envisioned by the Founding Fathers. Our God-given liberties have been codified into law for government to provide. God has been taken out of the picture, and America as a nation is drifting rapidly into a Marxist ideology.

The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future.

An initial reading of this collection could suggest that primarily hate motivates these writings. Further thought may generate the question: what is hated? The answer is that the author hates what threatens what he loves. Then it is seen that love is really the underlying motive. Expressing sometimes belligerent tones, these outspoken, mostly rhyming verse-poems may reinforce and gladden some of the personal sentiments of those who value fighting for the West.

There was a bright moon three feet above his head, and an azure dragon embroidered on his sleeves. Riding a horse with a sword, indulging in unbridled pleasures, roaming the Jianghu with his lover.

We want to have it all: financial strength, secure homes, clean air and water for our children. With the latest technological advances available, we deserve to have every dilemma resolved. Isn't that the way it's supposed to work? Hope in Troubled Times dares to say "no." Poverty, terrorism, and overtaxed land are planetary problems that make even believers despair. But the authors point to Christ as the source of hope. Our choice is obvious. We work together, learning to live unselfishly, or we watch civilization sink further into the abyss. With a foreword by renowned human rights activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Hope in Troubled Times provides real-world solutions to life-threatening problems. The authors show that with God's guidance we can knock down the idols that stunt clear thinking.

"Upending deficit narrative of learning loss, combating broken approaches to racial equity, and wading deep into the contested waters of democratic principles of learning within today’s schools, Dr. Skerrett and Dr. Smagorinsky offer an accessible guidebook for making our classrooms sites of justice and joy. Perhaps most importantly, theirs is a book that reveals classroom practices as they really are--the voices of teachers are situated as co-authors in this important journey. I cannot think of a more timely or relevant book for English educators than Teaching Literacy in Troubled Times." — Antero Garcia, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Graduate School of Education, Stanford University Relevant instruction to move education forward instead of "back to normal" Educators often bemoan the so-called learning gap that followed the upheaval to schooling in 2020, but the real learning gap will occur if the watershed events and social shifts of the early 2020s are not integrated into school instruction and learning. For today’s learning to be relevant to today’s students, it must reflect their lives and the true social worlds they inhabit. But how? Teaching Literacy in Troubled Times empowers educators to engage students in critical thinking, literacy activities, and inquiry to investigate the personal and social issues of pressing importance to today’s middle and high school students. Six units of study, each co-authored by a teacher who road-tested the activities in their own classroom, guide teachers through the process of teaching literacy around the topics of identity, social inequity, global justice, empathy, racism and racial literacy, and conflicting ideas of patriotism. This urgent, timely guide to creating a relevant classroom includes: Instructional methods, content knowledge, and learning activities for each unit that engage students in critical inquiry and social action. Insights and guidance from teachers who put the full unit plans in action with students. Reflection questions to help teachers envision the work in their own classrooms. Templates, rubrics, examples of student work, and other tools that help teachers to plan and implement activities that grow students’ capacity to understand and act in society. Prime your students with the critical thinking, investigative, and communicative skills they need to connect themselves to broader social movements and create a new generation of educated changemakers.

There is a shadow that darkens each of our inner and outer lives. In Tarot for Troubled Times, Shaheen Miro and Theresa Reed help us find the light in this darkness. Learning to work with the shadow--facing it directly and leaning into it rather than away--is the key to becoming unstuck so we can change negative patterns into positive ones and find healing and empowerment for ourselves and others. Tarot, as the authors show, offers a rich and subtle path for this profound transformation. In Tarot for Troubled Times, Miro and Reed show readers how to: Work with the archetypes of the Major Arcana to befriend our shadows. Discover--through affirmations, tarot prescriptions, and other healing modalities--how to empower ourselves and find our true voices. Take our newly found powers and speak out so that we can become a helpful ally for the light and begin to do our greater work in the world. Calculate our astrological "birth card" so we can understand the unique wisdom hidden in the personal challenges that confront us.