In Stones Will Shout, Helen E. Herr shares poetic anecdotes that demonstrate life's ironies and loveliness in equal measure. "Our children have left home for their careers/I just begin mine," she writes, reminiscing about obtaining a theology degree in her 40s; and, after a beloved foster son's death, she reveals that in the heart of deepest pain "all smile for family photos". Herr also celebrates Saskatchewan's beauty and the gifts nature delivers, ie: crocuses "dress frosty hills/in mauve," and seagulls at Greig Lake "map routes in the sand". This is a writer who not only understands that the "Black-eyed oak refuses/to face the ocean" because it is "ashamed to be a bench/on a beach," but also empathizes with that misplaced tree. The human body becomes wind, tree, moon, bird, water. In their disparate subject matter—and with Herr's ability to press the bruises—the poems in this candid and well-honed collection remind us that where there have been shadows, the light one day returns. How does one survive a life? By naturalizing sorrow, creativity, community, and the self as part of the order of all things animate and inanimate. - Taylor Leedahl, Toronto, ON

Jesus: His Story in Stone is a reflection on still-existing stone objects that Jesus would have known, seen, or even touched. Each of the seventy short chapters is accompanied by a photograph taken on location in Israel. Arranged chronologically, the one-page meditations compose a portrait of Christ as seen through the significant stones in His life, from the cave where He was born to the rock of Calvary. While packed with historical and archaeological detail, the book’s main thrust is devotional, leading the reader both spiritually and physically closer to Jesus.

Abstract theology is overrated, for God can be found in even the most ordinary of things. Jesus used things like a lily, sparrow, and sheep to teach about the kingdom of God. And in the Old Testament, God repeatedly describes himself and his saving work in relation to physical things such as a rock, horn, or eagle. In God of All Things, pastor and author Andrew Wilson invites you to rediscover God in this way, too--through ordinary, everyday things. He explores the idea of a material world and presents a variety of created marvels that reveal the gospel in everyday life and fuel worship and joy in God--marvels like: Dust: the image of God Horns: the salvation of God Donkeys: the peace of God Water: the life of God Viruses: the problem of God Cities: the kingdom of God God of All Things will leave you with a deeper understanding of Scripture, the world you live in, and the God who made it all.

"Believe what you read" are the first words used in the presentation of the Book of the Gospels to a newly ordained deacon by his bishop. In keeping with this spirit, Michael E. Bulson presents this collection of "timeless homilies for deacons." Deacon Bulson always roots the homilies in scripture readings, supplemented by such diverse sources as Kathleen Norris, St. Thomas Aquinas, Anthony de Mello, Karl Rahner, St. Augustine, Henri Nouwen, the movie Schindler's List, and many others. The result is a homiletic resource for deacons that is "ever ancient, ever new" in the words of Augustine-a bishop who had a particular love and admiration for his deacons. Book jacket.