This book explores the effect that generations of trial and error, individual craftsmanship, and an instinct to carve out the essential with the slenderest of means brought to objects that made life both livable and meaningful to a pre-industrial society.

A comic look at Irish life. The narrator is Finbarr, an orphan raised amid the odor of good whisky and bad cooking. With a mixture of admiration and unease he watches his brother, Manus, turn into a young man of business, successful enough to move to England.

When life is hard, really hard, we often spend all our time pleading, begging, yelling, refusing, and questioning. While none of these things are necessarily unusual, they are missing the ultimate point. When life is hard, when things get ugly, when all hope seems to be lost… that is when we are able to display the superiority of the life lived in God. It is in those moments of despair, when we question what is happening, when we don’t know what to do, when some trials never seem to end, that we can lean most heavily on God’s promises and truths. Working his way through five questions we've all had run through our heads, trusted pastor James MacDonald helps us understand what we should do now. We begin the journey by looking at different types of "trials", figuring out exactly what we're dealing with, and recognizing that God certainly knows. Second, the obvious question: "Why?" God sees us going through trials and we long for two things: for them to be over and to know why they happened in the first place. Next, we need to know what to do with these trials when they come (and they will most certainly come). Fourth, we have all wondered it, can trials be refused? Are God's purposes really being fulfilled in the midst of this trying time? And lastly, God reveals Himself to us through these trials. . . and sometimes, they just don't ever end. Why doesn't this trial go away? God told us to expect trials—don’t be surprised when they come. Grow when they come. Find hope when they come.

When all seems lost, where can you find hope? Katherine and Jay Wolf married right after college and sought adventure far from home in Los Angeles, CA. As they pursued their dreams--she as a model and he as a lawyer--they planted their lives in the city and their church community. Their son, James, came along unexpectedly in the fall of 2007, and just six months later, everything changed in a moment for this young family. On April 21, 2008, as James slept in the other room, Katherine collapsed, suffering a massive brain stem stroke without warning. Miraculously, Jay came home in time and called for help. Katherine was immediately rushed into brain surgery, though her chance of survival was slim. As the sun rose the next morning, the surgeon proclaimed that Katherine had survived the removal of part of her brain, though her future recovery was uncertain. Yet in that moment, there was a spark of hope. Through forty days on life support in the ICU and nearly two years in full-time brain rehab, that small spark of hope was fanned into flame. Hope Heals documents Katherine and Jay's journey as they struggled to regain Katherine's quality of life and as she relearned to talk, eat, and walk. As Katherine returned home with a severely disabled body but a completely renewed purpose, she and Jay committed to celebrating this gift of a second chance by embracing life fully, even though that life looked very different than they could have ever imagined. As you uncover Katherine and Jay's remarkable story, you'll be encouraged to: Find lasting hope in the midst of struggle Embrace the unexpected Welcome God's miracles into your everyday life In the midst of continuing hardships, both in body and mind, Katherine and Jay found what we all long to find: a hope that heals the most broken place--our souls. Let Hope Heals be your guide along the way. Praise for Hope Heals: "As I read this book, tears streamed from my eyes even as joy flooded my heart. Jay and Katherine are a raw yet refreshing testimony to the unshakable trustworthiness of God amidst the unimaginable trials of life. This book reminds all of us where hope can be found in a world where none of us know what the next day holds." --David Platt, author of the New York Times bestseller Radical and president of the International Mission Board "Hope Heals is a beautiful, true story that illustrates the love and protection God has for us even in the darkest times of our lives. Katherine and Jay's dedication to each other and the Lord through their most devastating season is inspiring. This book will help your heart believe that He sees, He knows, He cares, and He is still working miracles today!" --Lysa TerKeurst, New York Times bestselling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

A “wild, hilarious, fast moving, irreverent and comic” novel of growing up in turn-of-the-century Dublin from the acclaimed Irish author (New York Herald Tribune). When Finbarr’s mother dies, he and his older brother Manus are sent to their half-uncle’s house in Dublin. There, he is introduced to school—and the leather strap—at a benevolent Christian Brothers establishment. Evenings are spent listening to his uncle’s whisky-fueled discussions with a Jesuit priest, arguing the finer points of Roman Catholic theology and local politics. Finbarr follows Manus’s enterprising exploits—which include foregoing formal education to concoct money-making cons that prey on the gullible. As his uncle embarks on an ill-fated pilgrimage to Rome (where he is told to go to hell by the Holy Father himself), it remains to be seen if the life lessons Finbarr has absorbed set him on a path to righteousness and gainful employment . . . “A comic Irish novel that derives its effect from an absolutely deadpan approach, for the narrator is a small boy who, for the better part of the time, has only the foggiest notion of what he is describing. Young Finbarr commands a glorious version of the English language combined with a totally impartial view of adult actions. The two things produce remarkable results.” —The Atlantic “The conversation is a delight . . . and the atmosphere of a lower-middle-class family, with its cheerless, shabby, restricted way of life, is well done.” —Library Journal

THE HAPPY BODY HOTLINE: If you have questions or you need support you can ask Jerzy for help. He is available on ZOOM everyday at noon PST. To join his meeting use 4594418282 numbers. Jerzy is happy to help you to become more youthful and create for yourself happier living. SECOND EDITION NOTE:Welcome to the new, updated The Happy Body. This second edition includes new inspiring testimonials and some useful tools, including a Quick Guide summary of The Happy Body experience (page 70), an extensive list of resources (page 280) and an outline to deepen your understanding of how The Happy Body can support you through every decade (page xv). The exercise instruction has been enhanced with greater detail regarding correct execution and the food plan material now includes links to new recipes and simple strategies that streamline your cooking to support your ideal body weight, leanness, and health. We’ve also written many books that offer additional support for those who need it; a list of these resources appears in the back of the book. Finding enough is a constant interaction between doing too much and doing too little. It is a part of any craft and ensures the fastest and safest progress. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Equally important is maintaining trust that you will succeed just like others before you.This book is designed as a manual. Our clients find reading testimonies and highlighting meaningful passages in the book is inspiring—it keeps them motivated and positive. You can use the The Happy Body Self Mastery Workbook or The Happy Body Journal, or any diary to record your daily thoughts, feelings, challenges and solutions. By re-reading what you marked and wrote you will discover how you are changing. Page by page, mark by mark, The Happy Body will gradually find a home in you. And when it settles, you will be a master of your choices. You will know how much is enough—enough food, enough exercise, and enough meditation—for you to become a Happy Body, a body that is strong, flexible, fast, and lean. As we live longer and face more challenges in an ever-changing world, our quality of life is at stake. The strength and immunity of our bodies are correlated. Wellness is built over time by making conscious choices that are hard—resisting packaged products and inflammatory foods, minimizing consumption of animal proteins as we age, choosing strength over endurance training that overtires and injures the body. We have worked with these health topics for over 30 years now and have seen how the hard choices make up an easy life in the long run. Even more so, in the face of adversity.We created The Happy Body Program as a proactive, holistic approach to health and fitness, to thrive in harmony with nature. There is overwhelming gracefulness in living without overconsumption and finding the middle ground of enough.

Practical skills grounded in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to help you bounce back when life knocks you down. Whether it’s the loss of a loved one or a job, the end of a relationship, a pandemic, or a natural disaster—nothing really prepares us for those moments when life hits hard and turns our world upside down. The good news is that you can move forward. There are tools you can use to find your way back from despair and live a fulfilling life. In this candid self-help guide, psychotherapist Russ Harris offers powerful and doable skills grounded in evidence-based ACT to help you recover from grief, loss, and crisis; transcend your pain and suffering; and build a rich and meaningful life—even in the face of adversity. You’ll also find tools to help you deal with painful memories, create your own healing “grief rituals,” and transform difficult emotions into unexpected allies. Finally, you’ll learn how mindfulness and self-compassion can help keep you grounded, even when it seems like your world is in free fall. If you’re ready to start building the resilience needed to heal from loss or thrive in the face adversity, this guide will show you how to get there, one step at a time.