The writing of this book did not start out as a plan to write a book. Many little things and circumstances all contributed to one day starting to write down each day's thoughts of my heart on a piece of paper carried in my pocket, the collection of which has now become the book: Love, Life, and Hope.

As much a tribute to Angela Martini's beloved mother as it is a personal memoir, Love. Hope. Light. is a multigenerational story of tenacity and the resilient power of love and family to overcome adversity. "My mother’s name is Nexhmije Ibrahimi Nussbaumer, and I am a living testament to her philosophies. Chief among them is her belief that nothing is finished until there is a happy ending—until you reach the light.” As a young girl growing up in Albania, Angela is insulated from the poverty and rising political tensions in her homeland by her mother’s loving, protective presence. But when Angela is nine years old, a series of events is set in motion that will forever change the course of her life—as well as her mother’s. Fearing for her daughter’s safety, Angela’s mother, Nexhi, makes the heartrending decision to send Angela to live with her father in Switzerland, where he had fled a few years earlier once Communism began to collapse. With her characteristic determination and courage, Nexhi overcomes many obstacles to finally reunite with Angela—months later and under much different circumstances than either could have imagined. Her life’s path is changed yet again when she decides to take German-language classes to help her integrate into Swiss culture. A natural and brilliant teacher, Nexhi then uses her hard-won knowledge to help other displaced women learn the language, in turn bolstering their confidence and emboldening them to start over and make new lives for themselves and their families. Reflecting on the lessons of her childhood and the wonderful example set before her, Angela is inspired by her mother’s efforts to bridge the divide between cultures, a lifetime of work that will have a lasting legacy, and by her abiding belief in love despite being married three times—twice to the same man! As much a tribute to the author’s beloved mother as it is a personal memoir, Love. Hope. Light. is a multigenerational story of tenacity and the resilient power of love and family to overcome adversity. “My mother’s life experiences have shown me that I must not cower before the unknown. Being fearless means seizing opportunities wherever they exist. Being fearless means never allowing people or circumstances to get in the way of your goals. Being fearless means loving like you’ve never been hurt before. Being fearless means forging a path through darkness to arrive at the light.”

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 Faith, hope, and love—we hear a lot about each on their own, but how are they related? Why is this triad mentioned so often in the New Testament? Written in the form of fifty-eight questions and answers, this book reveals how these three theological virtues—also referred to as "three divine sisters"—together serve as the foundation for our whole Christian life. Deeply scriptural, steeped in key theological texts, and modeled after the classic catechisms of church history, this book will instruct our minds, stir our hearts, and motivate us to faith-filled obedience.

you handed me all your broken pieces but darling, how do i fix you if you don't believe in love, hope and magic?

Faith, hope, and love, traditionally called theological virtues, are central to Christianity. This book renews faith, hope, and love in the context of the many contemporary challenges in many unique ways. It is an ecumenical collection of papers, equally divided between Catholic and Protestant positions, that seek to radically renew the classical doctrine of faith, hope, and love, and argues for their essential connection to the praxis of justice. It contains eight different approaches, each represented by a distinguished theologian and addressing different aspects of the issues and followed by insightful and critical responses. It does not merely seek to renew the theological virtues but to also reconstruct them in the demanding context of justice and the contemporary world, nor is it simply a treatise on justice but a theoretical and practical reflection on justice as vital expressions of faith in God, hope in God, and love of God. A non-dogmatic and non-ideological approach, it accommodates both conservative and liberal positions, and avoids the separation of the theological virtues from the demands of the contemporary world as well as the separation of justice talk from the theological context of faith, hope, and love. It seeks above all to renew, not merely repeat, the classical doctrine of faith, hope, and love in the contemporary context of the urgency of justice, and to do so ecumenically, comprehensively, and from a variety of perspectives and aspects.

On a rainy August night, two female bodies are found on the side of the road. An unplanned night of underage drinking leads to a single car crash that has life-changing consequences. The driver, Melissa Ann, is left paralyzed from the neck down, forced to face life at 18 in a new body she wasn't prepared for. After a series of destructive decisions as a teenager, Hope, Love, and Me, walks through the next decade of a young woman's struggle for a new life, highlighting her humor and tenacity. Hope, Love, and Me is the story of a fight for redemption as Melissa Ann struggles to maintain her worth and identity in a physically driven world. Left in a culture focused on comparison, she is left to fight the hopelessness the world offers her. Behind every face is a powerful story, and nothing is ever quite as it seems.

Love, Hugs, Hope: When Scary Things Happen focuses on how children can cope with significant and traumatic events in their lives. The book explains that sometimes bad things happen and good people are hurt. Children feel fear, sadness, and anger. They become confused and struggle with their feelings. The book teaches that there are ways of dealing with these emotions and helps children reaffirm fundamental truths about the world. In the wake of the tragic killings in Newtown, Connecticut on December 14, 2012, family therapist Christy Monson penned her thoughts on how the surviving children could manage emotionally through such a horrific event. Lori Nawyn, an artist and abuse survivor, illustrated the work to help children visually connect with their emotions and help them know what to do with these powerful feelings. Their collaboration, Love, Hugs, Hope: When Scary Things Happen is one of love and light and is meant to help children everywhere begin the process of healing.