No is not a four-letter word, but it certainly feels like one. It’s one thing to feel God’s love when life goes your way, but what happens to your faith when life doesn’t go as you had planned? When prayers go unanswered and dreams unfulfilled? When the sick stay sick and the dead do not rise? When you’re lost in the desert and the Promised Land seems like empty promise? When God says, “No,” how do you grapple with disappointment? Author Elizabeth Laing Thompson walks alongside readers as she tackles the difficulties that stymie our faith, stifle our prayers, and stunt our relationship with God. When God Says, “No” will help you to discover hope when life feels hopeless, good in what feels bad, and new dreams when old ones have died. This book is a fantastic reminder of Who is in charge—Who He is and how He works. How He loves us and why He limits us. The better we know Him, the more we understand that He says “No” to a few things, so He might say “Yes” to many more.

Gary Gray marries his first girlfriend, a fellow student from Central Florida Christian College who loves Disney World as much as he does. They are 19 years old, God-fearing, and eager to start a family, but a week before their wedding Gary goes into a rest-stop bathroom and lets something happen. God Says No is his testimony -- the story of a young black Christian struggling with desire and belief, with his love for his wife and his appetite for other men, told in a singular, emotional voice. Driven by desperation and religious visions, the path that Gary Gray takes -- from revival meetings to "out" life in Atlanta to a pray-away-the-gay ministry in Memphis, Tennessee -- gives a riveting picture of how a life like his can be lived, and how it can't.

“A memoir … and a book of wisdom.” – Rev. Andy Lambkin “Brenda reminds us to live courageously in the face of adversity.” – Fr. Mark James O.P. What do we do when deep grief invades our lives? How do we negotiate the unwelcomed journey we find ourselves on? What do we do with our unspeakable pain? Even more, what do we do when we have asked God to spare the life of our loved one and he does not give the answer we hope for? In When God Says No, Brenda Smit-James tells the story of her journey with grief following the untimely death of her mother – a journey where she questioned God and his goodness, questioned whether Jesus was worth following, and questioned the relevance of the Christian life. In telling her story, Brenda shows us how grief can be engaged and not merely endured and how we can face the darkness of grief with quiet courage and, in so doing, find a way back into the light again.

When God Says No is a rare gift which grants the reader access into the very soul of a mother as she desperately tries to hold onto faith, while accepting the disabilities of her child, profoundly affected by autism and epilepsy. "He has rescued me from the edge when I was sure I would fall, crashing to a million pieces. I have spent hours in the darkness, sitting and rocking on the floor, fighting for my sanity. Wailing and moaning when too grieved to pray. I have felt the spirit of fear paralyze me. I met the spirit of suicide while driving over a bridge. I have carried the dark cloud of depression and experienced the suffocating breathlessness of anxiety. I have faced death on every level, the death of body, soul and spirit, each time rising again with the resolve to live another day." -Denise Wynn "These raw and naked writings reveal the unquenchable, patient love between a mother and her precious son. Within every page is fresh hope for the most difficult situation, and a gentle wind of grace to lift up the weary and carry one straight into the arms of the One who heals the broken and the hurting." -Nancy J. Grandquist, author and speaker

A job, a true love, a baby, a cure. . . We’re all waiting for something from God. And the place between His answers can feel like a wasteland where dreams—and faith—go to die. When we’re waiting, we wonder, “Why?”, “Why me?”, and “How long?” But the truth? . . . When God says, “Wait,” He doesn’t tell us for how long. When God says, “Wait,” we face one of life’s greatest tests. When God says, “Wait,” we have decisions to make. When God says, “Wait,” we can control only two things: how we wait, and who we become along the way. Author Elizabeth Laing Thompson invites you to walk alongside people of the Bible who had to wait on God. . .imperfect heroes like David, Miriam, Naomi, Sarah, Joseph, and others. Their stories will provide a roadmap for your own story, helping you navigate the painful, lonely territory of waiting, coming out on the other side with your faith, relationships, and sense of humor intact. They might even help you learn to enjoy the ride. This book is about the journey of waiting, the space between answers, and the people we become while we live there.

Join me for an in-depth four week study of the book of Ephesians where we'll break down the truths about our identity in Christ and learn how to live each and every day in light of it. Let's take a deeper look at the foundation of the gospel and how it establishes our identity and empowers us to live the Christian life God called us to.