Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Troubling questions—so troubling that many have lost their faith because of them. Others only whisper the questions to themselves, fearing or being taught that they might lose their faith and their church if they ask them out loud. But what if these questions trouble us for good reason? What if the story of heaven and hell we have been taught is not, in fact, what the Bible teaches? What if what Jesus meant by heaven, hell, and salvation are very different from how we have come to understand them? What if it is God who wants us to face these questions? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance. The result is the discovery that the "good news" is much, much better than we ever imagined. Love wins.

Dazzling, enchanting and epic, The Bells is the confession of a thief, kidnapper and unlikely lover — a boy with the voice of an angel whose exquisite sense of hearing becomes both his life's tragic curse and its greatest blessing. Moses Froben was born in a belfry high in the Swiss Alps, the bastard son of a deaf-mute woman banished to the church tower to ring each day the Loudest and Most Beautiful Bells in the land. His life is simple but he is content, until the day his father recognizes Moses's singular sense of hearing and its power to expose his sins. Cast into the world with only his ears to protect and guide him, Moses finds refuge in the choir of the great Abbey of St. Gall and becomes its star singer, only to endure the horrifying act of castration meant to preserve his angelic voice and turn him into a musico. In a letter to his son, Moses recounts his humble birth in eighteenth-century Switzerland and his life as a novice monk, and tells of the two noble friends — and a forbidden lover — whom he cherished during his chaotic years in Mozart's Vienna as apprentice to the great Gaetano Guadagni, and even as he ascended Europe's most celebrated stages as Lo Svizzero. But in this letter he will also reveal the astonishing secrets of his past and answer the question that has shadowed his fame: how did Moses Froben, world-renowned musico, come to raise a son who by all rights he could never have sired?

Presents an illustrated version of the Christmas song with a girl, a boy, their pony, and their dog journeying to their Grandma's house.

A body in a bureau sends the Scotland Yard detective on a vexing investigation in this “absorbing and stylishly crafty” mystery (Kirkus Reviews, starred review). When a dismembered corpse is found in the compartments of an antique writing bureau, Marshall Trueblood, recipient of the precious piece of furniture, is the first to protest: “I bought the desk, not the body, send it back.” But the dead body of Simon Lean presents more pressing concerns. Who, for example, would want to kill the greedy nephew of the wealthy Lady Summerston? Leave it to Superintendent Richard Jury of Scotland Yard to suggest a connection to the murder of brassy Limehouse lady named Sadie Driver, found dead near Wapping Old Stairs . . . if that stone-cold body on the slipway is really Sadie. Not even her brother, Tommy, on a visit from Gravesend, can swear to it.

Bells have played a prominent role in our society since the earliest of civilizations, yet few realize the scope of objects encompassed by this broad heading. While all bells share certain qualities--like the ability to produce sound--they vary amazingly in terms of size, shape, style, and material. A flat round Chinese gong is as much a bell as the graceful figurine hiding a swinging clapper beneath her skirt or a strap of round metal "sleigh bells" from the nineteenth century. Featuring over 620 beautiful color photos, this absorbing and entertaining book showcases the wonderful diversity of collectible bells, from animal bells, call bells, and rattles to commemoratives, figurals, miniatures, and holiday bells. Here you will find bells made of different materials, bells with more than one purpose, bells with common motifs, and much more. Both antique and modern, well-known to unique, one of these bells is sure to grab your fancy! Values, an index, and a bibliography are all included.

A bell makes a ringing sound to send a message. People use bells to tell them the time or to give a warning. Some bells look like the one on the cover. Others look more like this doorbell. Do you use a bell? Reading Level 9/F&P Level F