A sympathetic, compassionate, and inspiring guide for parents—from the founders of one of the first Christian ministries for parents of LGBTQ children. Greg and Lynn McDonald had never interacted with members of the LGBTQ community until they discovered that their son was gay. Without resources or support, they had no idea how to come to terms with this discovery. At first they tried to “fix” him, to no avail. But even in the earliest days of their journey, the McDonalds clung to two absolutes: they would love God, and they would love their son. “An essential resource for Christian parents of LGBTQ kids,” (Matthew Vines, Executive Director of The Reformation Project) this book follows the McDonald family’s journey over the next twenty years, from a place of grief to a place of gratitude and acceptance that led the McDonalds to start one of the first Christian ministries for parents of LGBTQ children. Based on their experience from counseling and coaching hundreds of struggling Christian parents, they offer tools for understanding your own emotional patterns and spiritual challenges. They also help you experience a deeper relationship with God while handling difficult or unexpected situations that are out of your control. You will discover tested principles, patterns, and spiritual lessons that can change the way we all see our families, and help Christians at large think through Christ-like ways to respond to the LGBTQ community. Written in an unvarnished, honest, reassuring, and relatable voice, this is a practical guide for parents and a roadmap to learning to love God, the people He created, and the church, even when they seem to be at odds.

We fill our social media profiles with positivity. In showing pictures of our smiling families in beautiful settings we attempt to prove that everything is perfect. However, lives are not that simple, or always filled with happiness, despite how users might portray it. Sometimes, this pervasive fakeness can leave us numb. When someone - especially a public figure - passes away, it can become difficult to cope with the loss. Realness in times of grief - focusing on both the positive and negatives in a healing journey - provides a refreshing perspective.This book tells the aftermath of the passing away of Mark Hoverson, Shannon Hoverson's husband of over fifteen years. Shannon communicates an honest insight into the hardship, confusion, and uplifting moments that come with a loss. Through anecdotes, metaphors, and humor, Shannon gets real while showing the ups and downs of her life as a newly single parent and business owner. The memoir focuses on the different stages of healing with a loss, from moving on, to helping others throughout the process.

Robert F. Garrison, DMD, PA has more than 30 years of experience as an orthodontist. He works diligently to help patients achieve beautiful and healthy smiles through braces and a wide array of orthodontic treatments.A lifelong South Carolina resident, Dr. Garrison takes after his father who was a general dentist in Columbia, SC. Once he was old enough to choose his profession, he knew that he would be going into dentistry and ultimately decided that orthodontics was where he belonged. Starting his career in the Columbia and Lexington areas, he owned a successful orthodontic practice in Lexington for decades, where he put braces on more than 10,000 patients, including the daughter of former Governor of South Carolina and former United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley.In 2016, Dr. Garrison sold his orthodontic practice in Lexington with the idea of retiring in Bluffton. However, it didn't take him long to realize that starting a new orthodontic practice made sense in so many ways. (Our passion never leaves us!) With his new practice well underway, Bluffton Orthodontics, Dr. Garrison is bringing his many years of experience and passion for orthodontics to the Lowcountry - creating a unique atmosphere that not only provides patients and families the highest quality of experienced orthodontic care and outstanding results, but offers a fun environment and stress-free journey to a beautiful smile.A graduate of the University of South Carolina with a BS in Biology, he earned his Doctor of Medical Dentistry degree at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston and his degree in orthodontics from the Medical College of Georgia.Aside from Dr. Garrison's amazing credentials, he is a member of the Southern Association of Orthodontists, American Association of Orthodontists, American Dental Association, SCAO (South Carolina Association of Orthodontics), and the South Carolina Dental Association. He offers a complimentary consultation and he and his team go above and beyond to cater to every individual need.

This is a first-person poetic narrative by a successful middle-aged man, concerning a long spiritual journey. It began when he was twenty-seven, just getting traction with his engineering career, and was awakened from his ego-unconsciousness by mystical experiences that inspired him to scribble out reams of poetryand meet his Muse. Subsequent career demands induced him to deny the mystical experiences, quit writing poetry, and fall back asleep. For two decades he was comfortable in that sleep, but during the third, the emptiness of his successful, ego-life and bouts of depression induced him to wake up enough for him to realize there was something fundamentally wrong with it. After many hours of depression and deep thinking about his life, he realized that he had to regain the sense of meaningful wholeness he had felt when in those mystical states and writing poetry. This allegorical poem is his attempt to describe that struggle to wake up out of his long ego-sleep, regain his mystical wholeness, and through the act of writing this poem, make peace with his betrayed Muse and explicate what he learned during the process.

"The Father's Embrace: Journey of Love and Legacy," compiled by Samyak Umag, is a touching anthology featuring the heartfelt expressions of 30 diverse authors sharing their profound emotions about their fathers. Each narrative paints a unique portrait of the father-child relationship, exploring the intricacies of love, lessons learned, and the enduring legacy passed down through generations. Through a mosaic of voices and experiences, the anthology serves as a collective tribute to the universal and timeless bond between fathers and their children. The compilation captures the essence of familial connections, offering readers a mosaic of emotions and insights into the profound impact of paternal love and guidance.