Discouragement or depression is real and personal. While separate, the two moods have a definite tie between them. The stages of the discouragement lead naturally to the forming of the depression. While discouragement reflects an attitude of dismay and depression reflects darkness of the soul, both begin with the word distraction. Many are concerned with depression to the neglect of discouragement. Yet to deal with depression before discouragement is like "putting the cart before the horse!" For these reasons, the author believes it is essential to deal first with the subject of discouragement. If discouragement is handled God's way, it will go a long way to divert or stop the path to depression. Discouragement and depression have similar causes and solutions. Moreover, there is "one key operative word" connected with both, which is "response." This book provides insights on the kind of response necessary for handling the force of both subjects. Robert A. Hanson has served as pastor of Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth, Massachusetts for thirty-six years. He also served as senior chaplain for Plymouth County Jail and Correctional Facility for twenty-two years. The Church under his ministry has enjoyed the blessing of seeing a number enter the ministry with ten serving as Pastors. Robert received his education at Providence Barrington Bible College, Talbot Theological Seminary, Los Angeles Theological Seminary, and The Graduate School of Theology in California. Beyond pastoring four churches in New England and California, he has taught in both college and seminary. His travels have taken him to many parts of the world including India as part of an extension-teaching ministry. Robert and his wife Barbara conduct "Straight to the Heart" and "Road to Renewal" conferences in various churches. The Hansons have five children and seventeen grandchildren.

Contemporary culture is soulless. A dead concept to contemporary thinkers, "Soul" has been displaced by philosophical and scientific abstracts. Yet, argues Joseph Grange in this timely and thought-provoking book, without Soul we are left defenseless against the negative constructs of our culture; neither matter nor mind, nor brain, nor consciousness has the power to restore the quickness of our existence. Indeed, without Soul, ethics, particularly honesty, easily turns into its opposites: spin, sophistry, artful deception. Providing a speculative, systematic cosmology based on the methodology developed by Alfred North Whitehead and referencing a variety of philosophers, Western and Eastern, classic and contemporary, Grange offers an understanding of Soul as expression. Grange lays out the basic characteristics of Soul as transformative, social, and conscious power and goes on to discuss the possibility of mystical reason and experience. Actual steps to reconstruct Soul, including meditation, are offered. Spinoza's Ethics, Vipassana meditation, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy are shown to have particular resources for soul transformation. This volume concludes Grange's trilogy of cosmologies. Nature: An Environmental Cosmology and The City: An Urban Cosmology discussed the natural environment and the cultural environment. The Soul complements these with an account of the spiritual environment.

For how long should Africa continue to be associated with hunger, poverty, desperation, corruption, and mediocrity? For how long will Africa’s natural endowments continue to be viewed as a curse instead of a blessing? When are our children going to put on new clothes instead of relying on second-hand clothes? When are we going to stop seeking handouts from other nations as if they owe us a living? Have we voluntarily agreed to be a laughing stock for the whole world? Have we and our unborn accepted to be labelled ‘third world’ forever? It is time for African leaders to deliver their populace to the Promised Land through diligence and hard work. Africa needs to rise above the borders and boundaries, which were constructed by the Berlin Conference of 1884, and create a new society which is grounded in its rich cultural soils. It is time we start showcasing to the world our rich cultural heritage. We need to innovate our products and services along with our cultural dexterity. The author proposes a set of solutions to these deep-seated and systemic problems. These solutions are rooted in the concept of Uhumwe, or ‘togetherness’, which he believes will provide both a strength of belief, and a concept which can help African business leaders, innovators, politicians, and others in realising the dream of prosperity for Africa.

Christian faith is about more than belief and practices—it is also about the kind of people we become. This Good and Beautiful Series book addresses the toxic self-narratives that hinder spiritual growth, reminding us how Scripture reveals the beauty of our own souls and serving as a companion as you discover who you truly are in Christ.