Over a period of four short years, Jana Alcorn's step-daughter and husband died, as well as three other loved ones. What do you do when your hopes and dreams have mercilessly disappeared? What do you do when life deals you one successive, deadly blow after another? How do you cope when you have to stop and bury your loved ones while hacking your way through a devastating personal wilderness? Hope is the Velcro of faith. Author Jana Alcorn opens her heart and the Scriptures to share that nothing is too difficult for God-hope and dreams can be restored! Life can be beautiful again. You may be facing: Death-yours or a loved one. Financial ruin. Health problems. Family challenges. Unemployment. Finding the God Zone provides hope in the midst of the chaos. Real-life stories of lost expectation and hope restored are combined with biblical principles. The companion Study Guide, Journal, and Scripture Index provide resources that help you delve deeply into life's twists and turns with prayerful reflection enlightening revelation.

William Schafer read, and dreamed, about New Zealand before his first visit in 1995. Mapping the Godzone grew out of that visit and his attempts, as an American, to focus his impressions of New Zealand's literary culture and relate its mental and moral landscape to that of the United States. Through an idiosyncratic selection of contemporary novels and films, Schafer opens up a complex and compelling world. Readers will encounter internationally celebrated writers such as Witi Ihimaera, Fiona Kidman, Ronald Hugh Morrieson, Maurice Shadbolt, Albert Wendt, Alan Duff, Keri Hulme, Patricia Grace, Ian Wedde, and Janet Frame; and the emerging New Zealand film industry and the handful of directors (among them Jane Campion, Peter Jackson, Vincent Ward, and Geoff Murphy) who have created a vital cinema renaissance since the 1970s. Stimulating and highly original in its approach, Mapping the Godzone is an eloquent reflection on a remote island nation.

Can you really disappear without a trace? Phoebe Fraser is an English woman working at a private bank in Tokyo. When she steals $10 million from a client’s account and then disappears, Nick and Mariko Severance are brought in as private investigators, to track her down. It looks like a simple case of greed, until the body of someone close to Phoebe washes up on a beach in Tokyo Bay. Murder becomes linked with theft and Phoebe is the main suspect. One way or another, she has to be found. The search takes Nick halfway around the world to New Zealand, where he unravels a story involving insider dealing, love and betrayal, and ultimate revenge. But he isn’t the only one searching. Certain interested parties also want to find Phoebe and for reasons of their own, silence her forever. It’s really just a question of who gets to her first.

Fr Brian Grogan has written an extraordinary book for ordinary people. In simple, clear language he shows how God is involved in all the details of our lives. "God does not blush easily at our faults," he writes. "In failure or in success, every individual remains uniquely important to God. He waits for us, searches for us, and cares for us; always drawing us to the person of Jesus, who offers himself as our constant companion on our pilgrim way and who helps us to shape our world by making wise decisions."

This is a book about how New Zealanders have been inspired by visions for peace. Focusing on diverse Christian communities, it explores some of the ways that peace has influenced their practices, lifestyles and politics from the Second World War to the present—the period in which New Zealand’s peaceable image and reputation as ‘God’s Own Country’ grew and flourished. New Zealand Christians and others have worked for peace in many different ways, from attention-grabbing protests against nuclear weapons, apartheid and war, to quieter but no less important efforts to improve relationships within their churches, communities and the natural environment. Taken together their stories reveal a multifaceted but deeply influential thread of Christian peacemaking within New Zealand culture. These stories are by turns challenging and inspiring, poignant and amusing, and they continue to reverberate today in a world where peace remains elusive for many.

Visitors to New Zealand are frequently surprised — and puzzled — by local terms and expressions. This concise A–Z dictionary, now updated in a new expanded edition, is a quick and easy reference to understanding the words and phrases that make the New Zealand language and speech patterns so different. Language expert Max Cryer not only provides helpful definitions for the various entries, but also sheds light on their origins. Slang words feature heavily, while a key feature of the book is the large number of Māori words that have become part of the common language over the years. Popular names of sports teams are also included, while an appendix of New Zealand acronyms completes the book. From Rotovegas to the Naki, both Kiwis and visitors to New Zealand will find the lingo of Godzone explained simply and accurately. Never stuffy or academic, Max Cryer brings his expert knowledge and dry wit to a book that is sure to become an essential reference. Sweet as!

Whether you like it or not - there is no other person that has influenced humanity more than Jesus. In his short time on earth, He led a small group of followers that has grown to one third of the world's population following His way. This book is a devotional that focuses on each of Jesus' 50 teachings that you can work through over 50 days or 50 weeks. You'll be surprised by some of the things He said and there'll be others that maybe you'll wish He never said at all. Each devotion will only take a few minutes to read and then has some questions to provide practical application, to help you consider how you follow what Jesus said today.