There are four ways to revitalize a church, organizationally speaking. The easiest change is policy change. You simply adjust the way you do things. A second strategy is to change personnel. Firing the minister or electing new lay leaders is a common approach. Another change tactic is to create new program structures. Reorganization plans are familiar in institutions of all kinds. Change policy. Change people. Change programs. Each of these approaches has its advocates. But the approach I suggest is the most basic of all--clarify purpose. The fourth way to revitalize a church is to define and act on its fundamental purpose. A new dream awakes a congregation. A poster motto challenges: "Aim for the sun. You may not reach it, but you will fly higher that if you never aimed at all." --from the Foreword

The inspiring story of Isaiah Austin, the man who captured our hearts when he was made the honorary NBA draft pick after a shocking diagnosis ended his professional basketball career before he could even step onto the court. “There are two choices in life: you make it your excuse or you make it your story.” Isaiah Austin’s mother shared these words of wisdom with him as a child as he came to terms with a torn retina taking away the ability to see with his right eye. Faced with adversity at such a young age, Isaiah had to choose—let his disability define him or overcome the challenge and shine. Overcoming that challenge is exactly what Isaiah did as he made a name for himself on Baylor University’s NCAA Division 1 basketball team. Everyone expected Isaiah to have a successful career in the NBA after college, but on June 21, 2014—just five days before the NBA draft—Austin was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder that affects the body’s connective tissue, putting him at risk of rupturing his heart if he continued to play basketball. In seconds, Austin’s hopes for a career in the NBA became impossible. After hearing about Isaiah’s diagnosis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver invited Austin to attend the 2014 draft as his personal guest. The League recognized Isaiah’s courage, resilience, and determination in a bittersweet moment when he was made an Honorary Draft Pick. Rather than letting another challenge destroy his faith, Austin has once again strived to overcome adversity by becoming a spokesperson for The Marfan Foundation, raising awareness and understanding for the disease. Despite the many heartbreaking challenges he has faced, Isaiah’s story is inspirational and full of hope as he encourages everyone to tower in the face of adversity and keep living out your dreams, no matter what life throws your way. *Proceeds from Dream Again will go to the Isaiah Austin Foundation, which provides support for the awareness and research of Marfan syndrome and those affected by it.

There is perhaps no crime more disturbing than the abuse of a child—and no court cases as upsetting as those in which juveniles who have faced abuse are tried for fighting back. In this gripping memoir Sara Kruzan, a survivor of childhood abuse and sex trafficking, tells the honest, disturbing, and ultimately empowering story of her journey from abuse to incarceration without parole for killing her abuser to finally gaining her liberation. "As someone who has worked with trafficking survivors in the developing world, I am struck by how vividly Kruzan’s memoir shows us how easily these same atrocities take place, barely noticed, beneath the sophisticated veneer of life in the U.S. A brilliant and illuminating read."—Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and author of Mighty Be Our Powers Sara is currently an advocate for the rights of incarcerated women and children, and the inspiration behind Sara’s Law, a bill currently in the House of Representative seeking to protect children of abuse from facing life sentences. "I was eleven when I first met GG. I realized later that he had to have been aware of the chaos that was my life because he played me perfectly. I was walking home after school ... I heard a red Mustang purring like a huge lion behind me as I turned onto my block. When it caught up with me, a man leaned out of the window and motioned for me to come closer. 'Hey, excuse me,' he said. I approached the window and politely and cheerfully replied, ‘Yes?’ He said, 'I’ve been noticing you a lot, and I just want to talk to you. I’m gonna go get some ice cream and go to the park. I would love for you to come and join me. We won’t be gone long. Is that okay with you?' Ice cream! I found his offer irresistible. GG leaned over and opened the passenger door, 'What’s your name? People call me GG.' 'Sara,' I said shyly.'"—from I Cried to Dream Again

IT'S TIME TO DREAM AGAIN is a principled-based book meant to help you learn the principles of dreaming again. Sometimes in life we reach a level where we lose our desire for a better life. We decide not to dream again because some things are not going well no matter what we do. This book utilizes time-proven principles to infuse you with a desire to dream again. IT'S TIME TO DREAM AGAIN shows you how the human imagination is at the core of every dream and that proper training and stimulation of your imagination on a daily basis are critical to dreaming and reawakening your dead dreams. Our imagination is often linked to our desires and our desires are the fuel for achieving our dream. Using biblical-based principles and personal life stories, this book helps you to know how to sustain your desires by showing you how to deal with procrastination, which often destroys the intensity of your desire. IT'S TIME TO DREAM AGAIN will enable you to understand your imagination and how to use it to dream again. Understand the relationship between your imagination and your desires and how your imagination controls your desires, and your desires, when intense, control your actions. Know how to deal with procrastination, the silent killer to your desires. Use biblical principles of faith, stamina, and fortitude to help you stay focused until you achieve your dreams.

From the author of the no. 1 bestseller Travelling to Infinity: The True Story Behind The Theory of Everything. In 1930s Greater London, Shirley is a talented ballerina who dreams of becoming a principal dancer at the Sadler's Wells Ballet Company. Yet one summer, on the way back from staying with her grandparents in France, she meets a handsome young man, Alan, for a fleeting moment and her life changes for ever. Finding him becomes an obsession for Shirley, who now longs to fulfil her dreams in the ballet simply so that he might see her name in lights and know where to find her. With the outbreak of the Second World War, and those she loves in danger, Shirley's priority becomes to help in the war effort, but with Alan appearing once more in her life, and the war threatening to part them for a second time, she knows that she cannot cope if she were to lose him again. The second in the Immortal Souls series.

'Hope is about learning to dream - provided one remembers the dream comes not so much out of one's own unconscious, but out of God's. Hope is first learning God's dream, and then living it.' This striking guide to thoughtful Christian living explores the everyday experience of Christian hope and wisdom. In thirty six short and engaging reflections, Sam Wells explores what influences and shapes how we live, love, think, read Scripture, feel and dream. Helping us grapple with cultural forces and contemporary questions, Learning to Dream Again sets out to shape a theological imagination that is grounded in the reality of being human in a suffering world and yet open to transformation by the life and joy of God.

Short and simple: life hurts and it is hard to keep on going sometimes. Author Jeff Chacon shares God's encouragement throughout the entire book. Whether readers have lost a loved one, lost their faith, or whatever the situation, this book will be a healing balm to the reader's soul. Through scriptures, songs, poems, and stories, the reader will be helped to recover the quest that God has placed on their heart.