Turn your church upside-down for Christ!

A ten-year-old girl learns the importance of family and community in this tale of love and hope set during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Armani Curtis can think about only one thing: her tenth birthday. All her friends are coming to her party, her mama is making a big cake, and she has a good feeling about a certain wrapped box. Turning ten is a big deal to Armani. It means she’s older, wiser, more responsible. But when Hurricane Katrina hits the Lower Nines of New Orleans, Armani realizes that being ten means being brave, watching loved ones die, and mustering all her strength to help her family weather the storm. A powerful story of courage and survival, Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere celebrates the miraculous power of hope and love in the face of the unthinkable. Praise for Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere “Lamana goes for and achieves realism here, carefully establishing the characters and setting before describing in brutal detail, beyond what is typical in youth literature, the devastating effects of Katrina—loss of multiple family members, reports of attacks in the Superdome, bodies drifting in the current and less-than-ideal shelter conditions. An honest, bleak account of a national tragedy sure to inspire discussion and research.” —Kirkus Reviews “I recommend the book because I think it does a good job of capturing what life was like in New Orleans both before and after Katrina and because Armani’s journey will give readers a lot to think about and discuss. But parents will want to know that it doesn’t flinch when describing the death and destruction that hit New Orleans during that time and be cautious with younger, sensitive readers.” —Cindy Hudson, author of Book by Book

Reading Upside Down offers a paradigm shift from achievement gaps to opportunity gaps in literacy instruction. Drawing on the author’s rich experiences working one-on-one with challenged readers, this book presents case studies illustrating the complexities of student learning experiences and the unique circumstances that shaped their acquisition of literacy. Wolter explores eight key factors that contribute to reading challenges in developing readers, including school readiness, the use of prescribed phonics-based programs, physical hurdles, unfamiliarity with English, and special education labeling. With a focus on the differences that educators can make for individual students, the text suggests ways to identify and address early opportunity gaps that can impact students throughout their entire educational career. Reading Upside Down will help educators to: Shift from identifying deficit-based achievement gaps among students to addressing opportunity gaps in literacy instruction.Move beyond student labels, categories, or placements to provide true opportunities for children to explore and develop literacy.Take a strength-based view that students are in multiple places of exploration of language and literacies and all children can succeed in becoming readers.Develop a strong sense of ownership and expertise in order to foster inclusion and assure authentic and engaged reading within their classrooms. “The book not only challenges the status quo but offers a rational alternative that would benefit every struggling reader. I hope Reading Upside Down initiates a widespread movement to undo so much of what we have done in the name of ‘helping’ children who struggle with learning to read.” —Richard L. Allington, University of Tennessee “Reading Upside Down is a powerful tool, an eye-opener, a call to arms, and a plan for action. Wolter does a superb job not only identifying and addressing opportunity gaps in literacy instruction but also providing ways to begin fixing them.” —Patricia A. Edwards, Ph.D., professor of teacher education, Michigan State University, and past president, International Literacy Association

No longer can Acts be seen as a simple apologia that articulates Christianity's harmlessness vis-à-vis Rome. Rather, in its attempt to form communities that witness to God's apocalypse, author Kavin Rowe argues that Luke's second volume is a highly charged and theologically sophisticated political document. Luke aims at nothing less than the construction of a new culture - a total pattern of life - that inherently runs counter to the constitutive aspects of Graeco-Roman society.

In Love Your Life: Living Happy, Healthy, and Whole, Victoria Osteen offered practical solutions to achieving what every person desires: balance between relationships, career, social obligations, and self. Sharing personal experiences from her own family, ministry, and business endeavors that helped shape her into the person she is today, Victoria is able to approach life with enthusiasm, grace, humor, and a winning spirit. Now in Daily Readings from Love Your Life, Victoria offers a guide to help you transform your life and love it more! Each reading offers insight, scriptures, stories, and uplifting messages focusing on the eleven themes found in the bestselling book Love Your Life: • Understanding Your Influence • Living with Confidence • Embracing What’s Important • Keeping the Right Perspective • Making the Most of What You Have • Recovering Lost Opportunities • Overcoming Offenses • Enjoying Rich Relationships • Discovering What Others Need • Being a People Builder • Receiving Love Each section consists of readings that elaborate on these themes. As you travel through each day, you will find new and exciting ways to connect with the teachings of Love Your Life. Highlighting key stories from the book and sharing new ones, this devotional also supplies passages and daily thoughts that offer messages of faith, hope, and strength to help you lead the most fulfilling life possible. As co-pastor of Lakewood Church—America’s largest church—Victoria Osteen understands intimately how day-to-day responsibilities can pile up and at times feel overwhelming. As a wife and mother, she sets the tone for her household and acts as a role model for her family. As a minister, she reaches out to an enormous community of people who look to her for guidance, strength, wisdom, and encouragement. She knows as well as anyone that operating in so many different roles can be extremely demanding, yet she has managed to find balance. If you ask her, she’ll tell you that she loves her life and she wants you to love yours too. A life well lived does not come easily; you have to set out for it, look for it, and make it happen. Love Your Life shows how to turn the challenges of each day into opportunities to love and appreciate all that you are.

In addition to his much anticipated most recent book, Become a Better You, Joel Osteen offers this lovingly compiled collection of motivational and inspirational readings to prepare and assist us in becoming the person that God wants each of us to be. It is the perfect complement to Become a Better You. This book will provide enlightening, insightful and inspiring words for all readers. The readings correspond beautifully with the seven values that Joel emphasizes in Become a Better You.

From the works of pastor and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller comes this yearlong devotional with daily readings from his best-loved books. The perfect 365-day devotional for both new and longtime admirers of Timothy Keller's writing, Go Forward in Love features deep insights, profound truths, and biblical wisdom on topics such as prayer, forgiveness, loving our neighbors, the importance of work, and the hope of the resurrection. Each day's reading is short, but will lead you into worship, give you a fresh sense of awe and wonder before God, and help you Go Forward in Love as willing servants of God and everyone around you. A timeless collection of wisdom from one of our generation's most trusted spiritual leaders, this devotional features excerpts from his best-loved books, including The Reason for God, The Prodigal God, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering, The Meaning of Marriage, and more.