This lively book for introductory Old Testament classes offers an appealing illustration of how faith and academic study can work together, motivating and equipping Christian believers to turn to the Old Testament as a profound resource for their daily negotiations of faith, identity, and culture. Throughout, Carolyn J. Sharp focuses on the basic fundamentals that are a necessary part of every student's education.

"With this volume, Carolyn Sharp takes her stand as an exceptional `repairer of the breach' that many perceive between biblical scholarship and the life of faith. Her engaging, judicious, and balanced assessment of current issues in biblical scholarship coupled with her reflections about their significance for the church and the world promise to inspire and challenge every reader---lay reader and biblical scholar alike."---Christine Roy Yoder, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia "In this volume, Carolyn Sharp exposes the cultural and theological assumptions of the very act of reading the Bible. She calls on readers to see the different ways that scholars read the biblical text in this postmodern world and to experiment with these different ways to read. Students would be well served to wrestle with this book."---Beth LaNeel Tanner, Assistant Professor of Old Testament, New Brunswick Theological Seminary "This is a smart, brave, and bold book, and here is a teacher and writer whom I trust implicitly."---Brent A. Strawn, Associate Professor of Old Testament, Candler School of Theology, Emory University "This is no ordinary introduction to the Bible or to critical methods. Rather, Sharp engages us in a conversation about what it is to read the Bible in our various social, ecclesial, and ideological locations."---Ellen F. Davis, Amos Ragan Kearns Distinguished Professor of Bible and Practical Theology, Duke Divinity School

On a Tuesday morning, Robert came into my office and said, "After hearing your sermon this week, I've decided to quit my job." Those words scared the bejeebers out of me. He had a wife and two kids, a mortgage, and other bills to pay! I could not think of what hair-brained thing I might have said that brought him to this conclusion. The sermon I had preached on Sunday was not about work, or jobs, or anything else that might lead anyone to decide that they needed to hand in their resignation. I asked him, "Why?" He told me. "You said in your sermon, 'If you had a million dollars, what would you do differently with your life?' Then you said, 'Why are you waiting for the money? If it is the right thing to do, then you go ahead and do it." As soon as you asked that question, the first thing that popped into my mind was, 'I would quit my job.' That made me realize how much I hated my job, and I decided right then and there that I was going to quit as soon as possible." I was relieved that he was not going to just up and quit that day. He had spent Monday developing a plan with his wife, which included finding another job before he quit his current one. However, he was determined to find a different job. I was so scared when Robert told me he was quitting his job; the idea that someone might take what I said so seriously they that would change their life, frightened me. What if I was wrong? What if they acted on what I said, and it turned out to be a terrible mistake? On the other hand, isn't the point of preaching to change lives? Read this book at your own risk; it may change your life!

It's like playing chess with your body--moves and countermoves that outwit and overpower your opponent. Once you learn the basic rules of school-style wrestling, and the strategies for winning matches, you're on your way to being a champion. And, whatever your age, size, or athletic ability, there is a place for you in the sport. It's a matter of getting yourself physically and mentally fit. Find out the right equipment to buy, especially shoes and headgear. Then, practice starting positions, following the instructions and photos of each stance. Add the essential offensive and defensive strategies, including inside step series, level changes, takedowns, and common countermoves. Learn to move and feint to create proper angles of attack, and control your opponent at will. A master plan shows how to set and reach weekly, monthly, and season-long goals. Sidebars feature famous people who got their start in wrestling.

For too long, vocabulary instruction has suffered from inattention and quick fixes. Sometimes thought of as an instructional stepchild, many students are denied the power of a rich vocabulary. When teachers don't fully understand the various components of a robust program, instruction often boils down to copying definitions or memorizing static word meanings. Pouring over research and proven strategies from literacy experts, Aaron Daffern has identified five parts of a powerful vocabulary program: prepare, present, place, process, and play. By utilizing these five components, students will go beyond simple knowledge and will begin to wrestle with words as they integrate new vocabulary into their semantic knowledge systems. The first component, prepare, details how to select the highest impact words and avoid spending instructional time on words that are either obscure or common. Second, presenting new words is more than simply telling students what a word means. Teachers can utilize activating prior knowledge, bases/affixes, context clues, descriptive definitions, example/non-examples, friendly words/synonyms, and even grammar usage to define new terms. The third component, place, provides a variety of methods for students to take new words and tie them into what they already know. The fourth and largest component is process. Both basic and complex tasks should be employed to help students wrestle with new terms and analyze them in a variety of contexts. Finally, students can play with words to extend knowledge and explore shades of meaning. As a teacher, campus principal, and district instructional specialist and curriculum coordinator, Aaron Daffern has been educating students in Texas since 2000. He trains schools and districts around the country in student engagement and vocabulary instruction. Check him out online at AaronDaffern.com.

New York Times bestselling author and six-time WWE champion Chris Jericho shares 20 of his most valuable lessons for achieving your goals and living the life you want. Chris Jericho has known what he wanted out of life since he was a teenager: to be a pro wrestler and to be in a rock 'n' roll band. Most of his high school friends felt that he lacked the tools necessary to get into either, but Chris believed in himself. With the wise words of Master Yoda echoing through his head ("Do or do not. There is no try."), he made it happen. As a result, Chris has spent a lifetime doing instead of merely trying, managing to achieve his dreams while learning dozens of invaluable lessons along the way. No Is a Four-Letter Word distills more than two decades of showbiz wisdom and advice into twenty easy-to-carry chapters, including: Developing a strong work ethic thanks to WWE chairman Vince McMahon, Remembering to always look like a star from Gene Simmons of KISS, Learning to let it go when the America's Funniest Home Videos hosting gig goes to his rival, Adopting a sense of perpetual reinvention from the late David Bowie, Making sure to sell himself like his NHL-legend father Ted Irvine taught him, and Going the extra mile to meet Keith Richards (with an assist from Jimmy Fallon). Now, in the hopes that those same principles might help and inspire his legions of fans, Chris has decided to share them while recounting the fantastic and hilarious stories that led to the birth of these rules. The result is a fun, entertaining, practical, and inspiring book from the man with many scarves but only one drive: to be the best. After reading No Is a Four-Letter Word, you'll discover that you might have what it takes to succeed as well...you just need to get out there and do it. That's what Jericho would do.

Honours the life and career of Professor Allan, commemorating at the same time the occasion of his 70th birthday. Brings together top-level researchers in linguistics who have all been inspired by Allan's work in some way. Offers glimpses into corpus linguistics, cognitive linguistics and cultural linguistics as well as the more traditional descriptive, diachronic and typological perspectives.