Personal Growth

Discover the power of (finally) getting unstuck, claiming your clarity, and becoming the person whose life you want to live--all through a simple self-care practice you can build into your daily routine. For anyone who's trying to make sense of their life, who wants to get unstuck from the patterns that hold them back, hear this incredible news: everything you need for the freedom you want is entirely within reach. This practice and pathway is free, it's readily available every day of your life, it takes just minutes of your time, and anyone can do it. Author, writing coach, and speaker Allison Fallon's life transformed when she discovered the power of a daily writing practice. As it turns out, using your words is one of the most powerful means you have for unlocking your life. The Power of Writing It Down is your guide to this transformative tool available to us all. In as little as five to twenty minutes a day, scientific research shows this daily practice can help you: - Identify your ruts and create new neurological grooves toward better habits - Find fresh motivation and take ownership of your life - Heal from past pain and trauma - Relieve anxiety and depression - Contextualize life's setbacks and minor frustrations - Live a more confident, balanced, and healthy life - …and so much more Drawing from years of coaching hundreds through the writing process--from first-timers to New York Times bestselling authors--Allison shares tried and tested practices for getting started, staying inspired, and using this simple habit to shift how you feel and show up to your life. Pen and paper is simply the method, but the reward is the real magic: new depths of self-discovery, creativity, and intentionality for living.

Racism is pervasive in today's world, and many are complicit in the failure to confront its evils. Jemar Tisby, author of the award-winning The Color of Compromise, believes we need to move beyond mere discussions about racism and begin equipping people with the practical tools to fight against it. How to Fight Racism is a handbook for pursuing racial justice with hands-on suggestions bolstered by real-world examples of change. Tisby offers an array of actionable items to confront racism in our relationships and in everyday life through a simple framework--the A.R.C. Of Racial Justice--that helps listeners consistently interrogate their own actions and maintain a consistent posture of anti-racist action. This book is for anyone who believes it is time to stop compromising with racism and courageously confront it. Tisby roots the ultimate solution to racism in the Christian faith as we embrace the implications of what Jesus taught his followers. Beginning in the church, he provides an opportunity to be part of the solution and suggests that the application of these principles can offer us hope that will transform our nation and the world. Tisby encourages us to reject passivity and become active participants in the struggle for human dignity across racial and ethnic lines. Listeners of the book will come away with a clear model for how to think about race in productive ways and a compelling call to dismantle a social hierarchy long stratified by skin color.

Tired of finding yourself flat-footed and intimidated in conversations? Want to increase your confidence and skill in discussions with family, friends, and coworkers? Gregory Koukl offers practical strategies to help you stay in the driver’s seat as you maneuver comfortably and graciously in any conversation about your Christian convictions.

An encouraging and thought-provoking book, winner of the Silver Medallion Book Award, that gives ten ideas about how a father can make the biggest, most lasting, and most important contributions to his children’s lives.

Includes an audiobook-exclusive interview with Darryl! For anyone ready to move their life forward, from tragedy, personal failure, unfair circumstances, or just a sense of being stuck, baseball legend and bestselling author Darryl Strawberry offers transformational practices and the tangible hope that you can enjoy a future filled with power, purpose, and freedom. Darryl Strawberry has seen it all--the highs and lows of an intense career as a Major League Baseball all-star, drug addiction, marriage challenges, prison time, and battles with cancer. With honesty and transparency, Strawberry shares the same foundational principles that transformed his life from the inside out--the power of prayer, cultivating healthy friendships, weathering trials without losing heart, refreshing the way you think, and letting God change your life for good. Ultimately, he'll help you discover and trust the redemptive process of making small, daily decisions to follow God into a life of faith, health, and freedom. Strawberry weaves compelling stories from his own life with those of others he met through his speaking and ministry work across the nation. These uplifting testimonies will inspire you with the reminder that God's power can renew any life, no matter what has happened. With scriptural insights and real-life examples, Strawberry celebrates the miracles God works in us for healing, cleansing, and new beginnings. Strawberry's life story is proof that you can overcome life's adversities one decision, one step at a time. It's time to turn your season around.

Our decisions determine our lives. Invest in a company that goes bankrupt and you lose your life savings. Say the wrong thing in an interview and you miss the job of the lifetime. Make no decisions and you miss every opportunity. In today's rapidly changing world, the cost of poor decisions (and no decisions) is higher than ever. In How to Make Good Decisions Wisely, author and scholar Alan Ehler lays out a clear approach to making big decisions based on the Bible and recent discoveries in neuroscience and decision science. He presents a simple, four-step process that can be followed to make any kind of decision, whether personal, professional, or relational. Making big decisions can rewrite lives, careers, families, churches, and businesses. A lot is at stake. Learn how to choose well. Accompanying charts are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Many evangelical churches face the problem of the open 'back door'--even as new people arrive, older members are leaving, looking for something else. Combined with this problem is the discipleship deficit, the difficult truth that most evangelicals are not reaching the unchurched at the rates they think they are. In fact, many of the metrics that we often 'count' in the church to highlight success really don't tell us the full story of a church's spiritual state. Things like attendance, decisions, dollars, and experiences can tell us something about a church, but not everything. To cultivate a spiritually healthy church we need a shift in our metrics--a 'grace-shift' that prioritizes the work of God in the lives of people over numbers and dollars. Are people growing in their esteem for Jesus? Is there a dogged devotion to the Bible as the ultimate authority for life? Is there a growing interest in theology and doctrine? A discernible spirit of repentance? And perhaps most importantly, is there evident love for God and for our neighbors in the congregation? Leading a church culture to shift from numerical success to the metrics of grace can be costly, but leaders who have conviction, courage, and commitment can lead while avoiding some of the landmines that often destroy churches. Wilson includes diagnostic questions that will help leaders measure--and lead team transparency in measuring as a group--the relative spiritual health of their church, as well as a practical prescriptive plan for implementing this metric-measuring strategy without becoming legalistic. Most attractional church models can lean heavily on making changes to the weekend worship gatherings. And while some of these changes can be good, thriving grace-focused churches are driven by a commitment to the gospel, allowing the gospel to inform and shape the worship service and the various ministries of the church. Charts, appendices, and further resources available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Do you ever just want someone to help you figure life out - to tell you how to win at work, what guys to stay away from, and what jeans rock your body shape? With so much information at your fingertips, real success, good dates, and true friendships can still feel out of reach. Bianca Juarez Olthoff is your guide (minus the cargo shorts and tacky hat) to becoming today who you aspire to be tomorrow. Packed with lessons Bianca learned from her own mistakes and heartache, this field guide will help you avoid unnecessary detours on the path to your best self. With her signature wit, engaging stories, and brilliant insights from a counselor friend, Bianca gives spot-on advice for adulting, career, relationships, and faith. Following the biblical story of Ruth and Naomi, Bianca's humorous and honest anecdotes will empower you to create a successful life and discover all you can be. This curated manual for the modern woman will help you: Connect with a mentor, let go of bad friendships, and find a relationship worth keeping Trust the goodness of God even in loss, betrayal, and unanswered questionsTake initiative, do hard things, and achieve meaningful success Fall in love with God's Word and see the Bible come alive The perfect cocktail of sass and down-to-earth guidance, How to Have Your Life Not Suck is just the audiobook you need to navigate your way to the life you want to live. More than that, Bianca will show you that though life is tough, you are too.

In his best-selling book Halftime, Bob Buford showed us that we aren't experiencing a midlife crisis that's winding us down to our retirement years, but a break in the game that can prepare us for the most exciting half of life.

Patrick Morley helps men and women move successfully through midlife transition -- Today, midlife is not so much an “age” as an “experience.” It is the time we each come to, that moment of self-assessment, when we wonder if we have taken the right path. Sometime in our 30s, 40s, or 50s, the dreams that haven’t materialized for us, the goals we haven’t achieved, loom before us — and we recognize they may never happen. We stand at a crossroads and ask, “Who have I become? How did I get here? Is this who I really am and want to be? How can I reinvent myself so the rest of my journey matters?” In Second Wind for the Second Half, Patrick Morley offers insight for men and women alike. Here is wisdom for all who have reached a turning point midway through life and wonder where to go to find a new and better journey. Raising issues common to all of us during the middle years, Second Wind for the Second Half offers practical ideas to make peace with the changes that occur, and shows readers how to pass through to a deeper, lasting sense of significance and joy. When life loses its zip and what was meaningful suddenly seems meaningless, it can become a golden opportunity to examine our assumptions about our own lives. Second Wind for the Second Half shows how this process of reevaluation and reinvention of ourselves can spur us on to find new and promising pathways for a more fulfilling, joyous life.

Even the least technical among us are being pressed from all sides by advances in digital technology. We rely upon computers, cell phones, and the Internet for communication, commerce, and entertainment. Yet even though we live in this “instant message” culture, many of us feel disconnected, and we question if all this technology is really good for our souls.

It is true that opposites attract--for a while. But often as the years go by in our marriages, opposites may also begin to attack. The habits and characteristics we once found endearing about our significant other are the exact things that drive us crazy years later! Whether you and your spouse disagree about finances, parenting, or how to load the dishwasher, your differences don't need to divide you. They can actually bring you closer together--and closer to God. In Keep Showing Up, Karen Ehman shows you… How to play to each other's strengths as you work on your own weaknesses The difference between having a soul mate and having a sole mate How to become a faithful forgiver who also forgets Strategies for avoiding the social media comparison trap Why it's dangerous to mimic a friend's marriage How to unearth the magic in the mundane Why a spouse who drives you crazy can drive you straight to Jesus Throughout Keep Showing Up, Karen includes ideas to implement in your marriage right now, such as powerful statements to speak to your spouse, date-night-on-a-shoestring suggestions, and discussion starters. Discover how your 'incompatibility' can become the strength of your marital team in this real-life guide to both living with and loving your spouse--differences and all. Bible verses to encourage your marriage, printable reminder quotes, and questions to discuss with your spouse are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

Each of the 52 devotions in More Power to You by Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg examines a popular lie in our culture, helps us understand how that lie shows itself in our lives, and invites us to replace that lie with a biblical affirmation of truth that will bring joy to your soul. In a culture that constantly tells us we're not good enough, not beautiful enough, and not doing enough, it's easy to feel as if we have nothing to offer. Lies about who we are and how we are failing slip into our thinking until we believe they are reality. But that's not what God intends for us. In More Power to You, Margaret Feinberg exposes these false beliefs and shows you that the places of your deepest hurts can become wellsprings of your greatest healing. Here Margaret shares the daily practice that has been so life changing for her: the 90-Second Daily Declaration Challenge. You'll launch into each day by reading the Daily Declaration aloud, paying attention to what the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you. Then you'll read through the weekly devotions that examine each line of the Daily Declaration, exploring the what and the why behind those biblical truths. These brief but powerful devotions are designed to unleash the true you--and remind you of who you really are. More Power to You equips you to embrace your true identity every day. You'll find power in knowing you are already worthy in God's eyes. As you begin to live out that truth, you will break free from the negative thoughts that hold you hostage and experience the joyous life God wants for you.

You’ve heard it all before. The promises for a better life get tiresome after awhile, because you know they don’t deliver. However, they do touch on a profound and inescapable truth. You were created to live your life out of a rewarding, richly textured relationship with God and others—and deep down, you long to experience that kind of life. But how?