Collection: Spirituality & Religion

We live in a world defined by numbers. They are everywhere we go and define much of society. From the number on a scale to the number on a report card to the number of points on a scoreboard to the number of friends that liked a recent social media post to the number of dollars in a bank account to the number of direct reports to the number of years on the planet to the number of years single or married - the list is endless.
As we begin this Bible study, I want to ask, "Are you allowing a number to define you?"
People constantly try to portray success in numbers. Businesses report gains and losses, while churches count offerings and enrollment. I grew up as a preacher's kid and often heard the church approach to numbers called the "nickels-and-noses" mentality. Often, we allow our worst day to become the definition of who we are: the day the divorce was finalized, the day cancer was diagnosed, the day the dreaded birthday arrived, or the day the scale's reflection didn't meet our expectations. A number can help us meet a goal and be a healthy objective or leave us empty and depleted. We are all trying to reach the next number on our list.
Perhaps the most important question is if we are looking and trusting in the numbers that are important to God.
In my life, the pursuit of numbers has been an ongoing battle. The number I have often allowed to define me has been reflected on the scale.
The drive to attain the perfect number also drove me to find comfort in majoring in health and exercise science. I enjoyed this major and sought solace in helping others on their journey. During this time, I taught aerobics, worked in cardiac rehabilitation, and found my place helping others through personal training. But recently, the number that haunts me is the number of days I am here without my mom and dad. My mom died in 2012, followed by my dad in 2014. With each passing year, that number gets larger and the loss greater.
Throughout this book, I will share many raw experiences, and I hope these experiences will help you. Whether you are a teenager looking to find your identity or a post-partum mom dealing with hormone havoc, you will be reminded that your core is found in Christ. I pray you will allow God to work in your heart and life. I pray that you will see yourself anew as loved, chosen, accepted, redeemed, gifted, and appreciated. And I pray that the number you most readily identify with will cease to rule and reign over your thoughts, attitudes, and actions.
The theme verses for this study are Isaiah 43:18-19: "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
So, grab your Bible and get ready to start this journey. And as you begin, hear your heavenly Father say loudly and clearly, "You are more than just a number!"

"The Art of You offers great insights and steps on how to cultivate creativity. This is essential reading for anyone looking to share their unique experience, to foster deep connections, and to inspire others." --Yung Pueblo, #1 New York Times bestselling author

From conscious creativity leader James McCrae comes a guide to reclaim creativity as a sacred path to healing; awaken your sense of wonder, execute your craft, and reclaim the artist within.

Whether an accountant or a writer, you are an artist whether you realize it or not. You create your life in each passing moment. The question is, are you creating with conscious intention or creating by default?

Creativity is our true magic. To be alive is to be in a state of co-creation with the universe. But it also requires courage and commitment--especially in a culture that values conformity and trends above authentic expression. For anyone who has hit a creative wall and wants to reignite their imagination and passion, author and poet James McCrae's The Art of You is a powerful resource to help you access your inner magic and spark your joy in creativity.

Presented in his signature visual style, The Art of You helps you dissolve blockages and turn your imagination into reality. Topics in this book include:

- Creativity is human nature. You don't have to make traditional art. Creative thinking can be applied to every area of your life, from business to relationships to social media content.
- In a world of increasing uncertainty, creativity is more important than ever. The old social norms are rapidly shifting. Creativity helps us navigate the unknown and shape a better future.
- Creativity is an equal balance of yin (being) and yang (doing). This book unlocks the full spectrum of the creative process, from cultivating intuition to launching projects, providing rituals and practices for each stage of the process.
- Expression is healing. It's not only about being good at creativity. It's about creativity being good for you.
- Creativity in the age of social media and AI. Learn how to be an artist in an increasingly digital world.

"Art matters," says McCrae. "Art gives us comfort, opens our minds to new perspectives, and leaves us awestruck. Art is medicine--for ourselves, others, and the world." Here is an indispensable resource to awaken the creative power of your soul--whether you're a writer, painter, dancer, singer, or someone who wants to express your unique truth in work, life, and love.

This book is a collection of 100 Bible verses for spiritual guidance, encouragement, and inspiration. They promote positive thinking and moral values, and can foster a sense of community and belonging.

This is a perfect gift for a Mom, Sister or Grandma who loves to practice faith and combine positivity and puzzles.

• Enhances Vocabulary
• Improving Focus and Concentration
• Promoting Mental Stimulation
• Reducing Stress
• Accessibility

This pocket-size volume contains a wealth of spiritual guidance through daily devotions to the saint or feast of the day. Originally written in 1931 for upper grade school children by a pair of Notre Dame School Sisters, this book was later updated to align with the General Roman Calendar of 1954. Beginning with a brief introduction to the saint of the day, augmented by excerpts from the Imitation of Christ and from the Mass for the day, as well as an ideal to ponder and an "action item", this is a wonderful way to focus on the virtues of each of the saints, and thereby to make our lives an imitation of theirs.

Wendy Cadge and Shelly Rambo demonstrate the urgent need, highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic, to position the long history and practice of chaplaincy within the rapidly changing landscape of American religion and spirituality. This book provides a much-needed road map for training and renewing chaplains across a professional continuum that spans major sectors of American society, including hospitals, prisons, universities, the military, and nursing homes.

Written by a team of multidisciplinary experts and drawing on ongoing research at the Chaplaincy Innovation Lab at Brandeis University, Chaplaincy and Spiritual Care in the Twenty-First Century identifies three central competencies--individual, organizational, and meaning-making--that all chaplains must have, and it provides the resources for building those skills. Featuring profiles of working chaplains, the book positions intersectional issues of religious diversity, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and other markers of identity as central to the future of chaplaincy as a profession.

This Christmas is a very special. You can give a bible coloring book of Color by Number, to anyone you want to give a gift including yourself. Now Check this out for Bible Coloring Books Features.

Coloring Book Features:

• 8.5"x11" Softcover Coloring Book.
• 21 single-solid coloring page to color.
• White pages to make your own background color.
• Very helpful for Stress relief.
• Helping Number to make Color for beginners.
• Perfect Christmas Gift idea.
• Bible Verses prompts.
• Perfect size to easily fit in your purse or backpack.

From the outset, Hynek and Vallee make their position clear: UFOs represent an unknown but real phenomenon. The far-reaching implications take us to the very edge of what we consider known and real in our physical environment. Perhaps, say the authors, UFOs signal the existence of a domain of nature as yet totally unexplored.

In this mind-stretching book, the authors sample UFO reports, including those allegedly involving humanoids, and describe the perceived patterns in the behavior of the phenomenon. They also establish a framework for further study. Where might such study lead? What can be studied, and how? What is the real nature of the UFO phenomenon? Does it originate with the actions of other intelligences in the universe? If so, where and what might they be? Does the UFO phenomenon have a purely physical explanation, or is there a vast, hidden realm that holds the solution?

In this invaluable work, we gain insight into the thinking of Hynek and Vallee's research and investigations into UFOs, including Project Blue Book, the Pascagoula case, and the Betty and Barney Hill experience

Is everything connected? Can we sense what's happening to loved ones thousands of miles away? Why are we sometimes certain of a caller's identity the instant the phone rings? Do intuitive hunches contain information about future events? Is it possible to perceive without the use of the ordinary senses?

Many people believe that such "psychic phenomena" are rare talents or divine gifts. Others don't believe they exist at all. But the latest scientific research shows that these phenomena are both real and widespread, and are an unavoidable consequence of the interconnected, entangled physical reality we live in.

Albert Einstein called entanglement "spooky action at a distance" -- the way two objects remain connected through time and space, without communicating in any conventional way, long after their initial interaction has taken place. Could a similar entanglement of minds explain our apparent psychic abilities? Dean Radin, senior scientist at the Institute of Noetic Sciences, believes it might.

In this illuminating book, Radin shows how we know that psychic phenomena such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and psychokinesis are real, based on scientific evidence from thousands of controlled lab tests. Radin surveys the origins of this research and explores, among many topics, the collective premonitions of 9/11. He reveals the physical reality behind our uncanny telepathic experiences and intuitive hunches, and he debunks the skeptical myths surrounding them. Entangled Minds sets the stage for a rational, scientific understanding of psychic experience.

From NFL player Steve Gleason, a powerful, inspiring memoir of love, heartbreak, resilience, family, and remarkable triumph in the face of ALS

In 2011, three years after leaving the NFL, Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS, a terminal disease that takes away the ability to move, talk, and breathe. Doctors gave him three years to live. He was thirty-three years old. As Steve says, he is now ten years past his expiration date.

His memoir is the chronicle of a remarkable life, one filled with optimism and joy, despite the trauma and pain and despair he has experienced. Writing using eye-tracking technology, Gleason covers his pre-ALS life through the highs and lows of his NFL career with the New Orleans Saints, where he made one of the most memorable plays in Saints history, leading to a victory in the first post-Katrina home game, uplifting the city, making him a hero, and reflected in a nine-foot bronze statue outside the Superdome. Then came his heartbreaking diagnosis. Gleason lost all muscle function, he now uses Stephen Hawking-like technology to communicate, and breathes with the help of a ventilator. This book captures Gleason and his wife Michel's unmatched resilience as they reinvent their lives, refuse to succumb to despair, and face his disease realistically and existentially.

This unsparing portrait argues that a person's true strength does not reside solely in one's body but also in the ability to face unfathomable adversity and still be able to love and treasure life.

Lies with a Straight Face tells the fascinating story of the precipitous rise and fall of the "ex-gay" conversion industry in a manner that is both enlightening and entertaining. This fast-moving, fact-based book is perfect or those who enjoy the marriage of politics, history and current events.

The book features the riveting story of the 1998 Truth in Love ad campaign, where the Religious Right's most prominent organizations joined forces to prove that LGBTQ people could be converted to heterosexuality through prayer and therapy. Their provocative national ad campaign created saturation media coverage, turned "ex-gay" into a household term and sparked innumerable water cooler conversations.

In this book, you'll find out the shocking results of the Truth in Love campaign and learn about what happened to their outspoken "ex-gay" poster boys and girls. Lies with a Straight Face also discusses the contemporary con artists in the "ex-gay" industry and offers tangible ways for today's leaders to fight back.

Lies with a Straight Face is a sequel published on the twenty-year anniversary of Anything But Straight: Unmasking the Scandals and Lies Behind the Ex-Gay Myth. Nominated for two Lambda Literary Awards, Besen's original book documents the history of conversion "cure" programs from the early 20th Century to 2002. His new book discusses what happened from 2003 up to the present day.

"To prevail in our present-day battles, we must learn from our past," said Besen. "Ex-gay conversion programs are a farce that wreck families and destroy lives."

This book covers complete delineations of all the major transits - conjunction, sextile, square, trine and opposition - that occur between transiting Sun, Moon and all planets to each planet in the natal chart and the Ascendant and Midheaven, as well as complete delineations of each planet transiting each house of the natal chart. These 720 lucid delineations are full of insight for both the professional astrologer and the beginner.

How could the Jews comprise less than 1 percent of the world's population yet make up 22 percent of Nobel laureates?

Despite passing through innumerable challenges, the Jews have produced stunningly gifted people in the sciences, humanities, and economics. Through the millennia and around the world, Jewish history is an astounding story of survival against all odds, yet a touching narrative of faith, covenant, and tradition.

This concise yet sweeping history of the Jewish people introduces Judaism, the Torah, and Biblical history, followed by an engaging journey of the Jews through the Greek, Roman, and Muslim empires. It travels through waves of persecution, beginning with the Crusades and coming to a violent head under the Nazi regime. This book dives into the new State of Israel, its struggles to survive, and how it has thrived in recent years. It unpacks the riveting and sometimes tragic stories of Jews who left their mark on history and a people who continue to play an illustrious role on the world stage.

Here's a glimpse of some of the questions this overview covers:

• What spectacular events are celebrated at Pesach (Passover)?
• How did the Jews escape the Babylonian exile?
• Who sacrificed a pig to the god Saturn in Jerusalem's Second Temple?
• How did Muslim rule mostly improve life for Jews in Spain and North Africa?
• What underlying philosophies led to the Nazis' attempt to annihilate the Jewish race?
• How did Israel defeat eight Arab nations in the Six-Day War?
• What led to a lasting peace between Israel and Egypt?

The Only Way to Learn About Relationships, Volume 5, Second Edition is a new publication of the highly popular and best selling "Only Way to Learn About Astrology" six volume series. This book focuses on the relationship needs that are reflected in the natal chart, and instructs how to compare two charts to evaluate compatibility. It includes house activation, interaspects and composite charts. A unique feature traces the impact of early family conditioning (parents and siblings) on later love relationships. Although romantic relationships are the main focus of this volume, the authors delineate business and family relationships as well.

Plants of the Devil examines the history and magic of herbs associated with Satan and his minions, delving into the folklore of ancient Europe and the British Isles. Examined in the book are the diabolical concept of the Wild Adversary and the Devil's Garden, Temptation, plants that harm and curse such as Blackberry, Stinging Nettle, Briar Rose, and Thistle, Poisonous Plants, herbs of evil omen, and herbs for protection, or 'Plants to keep the Dark Prince at bay.' The book will be of great interest to students of the occult, witchcraft, and plant folklore.

இராமன் வாழ்க்கையை வாழலாம், கிருஷ்ணன் பேச்சைக் கேட்கலாம்' என்பாரகள். கம்ப ராமாயணத்தில் சுந்தர காண்டத்துக்கு ஓர் உசத்தியான இடம் உண்டு. நம் வீட்டுப் பெரியவர்கள் 'சுந்தர காண்டம் படி, தொல்லை அகலும்' என்று அறிவுறுத்துவார்கள். சோகத்தைச் சுட்டெரிக்கும் அந்த சுந்தர காண்டத்தை கம்ப ரசம் மாறாமல் எடுத்து நீட்டுகிறார் நூலாசிரியர் பழ. பழநியப்பன். யார் இவர்? கம்பனைத் தெரிந்தவர்களுக்கெல்லாம் இவரையும் தெரியும். 'கம்பர் காவலர்', 'கம்பனடிசூடி' என்று பெரும் கீர்த்தியெல்லாம் பெற்றவர். காரைக்குடி கம்பன் கழகத்தின் செயலாளர். புத்தகத்துக்குள் கம்பக் கற்பகம் கலைமணம் வீசுகிறது... வாருங்கள், உள்ளே நுழையலாம்.. அனுமனின் பேராற்றல் சொற்பொழிவு ஆற்றியவர் பழ. பழனியப்பன் Upanyasam on the greatness of Hanuman, by Pazha. Pazhaniappan

The Seth books are world-renowned for comprising one of the most profound bodies of work ever written on the true nature of reality. In this brand new volume of original material, Seth invites us to look at the world through another lens -- a magical one. Seth reveals the true, magical nature of our deepest levels of being, and explains how we have allowed it to become inhibited by our own beliefs and conventional thinking.

The Magical Approach teaches us how to live our lives spontaneously, creatively, and according to our own natural rhythms. It helps us to discover and tune into our natural, instinctive behavior. By applying the principles in this book, readers will learn to trust their impulses and discover the highest expression of their creativity.

"We are indeed dealing with two entirely different approaches to reality and to solving problems -- methods we will here call the rational method and the magical one. The rational approach works quite well in certain situations, such as mass production of goods, or in certain kinds of scientific measurements -- but all in all the rational method, as it is understood and used, does not work as an overall approach to life, or in the solving of problems that involve subjective rather than objective measurements or calculations. The magical approach has far greater weight, if you use it and allow yourselves to operate in that fashion, for it has the weight of your basic natural orientation."