A Weary World

During the holidays, so many of us can suffer for all kinds of reasons. The magnitude of our weary world weighs on our hearts and minds. We wrestle with chronic pain, broken relationships, shattered dreams, fragile faith, and unexpected losses. Our grief and sorrow feel particularly acute when compared to the festivity and joy everyone else seems to be feeling. More and more churches are acknowledging this fact with "Blue Christmas" services (also called “Longest Night” services) and offering resources to give particular support and comfort to those struggling during the “most wonderful time of the year.” Kathy Escobar has been leading Blue Christmas experiences at her church for nearly a decade and just experienced her bluest season of all following the sudden death of her son. In A Weary World, Escobar provides twenty-eight daily reflections paired with prayers and practices to honor our struggles during the holidays. Weekly resources make this Advent devotional suitable for group study as well.

“The world is broken. I am broken. And my need is dire.” This stark revelation is the path to divine surrender. Our courage has a chance to flourish when we reach a point where we have no control and nothing to lose. In a series of letters, Rebecca Reynolds uses imagery to breathe truth to the lonely, the weary, the restless, and afraid. If you feel the ache of brokenness, you will be refreshed by the source of all courage illuminated in these pages. God is available and wants to join you, in the midst of any mess. You can take heart. As Aslan of Narnia whispered (and only Lucy heard), Courage, dear heart.

Experience the Christmas season anew this year with this 5-session study on Advent, why we celebrate it, and how it fuels our worship of Jesus. Understand the anticipation and waiting the Old Testament world endured. And experience the joy of new life signaled by the coming of Christ, and the way Advent points to the glory of God still to come. First released in 2019, this study is expanded with tools for Scripture memory to help you savor this Advent season. Features: Beautiful, full-color designed pages to ready participants for the Christmas season Personal study segments to complete between 5 weeks of group sessions Weekly activities for adults, teens, and kids Tips to guide discussion within small groups Benefits: Fuel your worship of Christ with a deeper understanding of Advent Grasp God's character and His work on behalf of His people, in the past and present, as a catalyst to a more intimate relationship with Him Learn how to practically extend joy, hope, peace, and love to others during the holiday season

Despite your best efforts, are you feeling weary and overwhelmed this Christmas season? The Weary World Still Rejoices is a devotional for anyone struggling to connect with Jesus this Christmas season. With 25 independent readings and follow-up questions, you can either follow along each day of December, or jump in whatever days you are able. Each reading will take you deeper into the story of Jesus' first coming, while highlighting His future second coming. The questions at the end of each reading will help you examine your own walk with God and encourage you with His grace and love.

More than 16,000 Canadian soldiers suffered from shell shock during the Great War of 1914 to 1918. Despite significant interest from historians, we still know relatively little about how it was experienced, diagnosed, treated, and managed in the frontline trenches in the Canadian and British forces. How did soldiers relate to suffering comrades? Did large numbers of shell shock cases affect the outcome of important battles? Was frontline psychiatric treatment as effective as many experts claimed after the war? Were Canadians treated any differently than other Commonwealth soldiers? A Weary Road is the first comprehensive study to address these important questions. Author Mark Osborne Humphries uses research from Canadian, British, and Australian archives, including hundreds of newly available hospital records and patient medical files, to provide a history of war trauma as it was experienced, treated, and managed by ordinary soldiers.

We live in an age uniquely attentive to the problem of mental illness. More than half of us will be diagnosed with a mental illness or disorder at some point in our lifetime. It has been easy, for centuries, to relegate persistent emotional and mental struggles entirely to the realm of a failed personal work ethic ("Just don't worry so much!"), not enough faith ("Just pray harder!"), or, in recent years, a chemical imbalance in our brains ("Just take this pill!"). Yet, for those of us who live with mental illness, none of these suggestions provides the quick relief it promises, and the continued struggle takes its toll on our already burdened hearts and minds. In All Who Are Weary, Emmy Kegler joins the reader on the long walk of reflection, understanding, and compassion, calling followers of Jesus back to ancient practices of lament, vulnerability, honesty, community, and hope. This book is not a map to a cure, nor a perfectly restorative prayer. Written with a wide community in mind--patients, but also parents and partners, coworkers and friends, pastors and therapists, and the whole church--All Who Are Weary points to the embodied grace known in Jesus, trusting in the promise of a lighter load for all.

O'er All the Weary World is a lively collection of short stories for the Christmas season. These thought-provoking and resonant stories recount moments of enlightenment, incarnation, decision, and revelation--moments to which all human beings, by the grace of God, have access. With one exception, the stories are related to traditional Scripture lessons found in the common lectionary during the season of Advent. Each story may be used for contemplative reading, family storytelling, adult study groups, and in the worship setting.