Abide In Me

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize–winning, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Olive Kitteridge comes a “superb” (O: The Oprah Magazine) novel that “confirms Strout as the possessor of an irresistibly companionable, peculiarly American voice.” (The Atlantic Monthly) In the late 1950s, in a small New England town, Reverend Tyler Caskey has suffered a terrible loss and finds it hard to be the person he once was. He struggles to find the right words in his sermons and in his conversations with those facing crises of their own, and to bring his five-year-old daughter, Katherine, out of the silence she has observed in the wake of the family’s tragedy. Tyler’s usually patient and kind congregation now questions his leadership and propriety, and accusations are born out of anger and gossip. Then, in Tyler’s darkest hour, a startling discovery will test his parish’s humanity—and his own will to endure the trials that sooner or later test us all. Praise for Abide With Me “Strout’s greatly anticipated second novel . . . is an answered prayer.”—Vanity Fair “Deeply moving . . . In one beautiful page after another, Strout captures the mysterious combinations of hope and sorrow. She sees all these wounded people with heartbreaking clarity, but she has managed to write a story that cradles them in understanding and that, somehow, seems like a foretaste of salvation.”—The Washington Post “Graceful and moving . . . The pacing of Strout’s deeply felt fiction about the distance between parents and children gives her work an addictive quality.”—People (four stars)

The MacArthur Study Bible is perfect for serious study. No other study Bible does such a thorough job of explaining the historical context, unfolding the meaning of the text, and making it practical for your life.

In this novel inspired by Wuthering Heights, a small town bad boy forged by the fires of Afghanistan returns home, still burning with a romantic obsession nothing can quench. A small-town bad boy, forged into a man in the fires of Afghanistan, returns home, still burning with a romantic obsession nothing can quench. As the fog lifts one morning, a lone soldier is walking home. Who is he? The sleepy, gossipy town of Hoosick Bridge, Vermont, has forgotten him, but it will soon remember. He is Roy Murphy, returning to face his violent, complicated reputation. Returning to Emma Herrick, descendant of Hoosick Bridge’s first family, who occupies its grandest, now decaying, house: the Heights. Their intense and unlikely adolescent romance provided scandalous gossip for the town. The young lovers escaped Hoosick Bridge, but Emma remained Roy’s obsession long after they parted. Now Roy returns from Afghanistan a changed and extraordinary man who will stop at nothing to obtain a piece of the Herricks’ legacy.

The scriptures of the Christian faith speak of a life qualitatively different from that which we see portrayed on videos, movie screens, and the pages of magazines. The Scriptures proclaim that we can experience the "life of God" here and now. Most of us long for such a life, but have discovered that experiencing this life of God is not simply a matter of following seven specific steps or nine important principles. In this book, Rev. Douglas J. Early reminds us that the way to the fullness of life that God offers us has little to do with our own striving and far more to do with receiving what is already at hand. Using wisdom found in 1 John, Abide In Me serves as a guide to experiencing a life of joy, purpose, and love. Readers are invited to explore the breadth and depth of the life that comes from abiding in the presence of Christ and attending to the Spirit of Christ abiding in each of us. For anyone wanting more in life but tired of working hard and getting nowhere, this book offers hope for experiencing the life of God in Christ, here and now.

In these days, it appears that evil is triumphant. It seems as though the bad guy is even being rewarded for craftiness. Decisions are no longer based upon biblical or moral principles, but rather on personal benefit and profitability. The effects of these decisions reach to the very core of our society, causing divisions and grief in our families, our relationships, and our jobs. This seems to be especially true in the world we live in today. In Abide in Me, we are taking AIM at the root of this calamity. Abide in Me contains stories about the author's own life, which left him wondering, "Why me?" The stories demonstrate how a person can turn, or be turned, 180 degrees from the path he was created to walk and find his way back. We have all experienced trials. Perhaps we have made personal or selfish decisions, which seem to have had disastrous effects on ourselves and those around us. At this point in your life, you may even be thinking there is no hope, because of what you have done. Your past does not define you. Hope for your future is possible, but there are necessary steps you must be willing to take. Joel Trenkle has gone from diving in dumpsters to doctor, but not on his own strength. You can find refreshing new meaning and purpose for your life in this book.

In the midst of tough times, why do lifelong Christians flee from God while non-believers run towards Him? When those seeking God for the first time step into a church, will they find others who suffer, question, and doubt or will they be met by a congregation of perfect Christians? In a collection of thoughts captured after his six year old daughter's affliction with two serious diseases over the span of three years, Abide in Me follows a less than perfect struggle by a less than perfect believer. There are periods of doubt, moments of rage, and the nature of the God he thought he knew is called into question. In the end, will he reject his faith due to his little girl's suffering or will he heed God's call when He says, Abide in Me.