Ascension

The sea is the birthplace of legends. Nia, a young mermyd of the Bluefin clan, has had one wish all her life -- to be an Avatar in her beloved home of Atlantis. The ten Avatars rule the beautiful and peaceful undersea city alongside the ancient Farworlders, whose magic keeps their world alive. To be an Avatar is an honor and a great responsibility, and Nia dreams of taking her place among the noble ten. Now, at sixteen, Nia has a chance to see her dream come true. Atlantis is choosing its next Avatar, and Nia knows she is supremely qualified. But there is something Nia doesn't know -- if she gets her heart's desire, it could mean the end of her treasured world of Atlantis forever.

After concluding their first year at Lorian Heights, Corin and his friends catch a train from their native Valia to the distant country of Caelford. For most, this would be a simple vacation. Corin has other plans.-Meet Anabelle Farren, the eccentric owner of Farren Labs, and learn about artificial attunements.-Seek out Warren Constantine, a previous Arbiter, for training and a potential alliance.-Find the visage Ferras herself to seek a cure for Sera's condition.Of course, Corin is Corin, and there's absolutely no chance he's going to be able to stick to a list....And even if Corin miraculously developed a sense of focus, he isn't the only one with plans.The Blackstone Bandit.Everyone's favorite mysterious book entity.The aforementioned Farren.A vacationing professor.The mirror of a figure from Keras' past.When their plots intersect, Corin and his friends are, predictably, stuck at the center.It's going to be a long vacation.

Ascension Now examines the New Testament references to the ascension and exhaltation of Jesus and looks at the theological and liturgical implications. This includes not only the description of the "event" in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles but also the departure scene that concludes the Gospel of Matthew and the references to Christ as King, as Intercessor, and as "exalted in glory" elsewhere in the New Testament. It also notes the implications for Christians who pray and preach and foreshadows some developments in worship and practical living in the light of the ascension experience. The doctrine of the ascension of Christ is important to theological debates and to the liturgical developments of the Christian Churches. Unless we connect the Christ of history with the Christ of worship, we will fail to hold together the two essential poles of the Christian faith. Christ must be both in time and beyond time. He must have been in history and been more than just a historical figure. He must be both fully human and fully God. Only then can Christ be the object of our faith and our worship. The ascension of Jesus can be seen as the journey of the humanity of Christ into the heart of the Divine God and of our journey in worship into the divine dimension of heaven. In Ascension Now, Bishop Atkins shows that in our worship we are never earthbound; we lift our hearts and minds up to where Christ is seated, symbolically reigning over the world. There he holds them tenderly in love as, through his redemptive power, we are transformed and renewed to fulfill the purposes of its Creator God. Chapters are "Introduction: The Importance of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Today's Church," "Prelude: New Ways of Seeing the Ascension," "The Biblical Evidence for the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Theological Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Liturgical Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," "The Implications of the Ascension for Our Personal Prayers," "The Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Preaching," "The Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension for Future Liturgical Practice," "Conclusion: Personal Implications of the Doctrine of the Ascension," and "Appendix: The Geography of the Ascension."

Place of publication transcribed from publisher's web site.

We are all as unique as individual snowflakes, intricately designed so that no two are alike, yet when observed as a whole, we form the blended essence of lightworkers, merging into vaster and fuller aspects of God, the one great whole. Each of us holds a very specialized piece of the divine puzzle of God, or the whole. The more attuned we become to God, the more we are called to find and fulfill that specialized piece of the puzzle belonging to ourselves alone. When we find this puzzle piece and embrace it, we are then able to fulfill our divine mission on this Earth.

British spy Elliot Kane is forced out of semi-retirement to investigate a colleague's suspicious death on Ascension Island, a remote and rocky outpost of the British military in the middle of the Atlantic. Despite uncovering a deep plot to incite a new world war, Elliot Kane has been on probation with the service since his misadventures in Kazakhstan. Having taken up a job teaching college literature and linguistics, he surprisingly enjoys living a conventional life and wonders if he would even go back to spycraft. Then a colleague from an ages-ago mission reaches out with a request. One of her tech specialists was on a long-term mission, in deep cover, but has suddenly killed himself. The agency is afraid to finish this vital mission without knowing what prompted this seemingly healthy man to take his own life. The carrot in this offer is helping his old friend; the stick is a worse punishment from the Agency if he doesn't comply. So Elliott poses as an academic researcher and heads to one of the most remote places on the planet, Ascension Island. Arriving on a rocky, barely livable island located in the Atlantic Ocean, halfway between Brazil and Angola, Kane is unsure whom to trust and why this lonely outpost is so important to the British military . . . until he uncovers dangerous secrets that lead straight back to London's highest offices.