Be Fruitful

Presents a mind-body approach to successfully becoming pregnant, offering dietary supplements and exercises that increase fertility as well as a discussion of potential roadblocks and how to eliminate them.

In this study, Andrew J. Schmutzer puts his hand to an in-depth study of the Creation Mandate, known within Reformed theology as the Cultural Mandate. His analysis focuses on key texts of God's blessing in Genesis 1-11. In particular, Schmutzer explores the theological significance of Genesis 1:28 using a biblical-theological approach sensitive to the biblical literature. Delving into such issues as the nature of divine blessing, humankind's royal stewardship, and the role of the image of God, this study draws the reader back to the biblical text as the "lead carriage" for foundational questions in contemporary faith. The result is theological "grist," primed to address the related issues of ecological crisis, social oppression, gender studies, and eco-theology. How one understands the Creation Mandate has serious implications. Be Fruitful and Multiply provides a sharp tool to help address these serious issues.

This book is a clarion call to a life of usefulness, contribution, relevance, productivity, and subsequently, influence. It is not just about the positioning and privilege of having dominion, but the responsibility to intentionally dominate your sphere of influence. And it is about how a life of productivity puts you on the path of fulfilling the ultimate creation mandate bestowed on man by divine privileges. It is your time to be fruitful!

What are the "Fruit of the Spirit" and why do they matter in the spiritual life of a Christian? This is an in-depth Bible Study workbook that examines each of the fruit individually. Each lesson opens with a lesson about a particular fruit and how Jesus displayed that fruit in His life. It also shows that what He taught His disciples still applies to our life today. This study requires the use of a Bible to answer questions. This workbook also includes many practical questions to closely examine our heart, thoughts and choices we prune, fertilize and breathe new life into our Christian walk, so that we can bear beautiful Fruit of the Spirit!

Are you loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, AND self-controlled? Most of the time? Sometimes? How about when life gets hard or marriage gets tough? Whatever your answer may be, the good news is that you are not alone. Best-selling author, mother, and wife Hayley DiMarco understands the challenges we all face and answers the question at hand: How can you be the woman God is calling you to be, a woman who bears the fruit of the Spirit in your marriage and in the daily grind of life? To help you grow, Hayley explores the biblical significance of all 9 fruits of the Spirit, explaining how each fruit first begins to grow and then how each impacts your day-to-day life and marriage. She writes like a wise friend and is readily transparent about her own failures to be spiritually fruitful as well as her relational struggles for control, authority, and respect. Ultimately, Hayley teaches us how even the rockiest of marriages can blossom and generate the fruit God intends to produce.

Examining the roots and fruits of the urban foodscape Our cities are places of food polarities — food deserts and farmers’ markets, hunger and food waste, fast food delivery and urban gardening. While locavores and preserving pros abound, many of us can’t identify the fruit trees in our yards or declare a berry safe to eat. Those plants — and the people who planted them — are often forgotten. In The Fruitful City, Helena Moncrieff examines our relationship with food through the fruit trees that dot city streets and yards. She tracks the origins of these living heirlooms and questions how they went from being subsistence staples to raccoon fodder. But in some cities, previously forgotten fruit is now in high demand, and Moncrieff investigates the surge of non-profit urban harvest organizations that try to prevent that food from rotting on concrete and meets the people putting rescued fruit to good use. As she travels across Canada, slipping into backyards, visiting community orchards, and taking in canning competitions, Moncrieff discovers that attitudinal changes are more important than agricultural ones. While the bounty of apples is great, reconnecting with nature and our community is the real prize.

There is no escaping the fact that the Bible is dogmatically pro-child. In fact, it declares unapologetically that the birth of many children is a source of blessing, that a key reason for marriage is to bring forth many children for the glory of God, and that parents should actively seek such blessings. But if this is true, why do so many Christian married couples choose to cut off their seed? What, if any, biblical basis exists for deliberately thwarting the birth of children? Is it ever good stewardship to prevent children on the basis of financial concerns? These and related questions are examined in the light of Scripture in this groundbreaking study guide.

Sexuality and justice often seem odd bedfellows. Sexual embraces of intimacy and passion thrive in our private lives, while justice safeguards the laws and duties that govern the public realm. Yet intuitively, we sense there are deeper connections. Both sexuality and justice support the holistic ideal proclaimed by the early Christian writer Ireneaus: the glory of God is the human person fully alive. Evelyn and James Whitehead combine professional expertise as a psychologist and historian of religion as well as personal experiences and extensive research to explore the interplay of sexuality, love, and justice on the spiritual journey today. While drawing on biblical themes and contemporary psychological insight, the Whiteheads examine modern experiences of attachment and vulnerability, marriage and friendship, compassion and sexual diversity, and the psychological and spiritual experiences of transgender persons—a new and often bewildering consideration for many Christians. Included is a reflection on a prophetic Christian ministry in support of sexuality and justice that illustrates the importance of moral awareness and sensual attunement to the world. Fruitful Embraces utilizes Christian theology and effective pastoral ministry to explore the vital connections between sexuality and Christian spirituality and links between compassion and justice that will encourage anyone on a spiritual journey to open their hearts and minds to the extravagant diversity of creation.