Blessing

What is a blessing? Do you have to believe to receive one? Can you doubt while you pray? And can you extend grace to others while still desperately in need of it yourself? Once a week Episcopal priest Adrian Dannhauser stands outside her Manhattan church beside a chalkboard sign that reads "Ask me for a blessing (because God knows you need one)." Passersby stop, chat, and ask for prayer: for a sick friend, an addicted son, an upcoming job interview, the state of our nation, or the grief of our world. Bus drivers sometimes open their doors for a quick prayer before the light turns green, and someone once took her to meet their doorman so she could bless him too. Half of those who stop are in crisis. Someone always cries. A few are simply curious. Through the heartfelt, frank, and sincere stories of her unique ministry, Dannhauser offers glimpses into the tender, holy, and sometimes hilarious moments of sidewalk prayers. With a potent blend of reverence and irreverence, as well as insights from Christian scriptures, she delves into the power that ancient ideas--blessing, forgiveness, miracles, and prayer--hold in a disenchanted world. For people of Christian faith, other faiths, or no faith at all, having spiritual conversations, even awkward ones with strangers on the street, can help us face our vulnerability, where we may discover a grace sufficient for all.

FATES ALIGNED, BODIES INTERTWINED The Reverend of Empty Words, a monster that feeds off the fears of the fortunate, is hunting Xie Lian’s friend, the Wind Master Shi Qingxuan. Knowing that his abysmal luck inoculates him from the creature’s power, Xie Lian doesn’t hesitate to throw himself into harm’s way—to Hua Cheng’s horror and panic. But another one of the Four Calamities may be closer than anyone knows, and even a ghost as powerful as Hua Cheng can lose control under the right circumstances. With his inhibitions gone, will desire overtake him?

THE TOUCH OF A HAND, A ROLL OF THE DICE Xie Lian has confirmed that the bewitching youth San Lang is actually Hua Cheng, one of the Four Calamities and a supreme ghost despised by all heavenly officials. Still, he has trouble matching the terror of his companion’s reputation with the charming, clever, and protective young man he’s come to know. When a distress signal leads Xie Lian into Ghost City, a bustling metropolis containing all the horrors and delights of the dead, he sees Hua Cheng in his element—and his true form—for the first time. But despite their chemistry and care for one another, there are missions to fulfill and secrets to uncover, and Xie Lian’s centuries of troubled history are never far behind.

Based on the life of a real boy, this warm-hearted, beautifully illustrated book tells the story of Baraka, a young Kenyan boy with a physical disability. Baraka and eight cousins live with their grandmother. She gives them boundless love, but there is never enough money or food, and life is hard --love doesn't feed hungry stomachs or clothe growing bodies, or school keen minds. Baraka is too young, and, with his disability, needs too much, and she is too old. A difficult choice must be made, and grandmother and grandchild set off on a journey to see if there is a place at the orphanage for Baraka. The story begins by looking at Baraka's physical disability as a misfortune, but ends by looking beyond the disability, to his great heart and spirit, and the blessings he brings.

When wealthy, hard-driving corporate genius Jason Wilding reluctantly takes a break from his business and his husband-hunting girlfriends for a Christmas visit to his hometown, he has no idea what his physician brother has in store for him. It seems that Amy Thompkins, a whimsical young widow, has captured David's heart, but courting with a demanding baby in tow has been difficult. In order to pursue her, he persuades Jason to move into her home and take care of her spoiled but adorable son Max for a week. For a fiercely efficient CEO, it's an impossible scene: a falling-down old house and a widow living on next to nothing, with no marketable skills. But Amy's joy for life, her love for her son and her sparkling humour are irresistible - and tiny Max adores Jason beyond reason. Soon, Jason sees Amy and her future as a prime target for his strategic planning. The mutual attraction is glowing bright. But what to do about David?

This book examines the historical development of the blessing of waters and its theology in the East, with an emphasis on the Byzantine tradition. Exploring how Eastern Christians have sought these waters as a source of healing, purification, and communion with God, Denysenko unpacks their euchology and ritual context. The history and theology of the blessing of waters on Epiphany is informative for contemporary theologians, historians, pastors and students. Offering important insights into how Christians renew Baptism in receiving the blessed waters, this book also proposes new perspectives for theologizing Christian stewardship of ecology in the modern era based on a patristic liturgical synthesis. Denysenko presents an alternative framework for understanding the activity of the Trinity, enabling readers to encounter a vision of how participants encounter God in and after ritual.

Everyone on the Blue Star had inexplicably come to a doomsday world littered with zombies.Everyone had only one goal, to survive.Those who lived to the tenth stage would go to the new world.Opening the game in order to extract basic supplies, Chen Que received Blessing's skill.Killed zombies, got flatbread, ten times blessings, and super meat pie.Killing a strange beast would result in a handgun and a hundredfold blessing, as well as a Fire God Gatling.To adopt a small snake, one had to receive a blessing a thousand times that of a normal dragon."Admit a cat, get 10,000 times blessings, and get a cat's mother."

The themes of these stories are profoundly human themes, capturing the persistent interaction between God and humankind. These narratives invite us to witness the manner in which God enters human community in all of its complexities, struggles, challenges, fears, and ultimately hope. As the narratives unfold, not only is it clear that God will not be restricted by societal and cultural conventions, but the human journey will be generated by faith and doubt, fear and hope, promise and fulfillment. Hemchand Gossai not only explores the various themes within a variety of texts, but maintains a constant eye on the implications for the church and contemporary readers. In this regard, some of the literal and particular experiences such as barrenness, wilderness, and wrestling with God are examined as metaphors for our experiences. The richness and texture of metaphors allow us to embrace these stories in a way that makes them our stories.