Esther Unleashed

Ive worked very hard to do my own thing, begins Esther in her Introduction. Being able to be unleashed gives me an opportunity to work my hours at my own time When inspiration comes, I can get some things done. And in Esther Unleashed! we get to follow the author on her adventures. It all begins back in modelling school (photo included), when she was preparing to make her splash in the world. We learn of her decades-long effort to complete her college education. Imagine her in wigs ala Jane Fonda (think Klute), Cher (think long and curly), and others. Empathize as she struggles to promote her art and cheer her successes. Be amused by her encounters with fame and celebrities (more photos). Get a feeling for her home life with supportive husband Marty. Travel with them and picture Esther entertaining a bus full of travellers in Europe with her singing. Plus, there are Esther-savvy tips on health and life in general, and youll even find a few delicious Tai Chi Kitchen recipes from a friend. This book is for you if you're ready to be cheered by Esther's different take on life. She hopes that it will inspire you to become a bit more "unleashed" yourself! Caution : Content can make you break into a smile. Note: Original artwork from the author is featured throughout this title.

One of America's preeminent psychiatrists draws on his famous Study of Adult Development to give us an exhilarating look at how the mind's defenses work. What we see as the mind's trickery, George Vaillant tells us, is actually healthy. What's more, it can reveal the mind at its most creative and mature, soothing and protecting us in the face of unbearable reality, managing the unmanageable, ordering disorder. And because creativity is so intrinsic to this alchemy of the ego, Vaillant mingles his studies of obscure lives with psychobiographies of famous artists and others--including Florence Nightingale, Sylvia Plath, Anna Freud, and Eugene O'Neill.

The author considered calling this book It’s Not Easy Being a Woman, Volume 2 and 1/2. But then the stories kept coming, and she realized this follow-up to the two earlier volumes in the series deserves a whole number! You still can't keep this good woman down! In Volume 3, she keeps on going whether it’s striving and socializing as an artist and writer, getting things done on the home front despite obstacles (and there always are some, it seems), being her own kind of wonderful mom and wife during her family time, or wandering her Westside community mingling with old and new friends. In these environs and more, she observes the strange, amusing and amazing things that happen in her world. Join Esther on her unique path, see the world with her clever eyes, and you may just find yourself seeing more of the strange, amusing and amazing things that happening in your own world.

Esther's World Is Much Like Ours: God Seems Missing. Some of Esther's peers, like Daniel, lived with a distinct advantage: they experienced the mighty, miracle-making wonder of God. Esther, on the other hand, was surrounded by extravagant wealth and impiety in the disenchanted empire of Persia. Faith wasn't easy in a place like this, but thankfully, Esther learned there was more to God than what she could see. Today's suffering and cynicism can leave us feeling that God is long gone. But, in truth, he is still present and active in our lives. In slow, mundane, and even obscure ways, he is pursuing us and repairing our broken world. Follow Esther as she models ten practices that connect us with a seemingly distant God and his unexpected work in the world.

Scholars of religion have come a long way since William James famously made of religion a matter between man and his maker. For decades now, they have been attentive to the ways in which religion takes shape as the product of broad social forces, focusing on the dynamics of power and culture as heuristics for understanding religious phenomena and experience. What, however, might they be missing by moving too quickly from one interpretative extreme to the other—and what might we learn about religion by staying in the interstitial space between the individual in her solitude and society as a whole? Religious Intimacies, edited by Mary Dunn and Brenna Moore, brings together nine scholars of modern Christianity to probe this in-between space. In essays that range from treatments of Jesuit-indigenous relations in early modern Canada to the erotics of contemporary black theology, each contributor makes the case for the study of the presence and power of affective ties and relational dynamics between friends, lovers, and intimate others (even things) as vital to the understanding of religion.

Discover how yielding ourselves wholly to God, especially in the midst of challenging circumstances, lends new purpose to our lives. “Vivian Mabuni is a kind and trustworthy guide through one of adulthood’s secrets: life doesn’t go like you thought it would.”—Jen Hatmaker, New York Times best-selling author of For the Love and Of Mess and Moxie As women after God’s heart, we honestly desire to please God. We want to be used by Him and to experience the peace and fulfillment He wants for us. Yet it’s all too easy to fall into living mechanically, with a rule-based approach to the Christian life, or to focus on getting what we want when we want it. Even when we want to be willing, saying yes to whatever God asks often feels scary, and the distractions of this world get in the way. Vivian Mabuni knows this all too well, but she’s discovered that open-handed living starts with an intentional posture of the heart. Through surrender to His will, we draw closer to God in a way that makes our day-to-day lives more purposeful, powerful, and pleasing to Him. With Vivian’s warm encouragement in Open Hands, Willing Heart, you’ll learn how to step out in courageous trust as you invite God to give and take—and move and work—in your life as He sees fit. Along the way you’ll discover true joy and serenity that will carry you through every circumstance.

Acute Melancholia and Other Essays deploys spirited and progressive approaches to the study of Christian mysticism and the philosophy of religion. Ideal for novices and experienced scholars alike, the volume makes a forceful case for thinking about religion as both belief and practice, in which traditions marked by change are passed down through generations, laying the groundwork for their own critique. Through a provocative integration of medieval sources and texts by Jacques Derrida, Judith Butler, Talal Asad, and Dipesh Chakrabarty, this book redefines what it means to engage critically with history and those embedded within it.

Need Some Cheering Up? Look Inside... Looking at the bright side takes some work during a pandemic, but Esther does her best. In this latest collection of stories, the author mostly turns to the pre-COVID past and shares a unique, often comic take on her life’s happenings. The stories travel from her creative world of art and writing, to the home front, to her growing up and mothering years, and more. Rounding out the collection are poems from her sons, Larry and David, and ways to connect to her creative grandchildren, Julian Roc, a musician with music videos on YouTube, and Krystal Pearl, a member of the cheer team of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers with exercise videos on YouTube. Join Esther and her family for a lighter view of life during these challenging times.