From Under The Banana Tree

Quiet your spirit and settle in each day for some intimate, healing, and reviving time with the Lord. Along with your Bible and prayer journal, bring Dr. Kim Pensinger’s latest offering, From Under the Banana Tree, a collection of 365 daily inspirations gleaned from personal experience and a passionate searching of God’s Word. From the hills of Vermont to the streets of Argentina, Dr. Kim shares on the faithfulness, love, and sovereignty of our great God. Not your average devotional, From Under the Banana Tree also contains moments of humour and succulent recipes that will delight family and friends. These readings will inspire you to step out in faith, try something new, and rest in God’s care and compassion for you. Each topic is developed in detail, with lessons and tips to help you apply the truth of scripture to your life on a daily basis. Although Dr. Kim speaks directly to church leaders at times, this devotional will be a blessing to pastors, missionaries, and laity alike. As your spirit is renewed, you will develop the strength and the vision to share God’s love, truth, and Good News with those around you.

The “Hikayat Banjar,” a native court chronicle from Borneo, characterizes the irresistibility of natural resource wealth to outsiders as “the banana tree at the gate.” Michael R. Dove employs this phrase as a root metaphor to frame the history of resource relations between the indigenous peoples of Borneo and the world system. In analyzing production and trade in forest products, pepper, and especially natural rubber, Dove shows that the involvement of Borneo’s native peoples in commodity production for global markets is ancient and highly successful and that processes of globalization began millennia ago. Dove’s analysis replaces the image of the isolated tropical forest community that needs to be helped into the global system with the reality of communities that have been so successful and competitive that they have had to fight political elites to keep from being forced out.

As fast as her little legs would carry her, she ran outside to the back yard. Awaiting her arrival, was a magical sight! "IT IS a magical day!" she joyously exclaimed! Before her, stood a little tree growing out of the soil where she and her mother planted the banana skin. The little tree was almost as tall as Robin was! One day while having lunch, Robin had a wonderful idea. She decided to plant a banana tree with her banana skin from the banana she had for lunch. With a little help from her mother (and the sleep fairies!), much to her surprise, she had a very magical day. She had a day so magical that her family would talk about it for decades after! Based on a true story from 1972, this cherished memory from childhood has been told many times. Each retelling proves the impact that each magical day has on a family and how one act of love can affect generations. The innocence of a child’s imagination has magical effects on a family, but it is only as children mature that they begin to realize the depths of love possible as parents.

Home Grown Leaders gives an approach for developing Christian leaders whether they be small group leaders, supervisors of multiple small groups, or pastors. It relies on both a biblical foundation and contemporary leadership theory. This book is currently being used to inform leadership trainers in many different parts of the world.

The Complete Language of Trees is a comprehensive encyclopedia providing the meanings, powers, facts, and folklore for over 400 types of trees--now in a pocket-size edition for easy, on-the-go reference. Along with a stunning visual depiction, each entry provides the tree's scientific and common name, characteristics, and historic and hidden properties from mythology, legends, and folklore. Discover the lore of trees, including: Hackberry Tree - encourages someone to continuously do their best Manchineel Tree - it is so toxic that the smoke from a burning tree can cause blindness, and it is not even advised to inhale the air around the tree Bark from the Bird Cherry Tree was placed on doors during medieval times to ward off plague Washi paper is created from the inner bark of the Paper Mulberry Tree. Pando is a Quaking Aspen colony that is 108 acres wide (about the size of 83 football fields!). It is technically one tree. Imagine developing a spiritual connection with a tree in a way that exceeds visual perception; where learning its meaning and value simultaneously improves your own mental and physical wellness. Throughout history, floriographies--flower dictionaries--have gained notoriety for regulating human emotions and giving depth, symbolism, and meaning to extremely delicate aspects of nature. Following the success of The Complete Language of Herbs and its predecessor The Complete Language of Flowers, author S. Theresa Dietz continues this custom with The Complete Language of Trees. Coupled with two indexes, one for searching by common tree name and the other organized by meaning, Dietz cleverly connects quality time in nature with the overall improvement of mental health by developing a stunningly depicted dictionary for gardeners, environmentalists, and nature lovers alike.

An Indigenous environmental scientist breaks down why western conservationism isn't working--and offers Indigenous models informed by case studies, personal stories, and family histories that center the voices of Latin American women and land protectors. Despite the undeniable fact that Indigenous communities are among the most affected by climate devastation, Indigenous science is nowhere to be found in mainstream environmental policy or discourse. And while holistic land, water, and forest management practices born from millennia of Indigenous knowledge systems have much to teach all of us, Indigenous science has long been ignored, otherized, or perceived as "soft"--the product of a systematic, centuries-long campaign of racism, colonialism, extractive capitalism, and delegitimization. Here, Jessica Hernandez--Maya Ch'orti' and Zapotec environmental scientist and founder of environmental agency Piña Soul--introduces and contextualizes Indigenous environmental knowledge and proposes a vision of land stewardship that heals rather than displaces, that generates rather than destroys. She breaks down the failures of western-defined conservatism and shares alternatives, citing the restoration work of urban Indigenous people in Seattle; her family's fight against ecoterrorism in Latin America; and holistic land management approaches of Indigenous groups across the continent. Through case studies, historical overviews, and stories that center the voices and lived experiences of Indigenous Latin American women and land protectors, Hernandez makes the case that if we're to recover the health of our planet--for everyone--we need to stop the eco-colonialism ravaging Indigenous lands and restore our relationship with Earth to one of harmony and respect.