Good Gracious God

We sometimes hear the phrase ÔGood, gracious me!Õ Yet the ÔmeÕ referred to may be neither good nor gracious. Our God, on the other hand, is both good and gracious. And it is our good and gracious God that we have written this book about. The phrase Ôgood graciousÕ is generally used to express surprise Ð and our good and gracious God is often surprising.

He may be the god of fire, but he’s not ready for this kind of heat. Jeslyn You’d think I’d have planned better. Or seen it coming. I am a matchmaker, after all. But when I find out my fiancé is cheating on me—at the altar of all places—I don’t think. I just run. Stealing his car and bailing on the wedding sounds like the best option. Until I run out of gas. In the middle of nowhere. In front of a biker bar. And the burly mechanic who helps me? He’s a rebound. One hundred percent. I don’t care, until he claims he's the Greek god Hephaestus, and I’m a descendant of Pandora, and that my great-times-a-thousand grandmother’s chaos follows me everywhere. Hilarious, right? Except, it explains so much. Hephaestus I can fix anything. As the Gods of Thunder MC’s mechanic, my job is to keep everything running smoothly. When Jeslyn crashes into my quiet, predictable life, she throws smooth out the window. She’s on the run from a cheating fiancé, something I am intimately familiar with. So, I do what any hot-blooded Greek god would do. Let her hop on the back of my bike and take her on a road trip. Except, I’ve just learned something interesting. Jes is descended from Pandora, and Epimetheus needs her blood to free Pandora’s soul. But Zeus won’t let that happen. I have to keep her safe. I can fix anything, but even I can’t bring someone back from the dead.

Gracious God is a collection of inspirational and heart-felt invocations offered by Pastor James Ulrikson. Every week, Pastor Ulrikson offers words of prayer at the Fountain Hills Rotary Club, and hopes this book reminds people that true blessings are not found in what we have, but in how we can serve others.

Will Lois Barker put down roots in Green . . . or will small-town life be too tough? The charming and uncertain journalist is delighted with her decision to keep The Green News-Item and excited about the possibility of romance with her good-looking catfish farmer/coach neighbor—and the growth of her fresh faith and friendships. Her second year in Green has scarcely been rung in, though, before Lois is wrung out. The former owners of the paper want it back. The mayor’s dog bites her on the face. A series of fires threaten Lois. And while her friends blossom, Lois feels wilted.

The Good Shepherd, Gentle Guide, and Gracious Host is a collection of fifteen discipleship meditations, organized around three metaphors from the Twenty-Third Psalm. Why does the Twenty-Third Psalm connect so profoundly with the human spirit, whether we are grieving, hoping, or suffering? The answer has much to do with the approachable, inviting metaphors for God that are expressed in this psalm--the good shepherd, the gentle guide, and the gracious host, as well as the full range of human emotions that rise up within us when we read them. Each chapter contains a powerful personal story told by one of the Northwest's best storytellers, an inviting meditation from a line of the psalm, the wisdom of Scripture, some words of practical advice, and questions for reflection and discussion. Suited for personal devotions or small discipleship groups, The Good Shepherd, Gentle Guide, and Gracious Host invites all of us to an adventure of grace, healing, and hope, seeing God as approachable, good, loving, and kind. As our understanding of God's love and care matures, our spiritual journeys will take on a new character, too. This book will highlight the path ahead, providing fence posts, guide posts, and lamp posts as we make our way home.

For the past twenty-five years Americans have relied on Pulitzer Prize-winning wordsmith William Safire for their weekly dose of linguistic illumination in The New York Times Magazine's column "On Language" -- one of the most popular features of the magazine and a Sunday-morning staple for innumerable fans. He is the most widely read writer on the English language today. Safire is the guru of contemporary vocabulary, speech, language, usage and writing. Dedicated and disputatious readers itch to pick up each column and respond to the week's linguistic wisdom with a gotcha letter to the Times. The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time marks the publication of Safire's sixteenth book on language. This collection is a classic to be read, re-read, enjoyed and fought over. Fans, critics and fellow linguists wait with bated (from the French abattre "to beat down") breath for each new anthology -- and, like its predecessors, this one is bound to satisfy and delight. Safire finds fodder for his columns in politics and current events, as well as in science, technology, entertainment and daily life. The self-proclaimed card-carrying language maven and pop grammarian is not above tackling his own linguistic blunders as he detects language trends and tracks words, phrases and clichés to their source. Scholarly, entertaining and thoughtful, Safire's critical observations about language and slanguage are at once provocative and enlightening. Safire is America's go-to guy when it comes to language, and he has included sharp and passionately opinionated letters from readers across the English-speaking world who have been unable to resist picking up a pen to put the maven himself in his place or to offer alternate interpretations, additional examples, amusing anecdotes or just props. The Right Word in the Right Place at the Right Time is a fascinating, learned and piquant look at the oddities and foibles that find their way into the English language. Exposing linguistic hooey and rigamarole and filled with Safire's trademark wisdom, this book has a place on the desk or bedside table of all who share his profound love of the English language -- as well as his penchant for asking "What does that mean?" Or, "Wassat?" This new collection is sure to delight readers, writers and word lovers everywhere and spark the interest of anyone who has ever wondered, "Where did the phrase 'brazen hussy' come from?"