Hope When It S Hard

Successes and speed bumps on the road to sustainable communities

DIVDIVWhatever happened to hope? If you have become fatalistic, if you feel trapped by your circumstances and can’t see a way out, Terry Law wants to show you a new paradigm—the paradigm of hope, which he defines as the confident expectation of the goodness of God./div/div

A leading voice for social justice reveals how he stopped arguing with white people who deny the ongoing legacy of racism—and offers a proven path forward for Black people and people of color based on the history of nonviolent struggle. “A moving personal journey that lends practical insight for expanding and strengthening the global antiracist movement.”—Patrisse Khan-Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, bestselling author of When They Call You a Terrorist When the rallying cry “Black Lives Matter” was heard across the world in 2013, Andre Henry was one of the millions for whom the movement caused a political awakening and a rupture in some of his closest relationships with white people. As he began using his artistic gifts to share his experiences and perspective, Henry was aggrieved to discover that many white Americans—people he called friends and family—were more interested in debating whether racism existed or whether Henry was being polite enough in the way he used his voice. In this personal and thought-provoking book, Henry explores how the historical divides between Black people and non-Black people are expressed through our most mundane interactions, and why this struggle won’t be resolved through civil discourse, diversity hires, interracial relationships, or education. What we need is a revolution, one that moves beyond symbolic progress to disrupt systems of racial violence and inequality in tangible, creative ways. Sharing stories from his own path to activism—from studying at seminary to becoming a student of nonviolent social change, from working as a praise leader to singing about social justice—and connecting those experiences to lessons from successful nonviolent struggles in America and around the world, Andre Henry calls on Black people and people of color to divest from whiteness and its false promises, trust what their lived experiences tell them, and practice hope as a discipline as they work for lasting change.

Successes and speed bumps on the road to sustainable communities.

Mary Beth Rogers has led an eventful life rooted in the weeds of Texas politics, occasionally savoring a few victories—particularly the 1990 governor’s race when, as campaign manager for Ann Richards, she did the impossible and put a Democratic woman in office. She also learned to absorb her losses—after all, she was a liberal feminist in America’s most aggressively conservative state. Rogers’s road to a political life was complex. Candidly and vulnerably, she shares both public and private memories of how she tried to maintain a rich family life with growing children and a husband with a debilitating illness. She goes on to provide an insider’s account of her experiences as Richards’s first chief of staff while weaving her way through the highs and lows of political intrigue and legislative maneuvering. Reflecting on her family heritage and nascent spiritual quest, Rogers discovers a reality at once sobering and invigorating: nothing is ever completely lost or completely won. It is a constant struggle to create humane public policies built on a foundation of fairness and justice—particularly in her beloved Texas.

Life is hard. And there are all sorts of pitfalls along the way. Nowhere do we find a more overwhelming chronicle of hard times than in the Bible itself. The Old Testament is a long record of the disappointments and disasters that came upon the people of Israel. Within every Scripture story of God's discipline, we find God's unceasing redemption. Within every story of man's stubbornness or selfishness that leads to strife, we find God's loving grace that leads us back to safety. God doesn't just take pity on us; he empowers us. But only when we cease to rely on our own strength can we discover that God's strength is always there for us. Theologian and TV host Scott Hahn shows us how we can use the Bible to deal with hard times, to get over hard times, and yes, even to rejoice in hard times.

Go on a journey of exploring the different approaches to grieving loss and discover the one that’s right for you Written by two women who experienced loss at a young age, this incredible grieving book will help you navigate any kind of loss, whether it’s the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship or the loss of your job. Living with grief is hard. Let It's Your Loss help you find your new normal. It includes: • 10 chapters that focus on a different step of the journey through loss. • Topics reviewed by each of the authors in turn — one taking a more thoughtful, introverted approach, the other more practical and extroverted. • Five-minute fixes offer quick-and-easy practical coping suggestions. • Professional grief advice anchors the topics in sound psychological principle. Losing something or someone can be devastatingly painful, with far-reaching effects. But, loss is a natural part of life, one we all go through. This grief recovery handbook shows you how to recognize your grief and loss, take the time to sit with it, look at it and ultimately understand your reaction to it. Authors Emma Hopkinson and Robyn Donaldson believe that there is no right or wrong way to cope with loss. In this book about grief, they explore their own natural inclination to either keep their feelings in (Emma) or let them all out (Robyn), while offering key things they’ve learned along the way. By working through your emotions of shock, disbelief, guilt, anger and sadness, and taking time to heal and accept your loss, you’ll learn how to comfortably move through life after loss.

One of the volumes of the popular Protestant Pulpit Exchange series, this volume focuses on the ways in which preachers can make use of Biblical passages to help listeners deal with hard times in their lives. This universal issue is addressed in compassionate and helpful ways in this collection of sermons.