On Day Closer To Death

"I have an incredible story to tell. It occurs during extraordinary times between two worlds that have grown complacent about God. There is a rebellion brewing on heaven and earth, and with the four horsemen saddling up, as 'end times' draw near, our two lives will be crucial to changing our worlds' course. Stay with me here because redemption is always worth it, especially when it comes to the salvation of two deeply broken beings, one who was transformed into the bringer of Death and collector of souls, and then there's me. Forever hiding from my disfigurement, unwilling to let go and live the life God has granted me. "“That is until I met Azrael.”

Highlighting this collection is an ingenious new episode in the saga of Jimmy Blackburn, the eponymous serial killer of Denton's third novel. "Blackburn Bakes Cookies" might best be called the icing on the cake that is Blackburn's story, and it is appropriately delectable. Other highlights of this collection include: "The Territory," a "what if?" story revisiting Kansas in the days of the Civil War and imagining, in one small way, how things might have gone a bit differently; "We Love Lydia Love," a science-fictional examination of the ways in which modern obsessions with celebrity and stardom can change us...and the ways in which we'll never change; and "The Calvin Coolidge Home for Dead Comedians," a moving and funny trip to the afterlife, where all great comics go when they die. In assembling these stories, Bradley Denton discovered that all of them are concerned with some aspect of death. It's true. And yet (as they say), in death there is life: these eight tales brim with such vitality and joie de vivre that readers will find themselves enjoying the work of this fantastic storyteller again and again.

A world champion athlete visits "other worlds" with the help of an old warrior named "Socrates."

In the early eleventh century the Indian Buddhist master Atisha condensed essential points from the sutras and ordered them into the text Lamp of the Path. These were then expanded upon in the fourteenth century by the Tibetan Buddhist master LamaTsongkhapa into the text The Great Exposition on the Gradual Path to Enlightenment(Lamrim Chenmo). Venerable Thubten Chodron taught on this text over several years at Dharma Friendship Foundation, and related these practical teachings to our daily lives. These ebooks are lightly-edited transcripts of those teachings. They have been organized and formatted by Lai Wee Chiang. This second volume contains teachings on: - Remembering Death - The Actual Way to Become Mindful of Death - The Lower Realms - Taking Refuge - The Objects of Refuge - How to Take Refuge - The Benefits of Having Taken Refuge - Guidelines for the Practice of Refuge - Karma - 10 Destructive Actions and Their Results - Constructive Actions and Their Results - The Intensity of Karma - Other Ways of Differentiating Actions - Specific Aspects of Actions and Their Results - General Advice on Engaging in Positive Actions and Avoiding Destructive Ones

2012 Global Warning: The destination or the beginning of the apocalypse? Ninth and Last Sign: You will hear of a dwelling place in the heavens, above the earth, that shall fall with a great crash. It will appear as a blue star. And very soon after this the ceremonies of people will cease. There are nine signs that great destruction has come and is coming. Like many tribes, the Hopis drew images that have come to pass and images of things to come. Thirteen Baktuns is equal to just over 5,125 years, and in our present age of the jaguar, the fourth age, the Great Cycle runs out on the winter solstice, December 21, 2012, the Mayan end date. The meaning is the death of the sun, the rebirth of a universe, and the Mayan Prophecy of the return of the god Quetzalcoatl: all this is the subject of active debate. This time will also mark a United States change in era where we will elect a new President. Is this the prophecy of the Antichrist? Could it be the end of one time and the beginning of the final stages of centuries of prophecies?

Although raised Roman Catholic, Susan Stabile was ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist nun and devoted 20 years of her life to practicing Buddhism before returning to Catholicism in 2001. In Growing in Love and Wisdom, she draws on this unique dual perspective to explore the value of interreligious dialogue, the spiritual dynamics that operate across faith traditions, and how Buddhist meditation practices can deepen Christian prayer. She begins by examining the values and principles shared by the two faiths and shows that both traditions seek to effect a fundamental transformation in the lives of believers. Both stress the need for experiences with deep emotional resonance that goes beyond the level of concepts to touch the heart. The center of the book offers 15 Tibetan Buddhist contemplative practices, adapted for Christian use. Stabile provides clear instructions on how to do these meditations and helpful commentary on each, explaining its purpose and the relation between the Buddhist original and her Christian adaptation of it. Throughout, she highlights the many remarkably close parallels between the teachings of Jesus and the Buddha. The meditations offered in this unusual book will be extremely useful to thoughtful Christians, to those responsible for giving spiritual direction, and also to Buddhist sympathizers who will be intrigued and pleased to see familiar contemplations handled so skillfully by a former Buddhist practitioner who has gratefully learned so much from her former religion and now introduces the riches of that tradition to her fellow Christians.

The Unruly Soul By: VampyItalian She is the calming of a summer storm. She picks up her sword swinging it at every obstacle that comes before her. She may get knocked down once or twice, but she gets back up to begin her fight. She’s as strong as mother nature intended her to be. She may be quiet, but she is also fierce. She’s not weak by any means. She’s poetic with words of love, The author has experienced grief and pain. She has bipolar, depression, and anxiety, and knows the struggle to survive each day can seem overwhelming. In The Unruly Soul, she explores and confronts her pain and broken dreams, finding and celebrating occasional flashes of joy and love. In rich and vivid reflections, she writes about her battles with the inner demons of depression and anger, as well as the fight to feel heard and understood. Smalls rays of light from her family and pets give her enough strength and hope to continue. Intimate and universal, filled with powerful imagery, The Unruly Soul is brave exploration of mental illness.

Voices From American Prisons: Faith, Education and Healing is a comprehensive and unique contribution to understanding the dynamics and nature of penal confinement. In this book, author Kaia Stern describes the history of punishment and prison education in the United States and proposes that specific religious and racial ideologies - notions of sin, evil and otherness - continue to shape our relationship to crime and punishment through contemporary penal policy. Inspired by people who have lived, worked, and studied in U.S. prisons, Stern invites us to rethink the current ‘punishment crisis’ in the United States. Based on in-depth interviews with people who were incarcerated, as well as extensive conversations with students, teachers, corrections staff, and prison administrators, the book introduces the voices of those who have participated in the few remaining post-secondary education programs that exist behind bars. Drawing on individual narrative and various modern day case examples, Stern focuses on dehumanization, resistance, and community transformation. She demonstrates how prison education is essential, can provide healing, and yet is still not enough to interrupt mass incarceration. In short, this book explores the possibility of transformation from a retributive punishment system to a system of justice. The book’s engaging, human accounts and multidisciplinary perspective will appeal to criminologists, sociologists, historians, theologians and scholars of education alike. Voices from American Prisons will also capture general readers who are interested in learning about a timely and often silenced reality of contemporary modern society.