Our Life Is Love

Our Life is Love describes the transformational spiritual journey of the first Quakers, who turned to the Light of Christ within and allowed it to be their guide. Many Friends today use different language, but are still called to make the same journey. In our time people seeking deeper access to the profound teachings of Christianity want more than just beliefs, they want direct experience. Focusing on ten elements of the spiritual journey, this book is a guide to a Spirit-filled life that affects this world. Quakers in the seventeenth century and today provide examples of people and communities living in the midst of the world whose radical understanding of Christ's teachings led them to become powerful agents of social change. The book offers a simple, clear explanation of the spiritual journey that is suitable not only for Quakers, but for all Christians, and for seekers wanting to better understand our spiritual experience and the fullness of God's call to us. The book would make an excellent focus for study groups. Marcelle Martin has led workshops at retreat centers and Quaker meetings across the United States. She served for four years as the resident Quaker Studies teacher at Pendle Hill and was a core teacher in the School of the Spirit program, The Way of Ministry. She is the author of the Pendle Hill pamphlets Invitation to a Deeper Communion and Holding One Another in the Light. In 2013 she was the Mullen Writing Fellow at Earlham School of Religion while working on this book.

In an age when the pressures of the modern family are often complicated with the pressures of the modern world, many women are struggling to strike a balance between a wide variety of issues. From their own careers to their kids' schooling to matters of faith and health, women are juggling many roles that do not always go hand in hand. In Love Your Life, Victoria Osteen speaks directly to women and gives them a pathway to understanding the great responsibility, and how to learn to embrace its beautiful choices. She believes that you must teach yourself the principles of self-love in order to be able to pass them on. Osteen speaks nearly every week about the role of women to the large congregation that makes up the Lakewood Church in Texas. The book will be a powerful tool for all women to help them to better savour their lives and enjoy their family, their friends and themselves.

In 25 years of counseling couples, Dr. Neil Clark Warren discovered that marriages most often fail because people simply choose the wrong person to marry. In this Gold Medallion award-winner, an 11-month Christian Booksellers Association bestseller, Dr. Clark shares ten proven principles for finding the perfect mate.

In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel Cruze shines a spotlight on the most damaging money habit we have: comparing ourselves to others. Then she unpacks seven essential money habits for living the life we really want--a life in line with our values, where we can afford the things we want to buy without being buried under debt, stress, and worry. The Joneses are broke. Life looks good, but hidden beneath that glossy exterior are credit card bills, student loans, car payments, and an out-of-control mortgage. Their money situation is a mess, and they're trying to live a life they simply can't afford. So why exactly do we try so hard to keep up with the Joneses? Are we really living the lives we want, or are we chasing someone else's dream, just trying to keep up appearances on social media, at church, and in our community? Why are we letting other people set the pace for our own family's finances? In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel shows you how to buy and do the things that are important to you--the right way. That starts by choosing to quit the comparisons, reframing the way you think about money, and developing new habits like avoiding debt, living on a plan, watching your spending, saving for the future, having healthy conversations about money, and giving. These habits work, and Rachel is living proof. Now, she wants to empower you to live the life you've always dreamed of without creating the debt, stress, and worry that are all too often part of the deal. Social media isn't real life, and trying to keep up with the Joneses will never get you anywhere. It's time to live--and love--your life, not theirs. "I've never read a book about money that takes this approach--and that's a good thing! Comparison has a way of weaving itself throughout all aspects of our lives, including our money. In Love Your Life, Not Theirs, Rachel Cruze outlines the seven money habits that really matter--and they have nothing to do with keeping up with the Joneses!" Candace Cameron-Bure Actress, author, and co-host of The View "Love Your Life, Not Theirs is full of the kind of practical, straightforward advice we've come to expect from Rachel Cruze. She offers guidance on paying down debt, smart saving, and the right way to talk to your spouse about money. These indispensable tips can help with day-to-day spending decisions and put you on a path to establishing healthy financial habits." Susan Spencer Editor-in-Chief for Woman's Day "Cruze's self-deprecating and honest voice is a great resource for anyone wanting to take charge of their money. With humor and approachability, she helps her readers set themselves up for success and happiness, no matter what current financial state they may be in." Kimberly Williams-Paisley New York Times best-selling author of Where the Light Gets In "In today's world of social media, the temptation to play the comparison game is stronger than ever. Love Your Life, Not Theirs is the perfect reminder that, when it comes to money, comparison is a game you can't win. A terrific--and much needed--read." Jean Chatzky Financial Editor, NBC TODAY and Host of HerMoney with Jean Chatzky Podcast

One of the most beloved and trusted mindfulness teachers in America offers a lifeline for difficult times: the RAIN meditation, which awakens our courage and heart Tara Brach is an in-the-trenches teacher whose work counters today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties--stresses that leave us rushing around on auto-pilot and cut off from the presence and creativity that give our lives meaning. In this heartfelt and deeply practical book, she offers an antidote: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs. Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.

From the bestselling author of The Man Who Didn't Call, The Love of My Life is a story about what happens when you discover the person you trust most in the world isn't who they say they are . . .

"The most valuable aspect of religion," writes Robert Lawrence Smith, "is that it provides us with a framework for living. I have always felt that the beauty and power of Quakerism is that it exhorts us to live more simply, more truthfully, more charitably." Taking his inspiration from the teaching of the first Quaker, George Fox, and from his own nine generations of Quaker forebears, Smith speaks to all of us who are seeking a way to make our lives simpler, more meaningful, and more useful. Beginning with the Quaker belief that "There is that of God in every person," Smith explores the ways in which we can harness the inner light of God that dwells in each of us to guide the personal choices and challenges we face every day. How to live and speak truthfully. How to listen for, trust, and act on our conscience. How to make our work an expression of the best that is in us. Using vivid examples from his own life, Smith writes eloquently of Quaker Meeting, his decision to fight in World War II, and later to oppose the Vietnam War. From his work as an educator and headmaster to his role as a husband and father, Smith quietly convinces that the lofty ideals of Quakerism offer all of us practical tools for leading a more meaningful life. His book culminates with a moving letter to his grandchildren which imparts ten lessons for "letting your life speak."

From the Governor General’s Award winning author of Forms of Devotion, Our Lady of the Lost and Found and By the Book “Never once in my life had I dreamed of being in bed with a convicted killer.” For almost six turbulent years, award-winning writer Diane Schoemperlen was involved with a prison inmate serving a life sentence for second-degree murder. The relationship surprised no one more than her. How do you fall in love with a man with a violent past? How do you date someone who is in prison? This Is Not My Life is the story of the romance between Diane and Shane—how they met and fell in love, how they navigated passes and parole and the obstacles facing a long-term prisoner attempting to return to society, and how, eventually, things fell apart. While no relationship takes place in a vacuum, this is never more true than when that relationship is with a federal inmate. In this candid, often wry, sometimes disturbing memoir, Schoemperlen takes us inside this complex and difficult relationship as she journeys through the prison system with Shane. Not only did this relationship enlarge her capacity for both empathy and compassion, but it also forced her to more deeply examine herself.