Restoration Stories

What is it about old pine panelling layered with flaking paint that enchants the eye and tugs at the heart? The soft shine of wooden boards, worn and gappy. Sunlight shafting through an open door out to an unevenly flagged yard where a clay pipe might turn up alongside a Thames oyster shell or a pottery shard. Blue-and-and white export ware; the molten lustre of mahogany or worn silver; the curiosity of tricorn hat boxes or a fragment of Spitalfields silk; portraits whose owners might once have lived here. Would they have believed that these houses would stand 250 years later? Time has imbued all these things with unforgettable patina not only in museums, but even more in old Georgian houses still lived in and loved, repaired, and regenerated. The majority of these extraordinary dwellings began as ordinary terrace houses, built to a pattern, often in pairs or small groups. Clusters exist in the East End of London: in Spitalfields, Whitechapel, Shadwell, Mile End. They are mostly Grade II-listed, and their owners put up with the bone-curdling cold of winter howling through gaps, with mending and colour-matching, patching and piecing. Not just put up with-- they embrace it. And among them are some unrepentantly furnished with 20th- and 21st-century modern, finding poetic harmony across the centuries.

What unanswered questions do you have about your life? Some of us struggle to find meaning, others wonder about identity, and all of us want to be loved. Your story—the events and relationships that define you—will guide how you answer those questions. But God has a story too. His story is about sending Jesus to this broken world to mend all ...

All great stories have certain elements that resonate within. These are echoes of the ultimate story, the greatest story ever told―the Gospel, which is our story through faith. The Apostle Paul says: “I am eager to preach the gospel to you… It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:15-16). Author Michael O'Dowd uses the power of story to lead us through the epic message of good news beginning in Genesis where it all started, continuing all the way to Revelation, where this amazing story ends and all things become new. Packed full of scripture and depth yet made understandable through the author's own experience and explanation, The Gospel: A Redemption and Restoration Story describes doctrinal truth in story form, where God is the hero, and we are being saved. This book will help pastors and congregants alike understand the biblical details of the gospel that saves us―and keeps saving us.

Ever since its original publication in Germany in 1938, Max Schweidler's Die Instandetzung von Kupferstichen, Zeichnungen, Buchern usw has been recognized as a seminal modern text on the conservation and restoration of works on paper. To address what he saw as a woeful dearth of relevant literature and in order to assist those who have 'set themselves the goal of preserving cultural treasures, ' the noted German restorer composed a thorough technical manual covering a wide range of specific techniques, including detailed instructions on how to execute structural repairs and alterations that, if skilfully done, can be virtually undetectable. By the mid-twentieth century, curators and conservators of graphic arts, discovering a nearly invisible repair in an old master print or drawing, might comment that the object had been 'Schweidlerized.' This volume, based on the authoritative revised German edition of 1949, makes Schweidler's work available in English for the first time, in a meticulously edited and annotated critical edition. The editor's introduction places the work in its historical context and probes the philosophical issues the book raises, while some two hundred annotati

The story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz is an inspiring short story about devotion, loyalty, kindness, compassion, and, most of all, love. Ironically, the word ‘love’ is not even once mentioned in the Book of Ruth, but throughout, you can see the love. It is a story where the characters genuinely display their biblical morals and values. We learn a lot about Jewish customs and God’s plan for humanity. It consists of types, patterns and shadows of God’s promise that was revealed throughout the New Testament. As you read and study the Book of Ruth, you will realise that a beautifully profound message is hidden between these pages in the Word of Abba Father.

Ecological restoration, although a relatively new endeavour compared to other disciplines, has gained significant momentum during the last decade as accelerating global change becomes more apparent. It is now widely accepted by the scientific community that to avoid further devastating effects of climate change and biodiversity loss, humanity must determinedly move more to protect and restore natural ecosystems. Many restoration efforts of the past have been ad hoc, site and situation-specific and have often failed to achieve desired outcomes, but over the last decade, many countries are allocating increasingly significant amounts of financial investment towards restoration with the goal of achieving more systematic and predictable outcomes. Today, activities related to restoring ecosystems, natural assets and biodiversity are a global focus. This book covers a wide range of topics related to ecological restoration including for grasslands, wetlands, temperate and tropical forests and arid zones. Importantly, it also focuses on ecological restoration in human-disturbed landscapes such as for urban areas, farmlands, mine sites and transport corridors. It highlights the necessity for evidence-based approaches that are both nuanced and complementary with prescriptions for people-based restoration, that is socially inclusive and cognisant of historic and current community sentiment. Ambitious landscape and continental scale targets for ecological restoration have been set across the globe. However, without practical guidelines developed from restoration evaluations from the recent past to follow, future efforts are unlikely to be successful, nor -expected targets met. To that end, this book reviews and highlights a large number and variety of restoration stories from around the world. Most are presented as reader-friendly case studies, that feature innovative and systematic techniques for undertaking species-rich ecological restoration. Together they provide inspiration for current and future professionals and offer unique glimpses into state-of-the-art practice for this critically important discipline

This book presents a critical history of the intersections between American environmental literature and ecological restoration policy and practice. Through a storying—restorying—restoring framework, this book explores how entanglements between writers and places have produced literary interventions in restoration politics. The book considers the ways literary landscapes are politicized by writers themselves, and by conservationists, activists, policymakers, and others, in defense of U.S. public lands and the idea of wilderness. The book profiles five environmental writers and examines how their writings on nature, wildness, wilderness, conservation, preservation, and restoration have variously inspired and been translated into ecological restoration programs and campaigns by environmental organizations. The featured authors are Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) at Walden Pond, John Muir (1838–1914) in Yosemite National Park, Aldo Leopold (1887–1948) at his family’s Wisconsin sand farm, Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1890–1998) in the Everglades, and Edward Abbey (1927–1989) in Glen Canyon. This book combines environmental history, literature, biography, philosophy, and politics in a commentary on considering (and developing) environmental literature’s place in conversations on restoration ecology, ecological restoration, and rewilding.

When the challenges you've faced threaten to destroy your life, how do you find your way back to the truths you thought you believed? I Am Restored tells the untold story of how Lecrae's past nearly ruined his future--until he learned that the wounds we carry can have the potential to be unlikely guides to healing and freedom for ourselves and others. Throughout I Am Restored, Lecrae documents the shattering yet hopeful story of how he faced the scars of his past--sexual abuse, physical trauma, addiction, and depression--and emerged more fully human than ever before. With remarkable transparency and vulnerability, Lecrae reveals that at the height of his professional success, his life was spinning out of control, driven by a past that he had never confronted and a religious perspective that was incapable of meeting the challenge. I Am Restored takes an unflinching look at the personal and public spaces that are too often at the societal core of our pain and heartache--culture, politics, family, church, and more--and teaches us that forgiveness can be the birthplace of the life that God has created for us. Throughout this powerful, deeply personal account, Lecrae shares the life lessons he's learned about: Confronting the pain and trauma that has shaped your story Breaking the cycle of sin and shame and embracing joy and authenticity Finding hope and healing in the midst of chaos The simple practices that can change your mental, emotional, and spiritual health Leading a life that's bursting with creativity and true freedom I Am Restored is a hopeful, inspiring charge to start your journey to lasting healing today. No matter what your past has held, God is near you, he hears you, and he's not done writing your story.