Survival Guide For The Soul

WINNER OF THE WORD GUILD 2019 CHRISTIAN LIVING BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD "The pages you are about to read may feel like a literal rescue." —Ann Voskamp, New York Times Bestselling author Survival Guide for the Soul is a profound spiritual exploration of God's love—a love that many of us understand intellectually without fully grasping or relying on in our day-to-day experiences—a love that fills our sails with joy and frees us to truly flourish. Many of us are driven by an ambition to accomplish something big outside ourselves. On all sides, we're pressured to achieve—professionally, socially, financially. Even when we're aware of this pressure, it can be hard to escape the vicious circles of accomplishment, frustration, and spiritual burn-out. Drawing on a wide range of sources from Scripture to church history to psychology and modern neuroscience—as well as deeply personal stories from his own life—Ken Shigematsu, recipient of the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal and pastor of Tenth Church in Vancouver, BC, vividly demonstrates how the gospel redeems our desires and reorders our lives. Pastor Shigematsu offers fresh perspective on how certain spiritual practices help orient our lives so that our souls can flourish in the midst of a demanding, competitive society. And he concludes with a liberating and counter-cultural definition of true greatness. If you long to experience a deeper relationship with Christ within the daily pressures to succeed, Survival Guide for the Soul is packed with biblical wisdom and a godly approach to transcend the human tendency to define ourselves by our productivity and success. "Loaded with practical insights and encouraging thoughts, every reader will benefit from Ken's work." —Max Lucado, New York Times Bestselling author

Many of us have questions about the passage of life and often wonder what happens when we die. In this amazingly insightful book by medium/clairvoyant Lisa Williams, evidence of the afterlife is explored. Through various channels such as meditation, psychic readings, communication with her Spirit Guide, and a personal near-death experience, Lisa delves into the journey of the soul, discusses the different stages of the afterlife, and reveals what life is really like on the other side.This book addresses the myriad questions many of us have surrounding this subject, especially if we've gone through the painful experience of having lost loved ones. Lisa provides a reassuring glimpse into this fascinating topic by exploring the pathway to the afterlife and then to reincarnation; with the realization that death is not final, but rather a transition into the world beyond-a place that should be honored, not feared.

Ken Shigematsu shows that spiritual formation is more than just solitude and contemplative reflections. Spiritual formation happens in the everyday, in each and every moment of life. For those caught up in the busyness of work, family, and church, it often feels like time with God is just another thing on a crowded “to-do’ list. Ken explains how the time-tested spiritual practice of the “rule of life” can help bring busy people into a closer relationship with God. He shows how a personal rule of life can fit almost any vocation or life situation. In God in My Everything, you will discover how to create and practice a life-giving, sustainable rhythm in the midst of your demanding life. If you long for a deeper spirituality but often feel that the busyness of life makes a close relationship with God challenging—and, at times, seemingly impossible—this book is for you.

Bestselling author Bear Grylls is best known for his seven seasons on National Geographic's Man vs. Wild, his current NBC TV series, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and his adventures climbing ice cliffs, running through forest fires, and parachuting from balloons. In Soul Fuel, Bear shares the backstories behind many of his most daring expeditions and how his faith gave him the purpose and power to carry on. In 365 devotions he explores themes of hope, courage, risk, heaven, and more. Soul Fuel is perfect for: Men and women Self-purchase or a gift for anyone wanting to deepen their faith Fans of Bear's TV series and those who love to read about survival Nature has taught Bear some important lessons, and behind every feat is a story of grit, determination, and strength found in faith. By reading Soul Fuel, you will discover: How to find joy during the most difficult times The importance of hope and taking risks How to create courage despite anxiety and fear Bear wants others to know, "I often don't feel very strong. Life can be a battle. We all feel that from time to time. But any strength I do have seems to come in the quiet moments at the start of my day. It comes when I am on my own, on my knees. It comes from taking time to be still with God. . . . So for me, starting my day like this really helps. It is like food. Like good fuel for the soul."

Life is beautiful but tough. The question is, how to get better at surviving it? The 'soul survival guide' can help you find possible answers. This innovative new book pulls together - and unpicks - ideas and approaches from the spiritual and psychological worlds. Is kindness all? Do we have to let go? Can positive thinking create pressure? Is the ego the enemy? Why can meditation unsettle the mind? Author Ali Davenport was inspired to write the book following a difficult period in her life. She turned to self-help and spirituality but often struggled with the solutions they offered. Was she lacking in some way, not open enough to new ways of thinking? Why couldn't she be as sure about life as the experts and gurus seemed to be? This was the book she wanted to see on the shelves. It's here to help on the road, giving you some idea of where the signposts might be directing you. It also suggests ways of looking after your mental wellbeing and building resilience in a random and messy world. The 'soul survival guide' won't ask you to take on a set of beliefs or live a certain way. That's up to you. It won't answer your big questions about life either. Just encourage you to get used to the idea that there are more questions than answers.

Near-death experiences? Past-life regression? Reincarnation? Are these sorts of things Jewish? With a blend of candor, personal questioning, and sharp-eyed scholarship, Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz relates his own observations and the firsthand accounts shared with him by others, experiences that helped propel his journey from skeptic to believer that there is life after life. From near-death experiences to reincarnation, past-life memory to the work of mediums, Rabbi Spitz explores what we are really able to know about the afterlife, and draws on Jewish texts to share that belief in these concepts—so often approached with reluctance—is in fact true to Jewish tradition. “The increasing interest and faith in survival of the soul may grow into a cultural wave that is as potentially transformative for society as the civil rights movement and feminism. A renewed faith in ‘the soul’s journeys’ will call for a reassessment of our priorities, and will enable traditional religions to renew and transform their adherents.” —from the Introduction

Near-death experiences? Past-life regression? Reincarnation? Are these sorts of things Jewish? With a blend of candor, personal questioning, and sharp-eyed scholarship, Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz relates his own observations and the firsthand accounts shared with him by others, experiences that helped propel his journey from skeptic to believer that there is life after life. From near-death experiences to reincarnation, past-life memory to the work of mediums, Rabbi Spitz explores what we are really able to know about the afterlife, and draws on Jewish texts to share that belief in these concepts—so often approached with reluctance—is in fact true to Jewish tradition. “The increasing interest and faith in survival of the soul may grow into a cultural wave that is as potentially transformative for society as the civil rights movement and feminism. A renewed faith in ‘the soul’s journeys’ will call for a reassessment of our priorities, and will enable traditional religions to renew and transform their adherents.” —from the Introduction

"Absolutely splendid . . . essential for understanding why there is so much bad thinking in political life right now." —David Brooks, New York Times How to Think is a contrarian treatise on why we’re not as good at thinking as we assume—but how recovering this lost art can rescue our inner lives from the chaos of modern life. As a celebrated cultural critic and a writer for national publications like The Atlantic and Harper’s, Alan Jacobs has spent his adult life belonging to communities that often clash in America’s culture wars. And in his years of confronting the big issues that divide us—political, social, religious—Jacobs has learned that many of our fiercest disputes occur not because we’re doomed to be divided, but because the people involved simply aren’t thinking. Most of us don’t want to think. Thinking is trouble. Thinking can force us out of familiar, comforting habits, and it can complicate our relationships with like-minded friends. Finally, thinking is slow, and that’s a problem when our habits of consuming information (mostly online) leave us lost in the spin cycle of social media, partisan bickering, and confirmation bias. In this smart, endlessly entertaining book, Jacobs diagnoses the many forces that act on us to prevent thinking—forces that have only worsened in the age of Twitter, “alternative facts,” and information overload—and he also dispels the many myths we hold about what it means to think well. (For example: It’s impossible to “think for yourself.”) Drawing on sources as far-flung as novelist Marilynne Robinson, basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, British philosopher John Stuart Mill, and Christian theologian C.S. Lewis, Jacobs digs into the nuts and bolts of the cognitive process, offering hope that each of us can reclaim our mental lives from the impediments that plague us all. Because if we can learn to think together, maybe we can learn to live together, too.