The View From My Front Porch

How do you see the world from your vantage point? While few of us have put much thought into how we have developed our worldview, all of us have one. Our worldview encompasses how we see the world and how we react to it. Just as we all see the world a little differently from the vantage point of our front porches, we also view the world through different lenses affected by our past experiences, our current circumstances, the information we've been taught, and the way we wish thing to be. But as Christians we need to intentionally develop a worldview that accurately reflects the character of our God and the truth of His Word. This 4-week Bible study is a distinctly feminine approach to developing a biblical worldview. Author Kay Harms takes you to the ancient words of the Bible to frame a sound, biblical view of a modern woman's world.

These poems reflect my beliefs and my faith in God. I feel that I have grown stronger in my faith since I began writing this book. Many of the poems are about how we make choices in our daily lives. They show love, compassion and humility, which teach applications for living our faith and being the example God has called each of us to be.

An album featuring the best of 20 years of award-winning Magnum member Larry Towell's photographs of family life in rural Ontario. Towell's idyllic and beautiful photo-essay is accompanied by an extensive autobiographical text illustrated with over 160 photographs, objects and songs chosen by Towell. These are presented in an extended introduction and afterword to the book, exploring the history of his front porch (Larry's house was built by the man who first carved Ontario into farm units) and his journeys from the security of his home and family into the war zones of the world. Between them, the photo essay and the accompanying materials, The World From My Front Porch makes a poetic and moving statement about land and belonging, the central theme of Towell's work. The book is dramatically designed in the manner of an Edwardian album, and accompanies a retrospective touring exhibition.

What’s the secret to writing a hit song? It’s as simple as 1-2-3-4-5-6! Innovative, practical, and inspiring, Six Steps to Songwriting Success presents a surefire step-by-step approach to mastering the elements consistently found in hit songs. Author Jason Blume, a songwriter with the rare distinction of having had songs on the Country, Pop, and R&B charts simultaneously, has packed this book with such key aids as the three-step lyric writing technique used by the pros; lyric, melody, and demo checklists; and tools for self-evaluation–plus many other exercises that work. Blume’s warm, humorous style features motivational anecdotes and entertaining stories of how hit songs came to be written and recorded. Get Six Steps to Songwriting Success, and get on the charts!

A welcoming guide to transforming any home into a beautiful, inviting space—from the hosts of the hit HGTV show Fixer to Fabulous Beloved by millions of fans, Jenny and Dave Marrs from HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous have built and remodeled hundreds of homes over the last two decades, creating joyful, warm, and thoughtful makeovers in each one. At its heart, the Marrs believe a home needs to express the intentions of its inhabitants. They also believe your home should be beautiful—not based on how the latest trends define beauty, but as a reflection of who you are. House + Love = Home is filled with: • Stunning Photos Throughout: Filled with never-before-seen gorgeous photographs of interiors, exteriors, family shots and more • Intentions: House + Love = Home highlights the twelve areas within a home that Jenny and Dave often remodel and show how each unique space can have intentional design elements that express the personalities of those who live there • Transformational Tips: these tips take a specific part of a home—everything from doors and shutters to lighting and flooring—and shows the most effective ways to enhance that area Alongside gorgeous photos of the Marrs’ restored farmhouse, their delightful kids, and many other spaces they’ve reimagined, Jenny and Dave share their personal journey of establishing their own home, an ever-growing family and a busy, sustainable business. Woven throughout are wonderful essays by Jenny about their lives on the Marrs farm and how they seek to live intentionally with a deep abiding faith and purpose. As Jenny says, “Our company motto is the simplest of equations: House + Love = Home. Beautiful spaces are most often imperfect and full of character. Just like people. Perfection is never the goal. Living well is.”

This New York Times bestselling book is filled with hundreds of fun, deceptively simple, budget-friendly ideas for sprucing up your home. With two home renovations under their (tool) belts and millions of hits per month on their blog YoungHouseLove.com, Sherry and John Petersik are home-improvement enthusiasts primed to pass on a slew of projects, tricks, and techniques to do-it-yourselfers of all levels. Packed with 243 tips and ideas—both classic and unexpected—and more than 400 photographs and illustrations, this is a book that readers will return to again and again for the creative projects and easy-to-follow instructions in the relatable voice the Petersiks are known for. Learn to trick out a thrift-store mirror, spice up plain old roller shades, "hack" your Ikea table to create three distinct looks, and so much more.

The former American History editor explores the creation and restoration of an essential part of a twentieth-century home’s identity—the American porch. “In this delightful look at an American icon, journalist and documentary scriptwriter . . . Dolan traces the history of the porch, using this history to explore subjects such as architecture, history, slavery, colonialism, trade, anthropology, sociology, consumer behavior, and publishing.” —Library Journal In 1981, Michael Dolan and his wife, Eileen O’Toole, bought a 1926 suburban bungalow in the Palisades area of Washington, DC. It was a fixer-upper and DIY project that consumed their lives for twelve years. As rooms were transformed with updated electrical wiring and plumbing, the house’s porch became a storage area, rotating appliances, furniture, and construction materials as they were used and discarded. After the interior renovation was completed, Michael finally turned his attention to the porch, working with contractors to resurrect it—a reconstruction that inspired him to uncover the history of porches and their significance as a symbolic piece of Americana. “In praise of the porch: Come up and sit a spell.” —USA Today “A wry, well-researched look at the place and the people who rocked, talked and courted on [the American porch] for three centuries.” —Parade “The porch is making a comeback, gradually replacing its humbler rival the deck, which the traditionalist Dolan refers to as the platform shoe or leisure suit of American architecture.” —Time “Dolan amply demonstrates that the porch is primarily a means of escaping the heat and, almost as important, a locus for casual social interaction.” —Publishers Weekly