The Yearning

A stunning work of extraordinary power, this inspired anthem begins with a haunting melody that underscores the yearning of "hearts weighed down by ancient grief and centuries of sorrow." The melody and lyrics gradually build to a dramatic climax of fulfillment that is found only in Emmanuel as His faithful people await "the day of His appearing."

How long does it take for scars to heal? How long does it take for a scarred memory to fester and rise to the surface? For Marubini, the question is whether scars ever heal when you forget they are there to begin with. Marubini is a young woman who has an enviable life in Cape Town, working at a wine farm and spending idyllic days with her friends ... until her past starts spilling into her present. Something dark has been lurking in the shadows of Marubini's life from as far back as she can remember. It's only a matter of time before it reaches out and grabs at her. The Yearning is a memorable exploration of the ripple effects of the past, of personal strength and courage, and of the shadowy intersections of traditional and modern worlds.

How long does it take for scars to heal? How long does it take for a scarred memory to fester and rise to the surface? For Marubini, the question is whether scars ever heal when you forget they are there to begin with. Marubini is a young woman who has an enviable life in Cape Town, working at a wine farm and spending idyllic days with her friends ... until her past starts spilling into her present. Something dark has been lurking in the shadows of Marubini’s life from as far back as she can remember. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches out and grabs at her. The Yearning is a memorable exploration of the ripple effects of the past, of personal strength and courage, and of the shadowy intersections of traditional and modern worlds.

It is war-time Britain and seduced by her brother-in-law, sixteen-year-old Frances becomes pregnant and is banished to a lonely farm. She gives birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whom her mother heartlessly wrenches from her. And when told her baby daughter has died, Frances is overcome with grief. After years of loneliness and yearning, Frances sets out full of determination to be reunited with her son, Michael, and tell him the truth of his birth.

THE YEARNING OF YAHVEH In terms of man's morality, the Old Testament is an account of tragic failure. Israel strayed repeatedly from the path mapped out by God, and He corrected them repeatedly with tough-love discipline. From the viewpoint of God's love, the Old Testament is a journal of immense compassion. Despite Israel's failures, God kept yearning for their genuine trust and love. He refused to give up on them and called them back by His prophets who relentlessly declared, "Thus says the LORD." The LORD is a translation of the Hebrew name Yahveh, God's personal name He revealed to Moses at the burning bush. The Yearning of Yahveh takes the reader on an exciting one-page-per-day journey through the Old Testament. Join the tour and discover the gospel in the scrolls of Hebrew Scripture.

It’s 1978 in an Australian country town and a dreamy teenaged girl’s world is turned upside down by the arrival of the substitute English teacher. Solomon Andrews is beautiful, inspiring and she wants him like nothing else she’s wanted in her short life. Charismatic and unconventional, Solomon easily wins the hearts and minds of his third form English class. He notices the attention of one girl, his new neighbour, who has taken to watching him from her upstairs window. He assumes it is a harmless teenage crush, until the erotic love notes begin to arrive. Solomon knows he must resist, but her sensual words stir him. He has longings of his own, although they have nothing to do with love, or so he believes. One afternoon, as he stands reading her latest offering in his driveway, she turns up unannounced. And what happens next will torment them forever - in ways neither can imagine.

For bell hooks, the best cultural criticism sees no need to separate politics from the pleasure of reading. Yearning collects together some of hooks's classic and early pieces of cultural criticism from the '80s. Addressing topics like pedagogy, postmodernism, and politics, hooks examines a variety of cultural artifacts, from Spike Lee's film Do the Right Thing and Wim Wenders's film Wings of Desire to the writings of Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison. The result is a poignant collection of essays which, like all of hooks's work, is above all else concerned with transforming oppressive structures of domination.

Does God want us fulfilled? Popular psychology says we should be fulfilled. Advertisements tease us with dozens of ways we can be fulfilled. Many preachers and book promise Christian fulfillment. But in this surprising (and surprisingly liberating) book, Craig Barnes suggests we weren't created to be whole or complete. With a fresh reading of the early chapters of Genesis, he says that much of our pain and disillusionment arises from wrong expectations of the gospel and of life. Echoing comedian Bob Newhart, Barnes "would like to make a motion that we face reality." He candidly draws from his own experience as a son, a student, a husband, a father and a pastor to help us see what we all know but are so reluctant to say aloud--that biblical living will not save us from crises or unfulfillment. Barnes writes for anyone who knows that faith must be tough enough to "hold up in the emergency rooms of life." But he doesn't merely help us face reality. He helps us see how our needs and limitations are gifts, the best opportunities we have to receive God's grace. Because of that, Yearning may be the most honest and the most helpful book you'll read this year.