Upwards

When on our path we experience suffering and pain, trials and temptations, and all the other worldly and spiritual tornadoes and calamities, how do we keep calm, carry on, and trust in God to keep us steady? And how do we walk in faith when we face doubts about unanswered prayers and delays in God’s will? In As Sparks Fly Upwards: Weathering the Storms of Life, author and pastor Michael Carr invites his fellow believers to have faith in the provision of God in necessity, in the peace of God in perplexity, in the praise of God in adversity, and in the purity of God amidst iniquity. Writing from the pain and suffering of nursing his sick wife for forty-seven years—a woman whose life was a miracle of longevity—he has gathered together his writings and sermons during those five decades where he dealt with and explained what weathering the storms of life really means for a Christian—handling the hard task of life joyfully and with praise to God. By walking in faith and being undergirded by omnipotence, we can prevail over circumstances that we think are too great, too deep, and too challenging—“for greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” Life in God should not be more than we can handle, but it should be all that we can handle and that is the right handle to grasp.

A valuable new companion journal for the best-selling Falling Upward In Falling Upward, Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." The Companion Journal helps those who have (and those who have not) read Falling Upward to engage more deeply with the questions the book raises. Using a blend of quotes, questions for individual and group reflection, stories, and suggestions for spiritual practices, it provides a wise guide for deepening the spiritual journey. . . at any time of life. Explains why the second half of life can and should be full of spiritual richness Offers tools for spiritual growth and greater understanding of the ideas in Falling Upward Richard Rohr is a regular contributing writer for Sojourners and Tikkun magazines This important companion to Falling Upward is an excellent tool for exploring the counterintuitive messages of how we grow spiritually.

What would happen if God were to bring ten new believers into the Church in a single day? Would we be able to disciple them? What if it were a hundred people in a week? Do you think it's possible to receive a thousand new believers a month? If a million people were saved, would the Church be ready to disciple them? The Lord wants us to prepare workers for the harvest - people with a simple message of love and service, who can pass that message on. If we want to see many, many people come to Christ, then we will need to find a way for them to be discipled and to become disciplers. This book from the Japanese house church provides one way for any Christian to become a discipler: it gives simple, practical ways to live out the Gospel, to explain the Gospel, and to pass the baton of discipleship on to others.