Walking In Darkness Then The Light

Walking in Darkness then the Light is a true story about my addiction to drugs and how drugs tried to take my life more ways than one. I grew up in a small town in Iowa and very against drugs during my high school days. I was a shy, nerdy athlete. My second year of college, I broke down and tried pot when I was a little depressed. I was instantly addicted and wanted more and more ever since. I feel all drugs are gateway drugs. My addiction started with alcohol and then weed, cocaine, and lastly, crack cocaine. I got addicted to crack the beginning of July of 2004. I was a teacher then and never expected to be so controlled by a drug before the start of the school year. The month of July, I don't think I slept more than ten hours, so when the school year started the beginning of August, I was already in bad shape. The first semester was hell, and the second semester was worse, and I was on the brink of death. Before that happened, I was arrested on March 1, 2005, which was three weeks after my fortieth birthday. After the arrest, the next five years were difficult, and I decided to commit suicide. I went home for Christmas one last time in 2010, and then I had a plan to walk into the Gulf of Mexico, never to be seen again in 2011. I went to midnight Mass on Christmas eve of 2010, and that is when I saw the light of the Holy Spirit, and that beautiful radiant light changed my life forever. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are real!

In this long awaited follow-up to the best-selling An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor explores ‘the treasures of darkness’ that the Bible speaks about. What can we learn about the ways of God when we cannot see the way ahead, are lost, alone, frightened, not in control or when the world around us seems to have descended into darkness?

The New York Times bestselling Christmas classic. Over 250,000 books in print. An annual bestseller. Thousands of readers have already fallen in love with Ann Voskamp’s One Thousand Gifts, and this Christmas, Ann will help readers celebrate the lineage and the majesty of God’s greatest gift—Jesus Christ. In what has already become a holiday classic, Voskamp reaches back into the pages of the Old Testament to explore the lineage of Jesus via the advent tradition of “The Jesse Tree.” Beginning with Jesse, the father of David, The Greatest Gift retraces the epic pageantry of mankind, from Adam to the Messiah, with each day’s reading pointing to the coming promise of Christ. Sure to become a holiday staple in every Christian home, The Greatest Gift is the perfect gift for the holidays and a timeless reminder of the true meaning of Christmas.

Beloved author Sally Clarkson shares her heart and wisdom for mothers—and offers hope for each day. A mother living well in her God-ordained role is of great beauty and inestimable value to the future history of any generation. Her impact is irreplaceable and necessary to the spiritual formation of children who will be the adults of the next generation. Fun, comfort, humor, graciousness, spiritual passion, compassion for the lost, hospitality, chores, meals, training, life-giving words, hours and hours of listening and playing and praying and reading—all are parts of the mosaic of soul development. Spend the year with Mom Heart Moments, the first devotional by beloved author Sally Clarkson, and discover how as a mother you can draw closer to the heart of God. In a world constantly vying for our attention, it can be easy to get caught up in the chaos. Each day of this beautiful devotional offers encouragement and direction to become the mother God has called you to be.

Life is filled with unexpected storms that take you by surprise. In these storms of life, it's easy to feel helpless, exhausted, afraid . . . and alone. We can feel like victims to circumstances out of our control. Beloved author Sally Clarkson understands deeply. Through almost seven decades of life, she has found herself tossed about in overwhelming life storms through many different seasons. In Help, I'm Drowning, Sally identifies the challenges that took her by surprise and then leads you to the wisdom she gathered from her experiences. Finding grace to walk through the darkness and hope to make it through will give you the comfort and encouragement you need in knowing you are not alone. Though there are no easy, formulaic answers that apply to every situation, Sally leads us to the One who is with us and will see us through. Sally found the anchors that held her steady in the midst of every storm, and she wants to help you find your anchors too. She invites you into her own personal story of anchoring well, and then--with honesty, grit, and her trademark wisdom--she will help you heal and move forward with courage and strength.

The ESV Study Bible was created to help people understand the Bible in a deeper way. Combining the best and most recent evangelical Christian scholarship with the highly regarded ESV text, it is the most comprehensive study Bible ever published. The ESV Study Bible features more than 2,750 pages of extensive, accessible Bible resources, including completely new notes, full-color maps, illustrations, charts, timelines, and articles created by an outstanding team of 93 evangelical Christian scholars and teachers. In addition to the 757,000 words of the ESV Bible itself, the notes and resources of the ESV Study Bible comprise an additional 1.1 million words of insightful explanation and teaching-equivalent to a 20-volume Bible resource library all contained in one volume. (Please note this edition does not come with free access to the Online ESV Study Bible resources.) 9-point Lexicon type (single-column Bible text); 7-point Frutiger type (double-column study notes) Black letter text Concordance Extensive articles 240 full-color maps and illustrations