What Looks Weak Is Strong

Flourishing people are strong and weak. Two common temptations lure us away from abundant living: withdrawing into safety and grasping for power. True flourishing, says Andy Crouch, travels down an unexpected path—being both strong and weak. We see this unlikely mixture in the best leaders—people who use their authority for the benefit of others while also showing extraordinary willingness to face and embrace suffering. We see it in Jesus, who wielded tremendous power yet also exposed himself to hunger, ridicule, torture and death. Rather than being opposites, strength and weakness are actually meant to be combined in every human life and community. With the characteristic insight, memorable stories and hopeful realism he is known for, Andy Crouch shows us how to walk this path so that the image of God can shine through us. Not just for our own good, but for the sake of others. With a new preface by the author, Strong and Weak is now part of the IVP Signature Collection, which features special editions of iconic books in celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of InterVarsity Press. A new companion Bible study is also available.

Even on the days you struggle to stay strong, you can live a resilient and hopeful life. After receiving a devastating brain cancer diagnosis, Jay Hewitt had a decision to make: Should he give up on faith or practice what he preached and trust that with God all things are possible? In I Am Weak, I Am Strong, Jay chronicles his journey of turning toward Jesus even when circumstances urged him to turn away. Faith in action for Jay included competing in an IRONMAN triathlon while undergoing cancer treatment. His race was a grand gesture of love for his young daughter--and a call to resilience for all of us. I Am Weak, I Am Strong reminds us that our true "superpower" comes from God. As you read Jay's honest and inspiring words, you will: Understand the counterintuitive wisdom of strength in weakness Learn to discern the voice of God and his calling for your life Live with resilience in the face of any trial Discover how God moves mountains--even when you least expect it Feel empowered to pray authentically, boldly, and continually For anyone who is searching for hope in anxiety and grief, needs validation and compassion in times of doubt, is curious about faith in the face of death, or longs for a more authentic relationship with God, I Am Weak, I Am Strong will teach you that faith grows from the freedom to doubt. Strength grows from realizing how weak we are on our own. And light grows when we follow God's dreams for us, even through the darkness.

In the war of the wolves and the sheep, what if the sheep started winning? Are human wolves a keystone species of the human race? If they were hunted to extinction, leaving no one to winnow the mediocre mob, what would happen to humanity? The narrator in the movie Idiocracy was on point when he said, "Evolution does not necessarily reward intelligence. With no natural predators to thin the herd, it began to simply reward those who reproduced the most, and left the intelligent to become an endangered species." The same is true of strength. Without the strong, the weak will reproduce more and more and eventually there will only be weakness, mediocrity, an inability – an impossibility – to achieve anything great and glorious. The strangest war is being fought. It's a war to destroy human intelligence and human strength. This war says that wolves must be exterminated or made into non-wolves, by taming them. And then they can become … pets. You know, just like dogs. You put a collar on them. You put a leash on them. You take them for walks. You tickle their tummy. You make them perform tricks. You make them roll over and play dead. They are wholly dependent on you. They have separation anxiety when you're not there. They have to make the intelligent stupid. They have to make the strong weak. But they don't know what they're doing. The task is not to tame wolves. It's to make them smarter and stronger. It's to sublimate them. Without the wolves, there is only decadence and degeneration. Without the wolves to control mediocrity, mediocrity grows exponentially. Why did the Roman Empire fall? It was because all the Roman wolves had gone. Only mediocrities were left. They could do nothing to hold back the barbarian tide. Civilizations always end when the wolves vanish. New cultures begin when new wolves start a new lupine era, full of strength and vigor. Are you a lone wolf? Are you one of the wolf pack? Or are you part of the gang trying to tame all wolves? Do you want to see the empire fall? When it no longer has any strength left, when mediocrities are in charge of everything, then the end is certain. As Wilfred Owen said, "What passing-bells for these who die as cattle? … Was it for this the clay grew tall?"

The notion that there are two kinds of human beings, the strong and the weak, is dispelled in this helpful and balanced study of psychic strength and spiritual strength. We are much more alike than we may think, says Paul Tournier, the renowned Swiss psychotherapist and student of the Bible. What is different is the external mask that hides identical inner weaknesses and fears. All of us are afraid of others, of God, of ourselves, of life, and of death. What distinguishes us from one another is the way we react to our common distress. In vivid case histories from his notebook, Dr. Tournier illustrates the importance of self understanding in the advancement of healing in Christian freedom. He turns to the Bible to show that the Christian message of sin and grace helps us to accept ourselves realistically in the confidence that God has already accepted us in Jesus Christ. It is through the power derived from Him that we are enabled to find hope and freedom from fear. This book, with its refreshing insights into the parts played by psychology and religion in human problems, opens up new perspectives for people seeking self knowledge and provides an invaluable resource for pastoral and other counselors.

You have a story to tell, don't you? Or maybe you simply want to try your hand at fiction writing. Perhaps you've given it your best effort, but simply didn't have enough tools in your tool box to finish that first draft. Wherever you're at with this novel-writing thing, popular bloggers Stephanie Morrill, Jill Williamson, and Shannon Dittemore totally understand. They know it's hard to finish a first draft. To stay motivated until the end. To feel like a "real" writer. They know because they've been there too. In Go Teen Writers: Write Your Novel, you'll learn: There is no such thing as one right way to write a novel. How to take an idea and give it a beginning, middle, and end. What story structure means and how it strengthens a book. Different approaches to plotting a novel. How to develop characters worth reading about. Strategies for creating memorable storyworlds and settings. What theme is and how to use it to enrich your story. What to do when your first draft is finished. There's no doubt about it. Learning to write a novel from beginning to end is a challenge. But with this book as your guide, you'll see that when you're in possession of the right tools, you're capable of finishing what you start. You'll be empowered and encouraged-as if you had a writing coach (or three!) sitting alongside you.

"I might be known as the weakest, but don't forget the real me, I am the strongest werewolf in the entire race. Just wait and see!" *** Clary Vertina was the TRUE LUNA, but her pack maltreated her because of her weakness. She was born very strong, but her sister took her strength using a forbidden skill which made her lose the memory of the past. Her own family treated her like a slave, and her own fated mate rejected her as he claimed that her sister is his mate. What's more, her weakness nearly killed her in a duel. Still, she was tragically killed, and died with a child in her womb as the pack announced her death. As she came back to life, she slowly discovered the truth and her real identity. Now the only thing she was craving for was REVENGE! "I am the daughter of a Goddess and I will unlock... this Forbidden Love."

Depictive secondary predicates, such as 'raw' in 'George ate the fish raw', are central to current issues in syntactic and semantic theory - in particular predication theory, phrase structure theories, issues of control and grammatical relations, and verbal aspect. This is the first book to approach depictive secondary predication from a cross-linguistic perspective. It describes all the relevant phenomena and brings together critical surveys and new contributions on their morphosyntactic and semantic properties. It considers similarities and differences between secondary predicates and other types of adjuncts, including adverbials of manner, comparison, quantity, and location. The authors are leading scholars with a first-hand knowledge of the languages they discuss. Their approach is theory-neutral and pragmatic: they draw on insights and research traditions ranging from the minimalist program to semantic maps methodology. The book will interest scholars working on the semantics or syntax of secondary predicates, adverbials, and the role of agreement and other morphological marking. It has been designed for use in advanced syntax and typology classes.

The way a beginner develops into a strong chess player closely resembles the progress of the game of chess itself. This popular idea is the reason why many renowned chess instructors such as former World Champions Garry Kasparov and Max Euwe, emphasize the importance of studying the history of chess. Willy Hendriks agrees that there is much to be learned from the pioneers of our game. He challenges, however, the conventional view on what the stages in the advancement of chess actually have been. Among the various articles of faith that Hendriks questions is Wilhelm Steinitz's reputation as the discoverer of the laws of positional chess. In The Origin of Good Moves Hendriks undertakes a groundbreaking investigative journey into the history of chess. He explains what actually happened, creates fresh perspectives, finds new heroes, and reveals the real driving force behind improvement in chess: evolution. This thought-provoking book is full of beautiful and instructive ‘new’ material from the old days. With plenty of exercises, the reader is invited to put themselves in the shoes of the old masters. Never before has the study of the history of chess been so entertaining and rewarding.