Divorce brings a storm of emotions—grief, anger, confusion and shame. Yet while the ache lingers, life goes on.Vaneetha Risner has walked through this pain. In this hopeful and honest book, she draws from Scripture and her own story to offer compassionate wisdom on...Finding emotional clarity and letting go of shameTrusting God in the uncertainties aheadHealing relationally, resisting bitterness and finding communityNurturing hope for the...

If you are reeling from a divorce you never wanted, This Was Never the Plan is a lifeline. - Steve Grissom, Founder of DivorceCareDivorce brings a storm of emotions: grief, anger, confusion and shame. Yet while the ache lingers, life goes on.Vaneetha Risner has walked through this pain. In this hopeful and honest book, she draws from Scripture and her own story to offer compassionate wisdom on...Findi...

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy.Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, a...

Twenty-one surgeries by age thirteen. Years in the hospital. Verbal and physical bullying from schoolmates. Multiple miscarriages as a young wife. The death of a child. A debilitating progressive disease. Riveting pain. Abandonment. Unwanted divorce.Vaneetha Rendall Risner begged God for grace that would deliver her. But God offered something better: his sustaining grace.In The Scars That Have Shaped Me, Vaneetha does more than share her stories of pain; she invite...

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy.Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, a...

Have your tears lasted more than a night as you’ve been watching for the morning? Does the waiting feel too hard and God too distant?Waiting, watching, hoping – these words describe how Vaneetha lived for years, after her once-comfortable life dissolved in front of her. She pleaded with God to fix her situation and stop the pain in the midst of an escalating illness, the death of a child, and an unwanted divorce. But instead of doing what she asked for, God gave her something even ...

There are many paths to lose your way. And only one way to find it.So said Jesus of Nazareth, the most compelling and controversial teacher of all time. This book aims to make sense of his counterintuitive claim: Unless we lose our lives for his sake, we will never discover our true selves.Writers from around the world tell their stories of healing and hope amid many hardships. Joni Eareckson Tada, Sam Allberry, Christopher Yuan, Aixa de López, and many oth...

How do you find your way through the broken pieces and the pain to peace?In this honest and searching book, New York Times best-selling author Iyanla Vanzant recounts the last decade of her profoundly human journey and shares her own hard lessons to inspire you to put your personal puzzle back together.Part metaphorical teaching story, part wrenching personal chronicle, this phoenix-rising-from-the-ashes tale is about men and money, love and work, ...

Is it possible that good things can come out of our broken dreams?Worship leader and recording artist Laura Story’s life took an unexpected turn when her husband, Martin, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Their lives would never be the same.Yes, with God all things are possible. But the devastating news was that no cure existed to restore Martin’s short-term memory, eyesight, and other complications. The fairy-tale life Laura had dreamed of was no longer po...

When Terri Ann Leidich's twenty-year-old son was suddenly killed in a vehicle accident, she was thrown into the roller coaster agony of grief.Adapted from the journal she kept through the experience of her horrendous loss, this book is a roadmap for parents who have lost children, as well as for those who are on the sidelines, watching the agony of someone they care about and not knowing what to do or how to help.Terri Ann's ability to put emotions ...

Struggles test us all, but readers will find counsel and reassurance in these devotional stories of faith, strength, and prayer, providing a boost and reminder of God’s ever-present love during difficult times.Life has always been filled with trials, including illness, job loss, grief, addictions, and much more. God never promised that our earthly lives would be without difficulties, but He assured us that He will always be with us to share our burdens. Chicken...

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Tough Times for Teens supports and inspires teenagers during their most challenging times, reminding them they are not alone as they read stories from teens just like them with the same struggles.The teenage years are tough, and when bad things happen, the challenges can be overwhelming. Faced with illness, car accidents, loss of loved ones, divorces, or other upheavals, the obstacles to happiness can seem insurmountable. But the...