In this lyrical and deeply personal memoir, Michael Charles Olson revisits the burnt beams and smoldering memories of his Pentecostal boyhood—where faith, fire, and fatherhood collide in unexpected ways. Told with humor, heartbreak, and hard-earned wisdom, Daddy Set the Church on Fire is a coming-of-age story set against the rhythm of worship music, the scent of burnt pews, and the aching complexity of a son learning to forgive a complicated father.When a late-night blaze destroys ...

"Sweet spot." Golfers understand the term. So do tennis players. Ever swung a baseball bat or paddled a Ping-Pong ball? If so, you know the oh-so-nice feel of the sweet spot. Life in the sweet spot rolls like the downhill side of a downwind bike ride. But you don't have to swing a bat or a club to know this. What engineers give sports equipment, God gave you.A zone, a region, a life precinct in which you were made to dwell. He tailored the curves of your life to fit an empty space...

Our obsession with bigger and faster is spinning us out of control. We move through the week breathless and bustling, just trying to keep up while longing to slow down. But real life happens in the small moments, the kind we find on Tuesday, the most ordinary day of the week. Tuesday carries moments we want to hold onto--as well as ones we'd rather leave behind. It holds secrets we can't see in a hurry--secrets not just for our schedules but for our souls. It offers us a simple bench on wh...

Mark Tabb won't ignore the facts about the hectic pace of modern life that we are, ironically, often too tired to acknowledge and change. In his candid and spiritually insightful Living with Less, he declares, “The only way to get more out of life is to choose less. Less stuff. Less activity. Less wanting more. . . . May God give us the courage to choose less stress in order that we might experience more of the life he has planned for us.”

“Greg Paul tells of whores and crazies, misfits and rejects that sound as if they stepped out from the pages of the Bible.” –Eugene PetersonSam has survived physical, sexual, and substance abuse, terrible violence, and life on the streets. Wendy lives for the next high on crack, oblivious to her boyfriend’s love. Neil is dying of AIDS.These are the people of inner-city Toronto. Look into their distorted, obscure faces, their fractured lives, and catch a glimpse of ...

Go bungee jumping. Tango. See the Eiffel Tower. Swim with sharks.Bucket lists can get pretty crazy! But what if God wanted you to think even further outside the box? To pattern your life after the one who said some pretty crazy things himself: "Love your enemies." "Store up treasures in heaven." "Seek first his kingdom and righteousness."If you checked every item off your bucket list, would your life be complete? In these pages you'll find 52 items to help you revamp your m...

The winner of 3 book awards as best book in it's category, Bent Hope was born out of Tim Huff’s first twenty years of unique and extensive work among homeless and street-involved youth and adults, in one of North America’s largest urban centres—Toronto, Canada. Bent Hope is a collection of thoughtful narratives birthed beneath crumbling bridges and in the hidden alcoves of darkened alleyways after midnight. These gripping true-life stories surface quietly from unforgiving corridors of fear...

Barbara Rainey Offers Sage Advice on the Art of Being a WifeRadio personality and bestselling author Barbara Rainey knows firsthand the challenges newly married couples face. Dismayed by Hollywood depictions of marriage and the seemingly easy solution of divorce, she sees a desperate need for a voice of experience, a mentor who has been there and understands--and can encourage, coach, and care.As her daughters began their married lives, Barbara wanted to sh...

He spent his growing-up years living for himself -- recklessly rebelling against his evangelist father's faith, numb to God and to the letters his father wrote him, immersed in the dark side of life. Until one intense night in the Jamaican Blue Mountains that allowed him to see himself in the mirror of grace, changing everything. The Secret Life of a Fool is Andrew Palau's unforgettable journey of running from God -- and the crushing, freeing experience of coming back to Him. It i...

Is your spiritual life more like a fast-food run than an intimate dinner for two?Whether it’s the busy mother’s wish to be Wonder Woman—minus the metal bra—or battles with an exploding hot water heater, or fighting the “Resolutionary War” of New Year’s Day, Mary Pierce understands the dilemmas of being a woman in today’s 24/7 world. From disorganized misery to extreme organizational mania (she used to refer to her children by their household chores: Cat Box Boy, Dishwasher Girl, and Garbag...

The Cure... for your Worst Day. Many of us stumbled into Jesus and discovered the one we’d been searching for all our lives, whether we knew it or not. He told us everything was going to be alright. He was a best friend who whispered that he loved us to the exact extent his father loved him. He saw everything we did yet refused to condemn us ever. He was an incredibly powerful and supernatural God who could actually change the outcome of our horror into beauty. Then enter shame, time, fail...

In the dark corners of the inner city, the most destitute people in society are searching for anything to numb their hurting souls. And there are some who display the most extreme mix of need and anticipation: the twenty-piece shuffle, a jittery walk marked by wide-eyed desperation, named after the street tag for a piece of crack cocaine.But the addiction to whatever will numb a troubled spirit is not confined to the streets. Suffering is not bound by social class, and pain is not ...