Gifts And Strangers

A pioneering look at the implications of Christian faith for foreign language education. It has become clear in recent years that reflection on foreign language education involves more than questioning which methods work best. This new volume carries current discussions of the value-laden nature of foreign language teaching into new territory by exploring its spiritual and moral dimensions. David Smith and Barbara Carvill show how the Christian faith sheds light on the history, aims, content, and methods of foreign language education. They also propose a new approach to the field based on the Christian understanding of hospitality.

True Stories of Faith in Unexpected Places In this very personal, welcoming book, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Tom Hallman, Jr., shares his journey of faith from indifferent agnostic to growing believer. Faith, Hallman tells us, is looking in the mirror in the morning and wondering why. It’s about doubt and hope. It’s catching a glimpse of a beacon piercing the fog of life and walking toward it, never knowing if you’re headed in the right direction, but pressing onward. You’ll meet ordinary people and be drawn into conversations that ask probing, almost intrusive questions—conversations that linger in your mind and resonate with your heart—from the ache of a mother who watched her baby die after only twenty days of struggling for life to the peaceful strength of a man working with those whose present situations mirror his past. Within these pages, you’ll find real and honest accounts of everyday people whose discoveries of faith will inspire and comfort you on your own journey. *** The security lock thumped open, and I stepped into Level 3, a neonatal unit where I had been drawn to a drama played out minute by minute. As I stood above two cribs along a back wall, I wondered less about doctors, nurses, and medicine and more about God. Two babies had been born with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia. Both had been placed on a heart-lung bypass machine to let their organs rest. One boy had no name. His mother was a crack addict. After giving birth, she abandoned her baby and never returned to the hospital. In the adjacent crib lay Jonah Van Arnam. His parents were active members of a church and visited their son daily to pray for him and the nurses and doctors. One afternoon, a nurse pulled me aside and told me a miracle was taking place: the crack addict’s baby was getting better. But . . . Jonah was dying. Why had God abandoned this couple and their son? Where was this so-called loving God? —from chapter 6

A hurricane has devastated Sarasota, Florida. Enter Hester Detlef, a dedicated field director for the Mennonite Disaster Service. Having refused to evacuate at the onset of the hurricane, former Amish man John Hafner is homeless, jobless, faithless, and badly injured. Will his limited patience for a Mennonite do-gooder keep him from accepting the help he so desperately needs?

Sam's finally old enough to help his parents harvest cranberries on their family farm in Wisconsin, from flooding the field to prepare the vines for the picking machine to delivering the fruit to receiving station. Includes recipes for cranberry sauce and cranberry pie, author's note, and glossary.

You WILL leave a spiritual legacy. The faith, convictions, and sacrifices of those who lived before us help shape our lives today. What will your faith story build for your family? Heirloom: Living and Leaving a Legacy of Faith tells stories of the past that will impact our faith today. These 52 heart-felt inspirations reveal the seeds of our faith--seeds that sprouted and took root, growing through the centuries to touch our lives today. Heirloom weaves these stories of faith and family history with Scripture, beautiful artwork, and ancestry research tips and techniques. Through these stories of persevering faith, you'll discover the potential your story has to impact future generations. Heirloom features 52 inspiring stories of faith from family research, history, and the Bible. It includes genealogy research tips to help you explore your own family tree. And, it also shares biblical and practical tips to inspire you to live out your faith in ways that will impact your family tomorrow. Heirloom encourages you to trace your heritage and document the stories of your ancestors.

During a snowstorm on Christmas eve, three strangers arrive at the Clinton family's log cabin in the Michigan territory.

A collection of nine Christmas stories.

“A moving novel” of a family’s struggle with trauma written in “clear prose” that lends “a luminous quality to [a] story of thriving against the odds”(People magazine). Sarah Laden, a young widow and mother of two, struggles to keep her family together. Since the death of her husband, her teenage son, Nate, has developed a rebellious streak. Her kindhearted younger son, Danny, struggles to pass his remedial classes. All the while, Sarah must make ends meet by running a catering business out of her home. But when a shocking and unbelievable revelation rips apart the family of her closest friend, Sarah finds herself welcoming yet another young boy into her already tumultuous life. Jordan, a quiet and reclusive elementary-school boy and classmate of Danny's, has survived a terrible tragedy, leaving him without a family. When Sarah becomes Jordan's foster mother, a relationship develops that will force her to question the things of which she thought she was so sure. Yet Sarah is not the only one changed by this young boy, and as the delicate balance that holds her family together begins to falter, the Ladens will all face truths about themselves and one another—and discover the power of love to forgive and to heal. Powerful and poignant, The Kindness of Strangers is a shocking look at how the tragedy of a single family in a small suburban town can affect so many. Katrina Kittle has created a haunting vision of the secret lives of the people we think we know best, and with heartrending storytelling, reveals that redemption is always possible. “Kittle crafts a disturbing but compelling story line. . . . [A] gripping read.” —Publishers Weekly “Utterly compelling. . . . [A] heartbreaking story.” —Kirkus Reviews