Lessons In Hope

New York Times Bestseller (Education) The Economist Best Books of the Year Selection In this revealing and provocative memoir, the former chancellor of the New York City schools offers the behind-the-scenes story of the city’s dramatic campaign to improve public education and an inspiring blueprint for national reform. In 2002 New York City’s newly elected mayor, Michael Bloomberg, made a historic announcement: his administration had won control of the city’s school system in a first step toward reversing its precipitous decline. In a controversial move, he appointed Joel Klein, an accomplished lawyer from outside the education establishment, to lead this ambitious campaign. Lessons of Hope is Klein’s inside account of his eight-year mission of improvement: demanding accountability, eliminating political favoritism, and battling a powerful teachers union that seemed determined to protect a status quo that didn’t work for kids. Klein’s initiatives resulted in more school choice, higher graduation rates, and improved test scores. The New York City model is now seen as a national standard for meaningful school reform. But the journey was not easy. Klein faced resistance and conflict at every turn. Lessons of Hope lays bare the problems plaguing public education and shows how they can be solved. At its core lies Klein’s personal story: his humble upbringing in Brooklyn and Queens, and the key role that outstanding public school teachers played in nurturing his success. Engaging and illuminating, Lessons of Hope is essential reading for anyone concerned about the future of American public education.

Now with a new afterword from the author. "An important and extremely timely book...Get it, read it, and talk to others about it." --Timothy Keller In this unvarnished account of faith inside the world’s most powerful office, Michael Wear provides unprecedented insight into the highs and lows of working as a Christian in government. Reclaiming Hope is an insider’s view of the most controversial episodes of the Obama administration, from the president’s change of position on gay marriage and the transformation of religious freedom into a partisan idea, to the administration’s failure to find common ground on abortion and the bitter controversy over who would give the benediction at the 2012 inauguration. The book is also a passionate call for faith in the public square, particularly for Christians to see politics as a means of loving one’s neighbor and of pursuing justice for all. Engrossing, illuminating, and at time provocative, Reclaiming Hope changes the way we think about the relationship of politics and faith. "A pre-Trump book with serious questions for our politics in the age of Trump...More necessary than ever before." -- Sojourners "Should be read by Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and all who are concerned by the state of our politics.” --Kirsten Powers, USA Today columnist and CNN political analyst "Reclaiming Hope will certainly give you a fresh perspective on politics--but, more importantly, it may also give you a fresh perspective on faith.”--Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Ministries "An important and extremely timely book...Get it, read it, and talk to others about it." --Timothy Keller, author of Reason for God "An important contribution in this age of religious and political polarization." --J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy "A lifeline for these times." --Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts and The Broken Way “We can hope, and this book can help us.” --Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

The wilderness can be unforgiving and dangerous, yet fill our souls with awe and wonder. It can overwhelm us with beauty and stun us with fear, lift our spirits to the highest highs and send us crashing to the floor of creation. The wilderness is a classroom where we learn to survive, thrive and sometimes die. At some point in our lives, we have all been lost in a wilderness of some kindwhether literal or metaphoricalwithout any direction on how to find our way back home. Some have faced survival decisions in community disasters or personal trauma. Some have been lost in work, wandered in careers and professions. Some have been lost in relationships, crippling addictions, health challenges, or grief. Scott Hammond, a volunteer search and rescuer, knows that people who have been lostin the wilderness, in the workplace, or in lifecan teach us how to go beyond survival and thrive, regardless of the nature of our personal wildernesses. Through his experience rescuing others and real-life stories, Hammond provides valuable lessons designed to help those who are lost. These narratives communicate that small things matter, that no one is ever lost alone, and that movement creates opportunity. Being lost is not a geographic problem, but a mental and spiritual problem. Lost people may be deprived of the basics of food, water, and shelter, but they are first deprived of meaning. Restoring that meaning is the first step toward hope, and hope is the beacon that leads you home.

Michael Gill's lemons-to-lemonade memoir chronicled his transformative years working at Starbucks after losing his high-powered job, his marriage, and his health (he developed a brain tumor). In response to overwhelming requests from readers who wanted to know how they, too, could weather downturns, he has distilled his lessons into fifteen meaningful lessons, including: ·Leap...With Faith: Sometimes it pays to leap without looking and say yes without thinking (Gill accepted the Starbucks job immediately, on a whim). ·Let Yourself...Be Helped: Pride is even more paralyzing than fear. ·Look...with Respect at Every Individual You See: Gill was raised to avoid eye contact with those who were different, cloistered in a privileged world. Now he realizes the potential in all who cross his daily path. ·Lose...Your Watch (and Cell Phone and PDA!): Our obsession with productivity produces madness, not gladness. Offering living proof that extraordinary happiness is found in ordinary moments, How to Save Your Own Life provides empowering words and hope for anyone facing a reversal of fortune. True fortune, Gill discovered, lies not in fate but in discovering the innate capacity we all possess to rescue ourselves. Watch a Video

Why did Jesus spend forty days on earth after his death when he could have returned home to the majesty of heaven? And out of all the people on the planet at that time who could have helped him get a major religious movement off the ground, why did he seek out those who had run the other way when he was crucified? In this fascinating book, Jo Kadlecek shows readers how the disciples who saw Jesus after his death were changed from sometimes bumbling scaredy-cats to pillars of the Christian faith. She invites readers to experience their own transformation in every part of life--relationships, jobs, finances, family, and more--as they come to a new understanding and appreciation of the basis of the faith: the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

A medium offers a readings designed to answer questions about faith, life, spirituality, and the afterlife.

In learning to write about her life, will Hope Nicely finally learn how to live it?

"I first thought of playing lacrosse in the fall of my freshman year at Brown in 1970. Coming up on 50 years in the game, I have had a number of friends and fans who told me I needed to write a book about a life in the game. Never quite convinced that my life was that interesting to begin with, I have become preoccupied with sharing my experience with those who might value and benefit from some practical observations. What you will find within here are letters to players, parents and fans, a series on leadership that applies to both athletes and coaches, essays on the zone defense that carried us to the National Championship in 2011, a family situation that provided an opportunity to make strategic adjustments that led to a Championship in 2003, the language of lacrosse, the value of being a great passer, and many others that recount personal stories and life lessons that have shaped my career. My goal is that you will find something here that will help you on your journey." - Dom Starsia

In this 31-day devotional, pastor and bestselling author Adam Hamilton shows how the Bible's most memorable stories can help us nurture lives of peace, courage, and hope. Our capacity to experience fear is a gift from God. It protects us from harm by sensing possible danger and motivating us to act. But fear can also dominate our lives. We worry about the future, about our health, about disappointing our friends and family. When these worries play over and over in our minds without resolution, it can rob us of joy and keep us from pursuing the life we're meant to live. In Living Unafraid, Pastor Hamilton walks readers through 31 of the Bible's most-loved stories, showing how the people of Scripture found hope in God in the face of adversity and some of life's most frightening situations. Each day, he unpacks a new lesson--from Creation to the Gospels to the final words of Revelation--showing how God's love and deliverance can empower us for the battles we face today. Thoughtful, practical, and grounded in Scripture, Living Unafraid is an essential read for anyone seeking hope along life's journey.