Looking For Lovely

“I want you to take every step of your life with excitement for where you are headed. And I want you to feel beautiful and confident as you do.” But how? When the enemy whispers lies that you are not smart enough, pretty enough, or rich enough? Or you are too dumb, too loud, too quiet, too thin, too fat, too much or not enough? What if you don’t have what it takes to be who you really want to be? In Looking for Lovely, Annie F. Downs shares personal stories, biblical truth, and examples of how others have courageously walked the path God paved for their lives by remembering all God had done, loving what was right in front of them, and seeing God in the everyday—whether that be nature, friends, or the face they see in the mirror. Intensely personal, yet incredibly powerful, Looking for Lovely will spark transformative conversations and life changing patterns. No matter who we are and what path God has us on, we all need to look for lovely, fight to finish, and find beautiful in our every day!

In examining the ordinary people of the Bible--fishermen, gardeners, women, soldiers--we can discover how they sought beauty in everyday circumstances to hold onto the hope of God's perfect timing. Only when we learn to spot the lovely in the midst of hardship can we experience the transcendent peace of God that keeps us persevering when we want to give up.

Everyone wants a home that is beautiful and clutter free. But most of us are unsure how to get there without breaking the bank. Popular interior designer Shannon Acheson takes the guesswork out of creating a lovely home. Home Made Lovely is a mind-set: decorating should be about those who live there, rather than making your home into a magazine-worthy spread. Shannon walks you through how to · decorate in a way that suits your family's real life · declutter in seven simple steps · perform a house blessing to dedicate your home to God · be thankful for your current home and what you already have · brush up on hospitality with more than 20 actionable ideas that will make anyone feel welcome and loved in your home In Home Made Lovely, Shannon meets you right where you are on your home-decorating journey, helping you share the peace of Christ with family members and guests.

Take the first steps to living as a healthier and happier woman and discover the spiritual importance of acceptance, gathering, and community. Jenn Johnson has come to realize that the pursuit of perfection is unrealistic and unfair. Instead, we need to pause and reflect on what's in front of us. But how? How can we slow down? How can we remain focused on what's important and do things with intention? What can we pursue that represents God's heart for us, things that are true, noble, right, pure, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy? By pursuing all things "lovely." Living a holistic and holy life, a life marked by beauty and truth, means being mindful and intentional about what we put in our bodies, how we present ourselves to the world, the spaces we create, and the people we let into our lives. When we set our minds on what is lovely, we begin to see ourselves and the world as God intended. We begin to be wholly renewed.

In "The Lovely Bones," the spirit of fourteen-year-old Susie Salmon describes her murder and her family's efforts to find the killer; and in "Looking Glass," Susie's story is integrated with cases of actual missing children.

A teenage girl, her friends, and their search-and-rescue dogs must uncover long-buried secrets to save a life in this unputdownable mystery from Jennifer Lynn Barnes, #1 bestselling author of The Inheritance Games. Kira Bennett's earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search and rescue. Together with Cady's son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world's most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home. When Cady's estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child—one of several visitors who has disappeared in the Sierra Glades National Park in the past twelve months -- the teens find themselves on the front lines sooner than they could have ever expected. As the search through seven hundred and fifty thousand acres of unbridled wilderness intensifies, Kira becomes obsessed with finding the missing child. She knows all too well what it's like to be lost in the wilderness, fighting for survival, alone. But this case isn't simple. There is more afoot than a single missing girl, and Kira's memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.

Find beauty. Find hope. Find your life of lovely. Annie F. Downs wants you to take each next step of life with excitement, heading forward with beauty and confidence. ​But what if the enemy is whispering lies that ​you are not smart enough, pretty enough, or rich enough? Or that ​you are too loud, too quiet, too thin, too fat, too much? What if you feel you don’t have what it takes to be who you really want to be? Personal yet powerful, A Life of Lovely offers young women honest stories, biblical truth, and courageous examples—all to encourage readers to persevere their way to hope. You will walk away excited about who you are becoming and challenged to look for lovely, fight to finish, and find the beautiful in your every day!

“What smart, memorable, inventive stories these are—skilled, insightful, full of heart.”—Joan Silber, author of Ideas of Heaven Alethea Black's deeply moving and wholly original debut features a coterie of memorable characters who have reached emotional crossroads in their lives. Brimming with humor, irony, and insights about the unpredictable nature of life, the unbearable beauty of fate, and the power that one moment, or one decision, can have to transform us, I Knew You'd Be Lovely delivers that rare thing—stories with both an edge and a heart.

Big, small, curly, straight, loud, quiet, smooth, wrinkly. Lovely explores a world of differences that all add up to the same thing: we are all lovely!

How often does fear hold you back from living your life to the fullest? Join New York Times bestselling author, podcast host, and speaker Annie F. Downs as she shares a call to embrace the God-given courage living inside you. Annie is the first to admit that she's not exactly the bravest woman in the world. Even now, she still cries sometimes when she leaves her parents' home in Georgia, she's never jumped out of a plane, and she only rides roller coasters to impress guys. But Annie knows that courage resides inside each one of us, and she's on a mission to conquer her own fears while encouraging you to do the same. Let's All Be Brave is more than a book; it's a battle cry. Annie uses honest and often humorous illustrations from her own life, contemporary real-life examples from the lives of others, and fascinating biblical stories to challenge you to: Discover God's surprising answers to overcoming fear, uncertainty, and anxiety Let go of the things that hold you back--relationships, comfort zones, expectations, and more Say yes to both small and big things Live boldly and sacrificially for God and others Hold on to hope, trust God, and be brave no matter your circumstances This book is your call to step into those places that require courage, giving you the help you need to take the next step forward—even when it's scary. Praise for Let's All Be Brave: "There are certain types of people who are capable of nudging us toward courage without making us feel small or insignificant, and Annie is at the front of the line. She has done that with Let's All Be Brave, and before you even mean to, you are putting your YES on the table." --Jen Hatmaker, New York Times bestselling author of For the Love and Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire