Pursuing Contentment

All too often life falls short of our expectations and happiness seems just out of reach. We run face disappointments, disarray, delays, and drawbacks. We want to be the kind of women who exude serene calmness, cheerfulness, and acceptance even in the midst of trials and difficult situations, but that is hard to do! In Pursuing Contentment, you will explore what the Bible says about truecontentment how it is a skill to be learned. You can break old habits and patterns of thinking and choose to be grateful in all circumstances. You can say, like the apostle Paul, “I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content” (Philippians 4:11). You can cultivate contentment in your heart. The Women of Faith® Bible Studies provide intriguing insights into topics that are relevant to women’s lives today. Each guide includes twelve weeks of study, down-to-earth illustrations, and reflections to help you move the truth from your head to your heart. A leader’s guide for use with small groups is also included.

Recovering the Lost Art of Contentment The biblical practice of contentment can seem like a lost art—something reserved for spiritual giants but out of reach for the rest of us. In our discontented age—characterized by impatience, overspending, grumbling, and unhappiness—it’s hard to imagine what true contentment actually looks (and feels) like. But even the apostle Paul said that he learned to be content in any and every circumstance. Paul’s remarkable contentment was something grown and developed over time. In Chasing Contentment, Erik Raymond helps us understand what biblical contentment is—the inward gracious spirit that joyfully rests in God’s providence—and then how we learn it. Giving us practical guidance for growing in contentment in various areas of our lives, this book will encourage us to see contentment as a priority for all believers. By God’s grace, it is possible to pursue the high calling of contentment and anchor our joy in God himself rather than our changing circumstances.

In this me-first, get-rich-quick world we live in, Dr. Warren has discovered that given the choice of being happy, rich or content, a vast majority of people would choose to be content. He goes on to explain that finding true contentment lies in knowing who you are and your willingness to be that person.

If you are like most Christians, you know you should be praying more often, taking it more seriously, and giving it more priority in your life. But what often gets missed is that prayer is not a requirement but a privilege! Prayer is the pathway to building a relationship with the Savior. Through prayer, the Creator and Sustainer of everything actually listens to us. In Praying with Power, you will explore what the Bible has to say about this fascinating two-way communication with God. You will explore journaling prayers, praying the Scripture, and how to pray your way through a desert or valley. You will also discover the incredible power of prayer and the promises God provides when you go to Him with your needs. The Women of Faith® Bible Studies provide intriguing insights into topics that are relevant to women’s lives today. Each guide includes twelve weeks of study, down-to-earth illustrations, and reflections to help you move the truth from your head to your heart. A leader’s guide for use with small groups is also included.

Each of us has experienced something that left us broken and in pain. We need to recognize we are not alone—there are others who have been where we are, and God understands how we feel. We live in a broken world, but Jesus came to make us whole. In this study readers will learn how to recognize in their hearts they are children of God and made free, how to break free of the cycle of pain and not pass on the same legacy of sin and pain, how to forgive those who have wronged us and be reconciled, how to get past feelings of injustice, and how to experience joy even in the midst of suffering.

Draws on such fields as neuoscience, economics, and evolutionary psychology to address the question of how to find a more satisfying way to live, arguing that the key to satisfaction lies in the complexity and challenge in one's life.

The world has become increasingly separated into the haves and have-nots. In The Culture of Contentment, renowned economist John Kenneth Galbraith shows how a contented class—not the privileged few but the socially and economically advantaged majority—defend their comfortable status at a cost. Middle-class voting against regulation and increased taxation that would remedy pressing social ills has created a culture of immediate gratification, leading to complacency and hampering long-term progress. Only economic disaster, military action, or the eruption of an angry underclass seem capable of changing the status quo. A groundbreaking critique, The Culture of Contentment shows how the complacent majority captures the political process and determines economic policy.

Filling the needs of today's women, we offer the next 4 titles in the best-selling Women of Faith series. These topical guides deal with issues that women wrestle with today, such as friendship, encouragement, managing moods, finding contentment, and how to live out your faith. Reaching an audience across racial, socio-economic, denominational, and age boundaries, these guides will enhance the lives of women as they empower them in their weekly devotions. The study guides can be used for both individual and group settings. Women are asking good questions about their faith. With our study guides, we want to join them in their quest for knowledge and lead them in finding the answers they are seeking. The Study Guide Series will include the following: #5 Managing Your Moods - Foreword by Marilyn Meberg ISBN: 0-7852-5151-0 #6 Cultivating Contentment - Foreword by Luci Swindoll ISBN: 0-7852-5152-9 #7 Encouraging One Another - Foreword by Nicole Johnson ISBN: 0-7852-5153-7 #8 A Life of Worship - Foreword by Sheila Walsh ISBN: 0-7852-5154-5

Can YouLearn to BeHappy? YES . . . according to the teacher of HarvardUniversity’s most popular and life-changingcourse. One out of every five Harvard studentshas lined up to hear Tal Ben-Shahar’sinsightful and inspiring lectures on thatever-elusive state: HAPPINESS. HOW? Grounded in the revolutionary “positive psychology” movement,Ben-Shahar ingeniously combines scientific studies, scholarly research, self-help advice, and spiritual enlightenment. He weaves them together into a set of principles that you can apply to your daily life. Once you open your heart and mind to Happier ’s thoughts, you will feel more fulfilled, more connected . . . and, yes, HAPPIER. “Dr. Ben-Shahar, one of the most popular teachers in Harvard’s recent history, has written a personal, informed, and highly enjoyable primer on how to become happier. It would be wise to take his advice.” --Ellen J. Langer, author of Mindfulness and On Becoming an Artist “This fine book shimmers with a rare brand of good sense that is imbedded in scientific knowledge about how to increase happiness. It is easy to see how this is the backbone of the most popular course at Harvard today." --Martin E. P. Seligman, author of Authentic Happiness

This On-the-Go Devotional assures women that contentment is not some fleeting ideal but a reality that God enables them to live out daily. Any woman who buys into the lie of "You can have it all" or who thinks she can only be happy "if..." experiences an abiding frustration: what she wants remains just out of reach, always. No matter how good she has it, no matter how good the good times may get, there's always something missing. And ultimately, she misses out on happiness too. But God desires something far better and more lasting for his daughters. And he's delivered the secret in his Word, assuring women that real satisfaction is found in living for and longing for the right things. Those truths and promises are at the heart of this On-the-Go Devotional for women. Each lesson in Contentment is conveniently self-contained and comes complete with Scripture and a paragraph or two of teaching to direct women away from fleeting distractions and toward a true, enduring satisfaction. On-the-Go Devotionals "Skillful devotionals for those who face the challenge to 'fit it all in.' Biblically rigorous and deeply perceptive. Godly insights from a godly sister." Elyse Fitzpatrick, author of Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life "A ready resource for keeping our thinking focused on God himself. The devotionals helped me understand my fear or discontent and our Heavenly Father's provision." Barbara Hughes, author of Disciplines of a Godly Woman and, with her husband, Disciplines of a Godly Family "Lydia Brownback calls Christian women to lift their eyes upward and find security, rest, and peace in a sovereign God whose promises never fail!" Nancy Leigh DeMoss, author and Revive Our Hearts radio host