The Blessing Of Tears

Alpha course speaker Julie Sheldon reflects on a gift that we seldom welcome: the gift of tears. We often try to fight them back, yet they can bring cleansing, healing and release. Julie tells many inspirational real life stories and relates them to biblical examples and teaching.

A personal and spiritual growth journal that walks you through a welcoming process of slowing down and reflecting on how to live a more Christ-centered, balanced life that values relationships and community.

Whether your life is stormy with painful circumstances, drizzly with stresses and anxieties, or sunny with a sense that God is in control, The Gift of Tears invites you to experience God’s peace and presence in deeper ways. Tears are a gift. Though we long for the constant sunshine of happiness and the comfort of a stress-free life, we need the nourishing, refreshing teardrops of life lessons. Without tears, the garden of our heart becomes parched and barren. Thus, God offers us the gift of tears. In this ten-week devotional, you will journey through life stories of learning to trust God in difficult circumstances, parables from times of listening prayer, insights from contemplating God’s word, and prayer activities that inspire personal prayer and reflection. The Gift of Tears encourages you to experience tears as a blessing, not a burden, and even in life’s storms to thank God for the tears.

You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book. Psalm 56:8 NLT Whatever you are going through as you read this, you need to hear these words: God sees you, He loves you, and your story is not over. Every tear you shed is precious to Him. Your suffering is not in vain. This collection of heartfelt essays, eye-catching word art, inspiring Scripture verses, honest prayers, and uplifting photography will meet you in your place of pain, offering solace and refuge for your weary soul. Lovingly written by Lindsey Wheeler, a pastor’s wife and adoptive mom who lives with chronic pain, Sacred Tears will bring you the blessed respite you’ve been longing for and remind you that you are never alone. You’ll discover what to do when you feel far from God, how to trust Him even when you don’t understand His plan for you, and how to handle the difficult decisions that often accompany painful situations. All this and more await inside. Experience the hope and comfort only God can provide.

From the author of the bestselling Anam Cara comes a beautiful collection of blessings to help readers through both the everyday and the extraordinary events of their lives. John O’Donohue, Irish teacher and poet, has been widely praised for his gift of drawing on Celtic spiritual traditions to create words of inspiration and wisdom for today. In To Bless the Space Between Us, his compelling blend of elegant, poetic language and spiritual insight offers readers comfort and encouragement on their journeys through life. O’Donohue looks at life’s thresholds—getting married, having children, starting a new job—and offers invaluable guidelines for making the transition from a known, familiar world into a new, unmapped territory. Most profoundly, however, O’Donohue explains “blessing” as a way of life, as a lens through which the whole world is transformed. O’Donohue awakens readers to timeless truths and shows the power they have to answer contemporary dilemmas and ease us through periods of change.

"A prescription for explosive and effective prayer" —Pat Boone “The Power of Crying Out will bless and inspire you with a deeper understanding of God’s grace and power. Bill Gothard’s book has reawakened in me a strong desire to cry out to my Lord with passion and expectancy.” —Dr. Gary Smalley, counselor and bestselling author When members of the early church cried out to God in urgent need, the place shook with the power of their supplication. In this compelling vision for modern-day supplication, Bill Gothard recognizes the key truth that only God's almighty power can rescue His children in times of distress. Using illustrations from Scripture and testimonies from everyday people, Gothard demonstrates the power of crying out—and how God can shake the world of those who cry out to Him today. His compelling teaching will revolutionize the way you pray—for all time!

From the best-selling author of How Are You Feeling Today? comes a picture book that sensitively deals with developing emotional intelligence in young children. Young children can find it really frustrating when they are unable to explain what they are feeling and express their emotions. Cue: this book! Written with boys in mind because they are often encouraged to suppress their feelings, Molly Potter covers a whole range of emotions from those that are uncomfortable to happy feelings where you care about yourself and other people. Perfect for starting those all-important conversations, It's OK to Cry includes colourful illustrations, child-friendly strategies and vocabulary for managing feelings, and helpful notes for parents, carers and practitioners. Let's Talk books help you start meaningful conversations with your child. Written by an expert and covering topics like feelings, relationships, diversity and mental health, these comforting picture books support healthy discussion right from the start.

"With ageless wisdom for every occasion, this elegant little book is the perfect gift for moms to share with their children -- and for themselves. Time-honored proverbs, enlightening parables, and inspiring poetry, illustrated with exquisite vintage art, encourage readers to contemplate and celebrate life's milestones. These uplifting words and their invaluable lessons, drawn from cultures around the world, will resonate with families of all walks. Whether commemorating a birthday, or celebrating a housewarming or a special holiday, this timeless treasure of 100-plus blessings provides guidance and encouragement for everyone: an enduring keepsake readers will turn to again and again."--Provided by publisher.

Life is full of ups and downs. All believers, at some point or another, will stand at a crossroads whether in our ministries, while weathering a major storm, or while contemplating why our faithfulness to God seems to cause humiliation, betrayal, or gossip. One day we will all have our garden of Gethsemane—the call God has on our lives that will require pain, trials, and sorrow in order for his glory to become evident, and strengthen us to walk in our destinies and build God’s kingdom. In a powerful and unique spiritual guidebook, Deborah Faulks utilizes the story of Jesus’s temptations at the Garden of Gethsemane to educate believers on how to be prepared for the advances of the devil as well as on how to leave the garden successfully and ultimately fulfill God’s destiny and purpose. Faulks includes Christian characteristics that qualify a believer, twelve keys of wisdom, comparisons between the Garden of Eden and the Garden of Gethsemane, ways to prevent getting stuck, why Jesus is the model of prayer, and a detailed explanation of the heart of Jesus in prayer. The Tears of Gethsemane reveals hidden biblical truths while educating the believer standing at the crossroads of a God-ordained ministry to fulfill their spiritual destiny and purpose.

What keeps you from loving someone God loves so much? How might your life change if you really believed God loves you-not just in your head but down where it counts, in your heart? Imagine how different things could be: The lies you've believed about yourself all these years dispelled. The wounds of abuse healed. Your future lit with hope, peace, and purpose. Your closeness with God and others deepened immeasurably. The true, heaven-born you free at last to live a life unclouded by shame, guilt, and fear and empowered to love others fully. That can be you. The truth is far, far better than you've known. Drawing on their many years of biblical counseling practice, Jerry and Denise Basel invite you on a journey of God-discovery, self-discovery, and truth-discovery. The Missing Commandment: Love Yourself will help you experience God's love as the daily, motivating force in your life. And it will show you how to stop punishing and start loving someone whom your heavenly Father loves very much-YOU. You see, the missing commandment has never been missing from the Bible, only from your life. But that can change, starting now.