Sparkhouse

The Poet and the Fly: Art, Nature, God, Mortality, and Other Elusive Mysteries

In this revelatory book, Robert Hudson considers seven poets, each of whom wrote a provocative poem about a fly. Considering Emily Dickinson, William Blake, and several other poets, The Poet and the Fly brings together the poetry, the flies, and the poets' own lives to explore the imaginative, and often prophetic, insights that come from the startling combination of poetry and flies, the extraordinary and the ordinary.

9781506457284

Worth It: Overcome Your Fears and Embrace the Life You Were Made For

Brit Barron grew up in an Evangelical megachurch in the '90s, boxed in by her fears, unable to realize her full potential. All that changed when she fell in love with a girl named Sami.

Worth It shares her story to inspire us to overcome our own fears--the fears that keep us from evolving beyond the narratives that have been defined by others. When we do, we'll find out it was so worth it!

9781506463278

Sex, God, and Rock 'n' Roll: Catastrophes, Epiphanies, and Sacred Anarchies

In Sex, God, and Rock 'n' Roll, Barry Taylor weaves together the threads of his life--from life on the road with a world-famous rock band, to theologian, priest, teacher, and a theist-non-theist-post-theist. Taylor reflects on several of the most significant moments in his life to show just how poignantly the sacred moves in all of our lives.

9781506409061

The Long Night: Readings and Stories to Help You through Depression

When you're in the midst of terrible depression, the days and weeks can feel like an eternity. Drawing on the wisdom of spiritual figures from the past and present--including Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, and many others--The Long Night is a comforting and inspirational companion. Writer, editor, and minister Jessica Kantrowitz has been where you are. As a mentor and friend, she will walk with you on this journey toward life and light.

9781506456645

Hemingway and Ho Chi Minh in Paris: The Art of Resistance

Two of the twentieth century's most fascinating figures, grappling with a world in which Western culture and their respective governments were failing them, came to Paris at the same time in the 1920s. Hemingway and Ho Chi Minh in Paris tells the untold, engrossing story of these two young men and their journey into the heart of resistance in 1920s Paris.

9781506455709

30-Day Journey with Jane Austen

Beloved across the centuries, Jane Austen is widely celebrated for her novels depicting life and romance in eighteenth-century England and the engrossing characters that fill their pages. Whether you read Pride and Prejudice every year or are encountering Austen's wit and wisdom for the first time, this journey provides the perfect way to engage the thought of one of the most popular novelists ever to pick up a pen.

9781506457123

The Athlete Inside: The Transforming Power of Hope, Tenacity, and Faith

Four years ago, Sue Reynolds was morbidly obese. Now, she's a 135-pound triathlete who competes at world championships. The Athlete Inside follows her journey from her first walk to the neighbor's mailbox to finishing sixth at the World Triathlon Championship. A world-class athlete and grandmother, Reynolds is proof that it's never too late to transform your life. Her story is one of hope, tenacity, and faith, and how we each can discover amazing potential inside.

9781506458809

The Shift: Surviving and Thriving after Moving from Conservative to Progressive Christianity

When Christians are kicked out of their conservative churches or leave because they no longer feel at home, they undertake a serious shift. Colby Martin has traversed this treacherous territory, survived its hardships, and is now sharing what he's learned. This friendly survival guide will prepare readers for the pitfalls awaiting them as they shift out of their conservative world, and it will equip them for a more abundant, thriving, and peace-filled spiritual life.

9781506455495

Shining like the Sun: Seven Mindful Practices for Rekindling Your Faith

Shining like the Sun brings to life the living reality of encountering God by offering readers seven mindful practices--attentiveness, ordinariness, simplicity, rhythms, conversation, delight, and restoration--helping readers touch God as a living reality in their bodies, minds, hearts, and deep in their souls. Through stories that illuminate each practice, simple observations, and tangible suggestions for embodying each practice, readers will discover that we can touch God in any ordinary moment and come alive.

9781506456669

Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus: Exploring the World and Wisdom of Dietrich Bonhoeffer

In Keys to Bonhoeffer's Haus, Laura M. Fabrycky takes readers on a tour of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's home, city, and world. Under her expert guidance, we experience his story in new ways and are led to think beyond him into our own lives and civic responsibilities. Ultimately, her transformative tour of Bonhoeffer's Berlin inspires us to discover and embrace what befriending Bonhoeffer means for how we live as citizens of the world today.

9781506455914

Longing for an Absent God: Faith and Doubt in Great American Fiction

Longing for an Absent God unveils the powerful role of faith and doubt in the American literary tradition. Nick Ripatrazone explores how prominent American writers--including Flannery O'Connor, Don DeLillo, Toni Morrison, Cormac McCarthy, Thomas Pynchon, and Louise Erdrich--diverge into two major strands of Catholic writers--practicing and cultural--but when taken together form a rich and unique literary canon immersed in the full spectrum of doubt and faith in contemporary America.

9781506451954

What's in Your Mind Today?

In this guided, illustrated meditation for kids, author Louise Bladen offers a simple mindfulness practice, not to banish bad thoughts, but to feel calm in the midst of thoughts that come and go.

9781506463773

Prayers for Faithful Families: Everyday Prayers for Everyday Life

A prayer book designed to help parents create meaningful faith connections during everyday family moments, important childhood milestones, and challenging situations.

9781506452241

Parable of the Brown Girl: The Sacred Lives of Girls of Color

The stories of girls of color are often overlooked and ignored rather than valued and heard. Instead of relegating these young women to the margins, minister and youth advocate Khristi Lauren Adams brings their stories front and center where they belong. Thought-provoking and inspirational, Parable of the Brown Girl is a powerful example of how God uses the narratives we most often ignore to teach us the most important lessons in life.

9781506455686

Inspired Imperfection: How the Bible's Problems Enhance Its Divine Authority

In Inspired Imperfection, Gregory A. Boyd adds another counterintuitive and provocative thesis to his corpus. While conservative scholars and pastors have struggled for years to show that the Bible is without errors, Boyd considers this a fool's errand. Instead, he says, we should embrace the mistakes and contradictions in Scripture, for they show that God chose to use fallible humans to communicate timeless truths.

9781506455624

Beyond Shame: Creating a Healthy Sex Life on Your Own Terms

We all carry sexual shame. Whether we grew up in the repressive purity culture of American evangelical Christianity or not, we've all been taught in subtle and not-so-subtle ways that sex (outside of very specific contexts) is taboo. Psychotherapist Matthias Roberts helps readers overcome their shame and determine their own definition of healthy sex. Define your sexual values on your own terms, overcome your shame, and start having great, healthy sex.

9781506455662

Let's Eat!: Mealtime Around the World

Dig in to this fun and informational book that explores foods from 13 countries around the world.

9781506451947

Trains, Jesus, and Murder: The Gospel according to Johnny Cash

In Trains, Jesus, and Murder, Beck explores the theology of Johnny Cash by investigating a dozen of Cash's songs. In reflecting on Cash's lyrics, and the passion with which he sang them, we gain a deeper understanding of the enduring faith of the Man in Black.

9781506433769

Love and Quasars: An Astrophysicist Reconciles Faith and Science

In Love and Quasars, Paul Wallace shows how faith and science are pitted against one another, and he explains how the standard ways of reconciling them don't work. He then proposes a reasonable, thoughtful approach that will appeal to Christians and students of science alike. Readable and wise, Love and Quasars is an indispensable resource for people who wonder if faith and science can coexist.

9781506448435

The Galápagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey

Travel with bestselling author Brian McLaren as he follows his love of nature (specifically tortoises) all the way to the Galapagos Islands. Experience the beauty and fragility of this extraordinary place as McLaren reflects on how his faith has evolved and how the natural world awakens his soul.

9781506448251