In her introduction to the young adult edition of her memoir, The Choice, Dr. Edith Eva Eger writes, “I have been writing this book for nearly eighty years. When I was sixteen, enduring firsthand the horrors of the Holocaust; as I witnessed my children—and then my grandchildren and great-grandchildr
On June 5, 1956, at NBC Studios, Elvis left his guitar backstage and created a sensation when he paused in the middle of “Hound Dog,” waved his arm for the band to slow down, and exaggerated his hip gyrations. Girls in the audience screamed and fainted. Community leaders were shocked and upset. Ed S
As I read this bountiful and emboldening book about Mary Magdalene, my admiration for the first witness to the resurrection grew. What a brave, generous, unwavering disciple she was, and how much I had missed or been confused about her through many years of studying Scripture and even four years of
When children reach a certain age, the excitement about each day will fade, and they begin to experience the grind of each day. As the author of How to Make a Memory puts it, “Life is a little like the world itself: always spinning along, always moving forward.” On this journey, there are new surpri
In April 1941, the lives of 10-year-old twins Aelish and Isabel McGuire were forever altered during the Belfast Blitz when German bombs destroyed the city and countless lives were lost, including those of the girls’ parents.Taken into the care of the Sisters of Bethlehem, Aelish learns slowly and pa
In this companion title to Baptized in the Water: Becoming a Member of God's Family, author Glenys Nellist and illustrator Anna Kazimi employ a similar combination of prose and poetry and the same artistic illustrative style as in their previous picture book.Simply and clearly, Nellist invites child
When LOST arrived on ABC in 2004, it changed TV forever. For all its faults, audiences became addicted to long-running, character-focused mysteries that move back and forth in time. Some have worked better than others, but shows like it are here to stay. The latest, Paradise (on Hulu and rated TV-MA
With vulnerability, humor, and emotional astuteness, author Julie Lane-Gay shares her spiritual journey as a Christ-follower and the role The Book of Common Prayer played in her life of faith. For readers unfamiliar with the different versions and the role of The Book of Common Prayer, Lane-Gay sets
TobyMac belongs on Christian contemporary music’s Mount Rushmore. The hip-hop giant offers listeners a reflective tone on his 10th studio album, “Heaven on My Mind.” “Heaven on my Mind is this journey of going from total ashes to crawling to walking to standing up,” said Mac in a release. “It was me
While living in Grand Rapids, Mich., in the mid-1970s, I would often drive or walk over Plaster Creek on the SE Division Street Bridge. Whenever I cross bridges, I stop to look for fish. In the ’70s, Plaster Creek offered only dirty, murky water, sometimes trickling, though after heavy rains almost
Protagonist Sylvia Fox had me at driving in reverse gear. Can this character drive or what? And if her soulful brown eyes seem somehow familiar, you’re right. Actress Emilie Fox, playing Sylvia Fox, was Mr. Darcy’s doe-eyed sister in the 1995 edition of Pride and Prejudice. The British mystery showc
Paul Kerensa’s reimagining of Mary Magdalene’s encounter with the risen Jesus skillfully weaves together the narratives of several gardens—the Garden of Eden, the Garden of Gethsemane, and the garden containing the tomb in which Jesus was buried. Kerensa also intersperses in his narrative Mary’s rec
If we stop listening when trigger phrases such as “deconstructing faith” are mentioned, then how can we remain in rather important conversations?In Invisible Jesus, longtime theologian and seminary professor Scot McKnight and co-author pastor Tommy Preson Phillips defang deconstruction. “We believe
Author Emily Ley begins her compassionate, gentle exploration for young children on the challenges of finding a friend and being a friend by asking questions: “I have important questions. / Some things I’d like to know. / Have you felt the LONELIES lately / or maybe long ago? / Have you ever wondere
Thelma (June Squibb) is 93 years old. Her daily routine is filled with hearing aid adjustments, solving word puzzles, brewing Keurig coffee, and slowly watching the daylight fade while she relives fond memories of her recently deceased husband.When Thelma receives a phone call from her grandson sayi
Uncertainty in our world today leaves many people, including believers, feeling lost, exhausted, and in chaos. In his newest book, Pastor Robert Morgan encourages readers to stand firm in their faith even while the world seems like it’s falling apart. Believers can live as citizens of heaven amid a
In her follow-up volume to So God Made a Mother, author Leslie Means shares her personal experiences of her grandmother and invites numerous other women to relate theirs, too. Some of the contributing authors are grandmothers, others are granddaughters writing about their grandmothers, and still oth
The Bible has many places teaching children about taking responsibilities, including how we act toward others (Luke 10:30-37), how we treat our families (1 Tim. 5:8), and how we pursue justice (Micah 6:8). In reality, a child’s daily encounters also present lessons to speak up or to care about fairn
When I was a kid we didn’t watch sitcoms, though I have early memories of my dad watching Cheers for a while. It wasn’t until I was out of college that I explored the big three TV comedies of the 1990s: Friends, Seinfeld, and Frasier. Of the three, the trials of tribulations of Dr. Frasier Crane (Ke
Author Russell W. Joyce was born Nov. 17, 1988, with a rare craniofacial disorder called Goldenhar syndrome. Joyce describes his condition this way: “Put bluntly, the left side of my face and parts of my body were badly broken.” Joyce’s childhood was punctuated by countless visits to doctors, hospit