Brandon Heath balances hard reality and goodness in his ninth studio album, The Ache. “Every record I release is a snapshot of the season I’m in, and I thought this was going to be a record about mourning,” Heath said in a release after watching his mom live out her final days. “But I’ve learned tha
In April 2008, Katherine Wolf suffered a massive brain-stem stroke that forced her to spend 40 days in the ICU. The stroke left her with life-altering disabilities at the age of 26. As a young wife and new mom, Wolf would spend months in a neurological rehabilitation hospital learning how to walk, t
In the fall of 1913, 13-year-old Hoi Wing Woo’s father sends his son from their home in a village in China to work in a Chinese laundry in St. Catharines, Ont.Friendless and bullied throughout his childhood, Hoi Wing had borne the taunts of the villagers deriding his father—whom they sarcastically c
Chuck DeGroat has written a masterwork of Christian inner healing books. The author of When Narcissism Comes to Church gently and compassionately guides the reader in peeling back the layers of shame and hurt to reveal their heart’s true home within. “Disconnection,” he writes, “is the tale as old a
Oscar season approaches. Several reviews of Conclave have puffed it as worthy of Best Picture, plus Stanley Tucci and Ralph Fiennes as candidates for best actor nods. No such predictions here. Still I rate this as the best film of my year; until Conclave, I’d never watched the same movie two consecu
When 84-year-old Ringo Starr expressed an interest in making a country EP (a short album) to T-Bone Burnett, the Grammy-winning producer of the soundtrack to O Brother Where Art Thou, Burnett jumped at the chance. Starr asked him to write him one song, but Burnett continued writing until he had enou
As a biracial Filipina-American “othered” her whole life, Jenai Auman discovered a new and disturbing level of “othering” in the place she should have felt the safest: her church.“Never in my life have I felt so alone as when I was singing hymns of thankfulness and grace alongside church leaders who
It all started when Katy Dekens, an English teacher at Surrey Christian Secondary School (SCS) in Surrey, B.C., wrote me an email in mid-October:“My students are beginning a review-writing project, and we are just starting to work through some mentor texts to understand the elements of a strong revi
Young Penny’s favorite day of the week is Sundays because of the scrumptious breakfast her parents serve her and because she can go to church. She loves the music, the smiling faces, paging through the Bible, and listening to the sermon because the stories make her “think about big things,” such as
Remember Prime Suspect? That British crime drama starring the beloved Helen Mirren? Well, Prime Suspect: Tennison—also titled Prime Suspect 1973—introduces us to Mirren’s character, the infamous Jane Tennison, at 22.It’s 1973, and Tennison is a new probationary WPC (woman police constable)—one of tw
This picture book reveals a canine musician’s journey of pursuing passion, love, and inner strength.In the city of Paris, Maurice offered his music on street corners because he felt that “sharing his music with others was what mattered.” Music was the language of love in these exchanges, and Maurice
Jordan Feliz challenges believers to face worry and fear in the light of God’s Sovereignty in his latest release, Everything Good. “When we know who’s in control, who our provider is, and where the good comes from—that’s when we start seeing anxiety disappear,” Feliz said in a release. “God has alre
Young Wren loves to visit Pop and Gran on their farm in Australia. She especially enjoys painting with Gran in her art studio behind the farmhouse.When Gran asks Wren what they’ll paint that day, she feels important, as if “what she thought and wanted mattered.” Wren decides to paint the special fee
When your favorite furry canine looks at you and tilts their head, have you ever wondered what is happening inside their little heart and mind?Inside the Mind of a Dog (narrated by Rob Lowe), takes a close look at man’s best friend and explores the latest research as scientists turn their attention
Courageously Soft: Daring to Keep a Tender Heart in a Tough World, by Charaia Rush“You need to toughen up.” “You need to develop a thicker skin.” Or, as Charaia Rush heard it, “You’re too soft, baby girl.”Thankfully, author Rush is having none of it. Instead, she offers readers a new paradigm for he
Readers of contemporary romance will find much to enjoy in Jenny Erlingsson’s debut novel. Erlingsson is of Nigerian descent and lives in Iceland now with her family, but she set Her Part to Play in her former state of Alabama.Adanne Stewart is back in her hometown of Hope Springs after a stint in C
This book challenges congregational practices that are “still steeped in societal prejudice” regarding disability. The author argues that disability is not a problem, but “a dignified, incarnate human experience through and in which God is at work.” As the church reflects on its many privileges, abl
Young Kailani’s family is rich with love, encouragement, and a strong sense of their Filipino heritage. Still, it isn’t easy for Kailani to be the youngest of five children, especially now that her siblings are practicing the tinikling dance to perform at the upcoming celebration of their grandparen
Jemar Tisby, author of the bestselling The Color of Compromise and award-winning How to Fight Racism, continues his study of racism in his new book The Spirit of Justice. This time he looks at the history of the United States from its earliest settlement by non-Native Americans to the present as it
Pachinko, an AppleTV+ series that just completed its second season, is a story that chronicles a Korean family as they learn to survive through three consecutive generations of subjugation, discrimination, and social degradation. Adapted from Min Jin Lee’s novel of the same name, Pachinko centers ar