Messy Grace

Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 1601427379
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 226

Book Description
Sometimes, grace gets messy. Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. Messy Grace shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So can you. Even when it’s messy. “Messy Grace is an important contribution to the conversation about sexual identity for churches and leaders. Caleb's story is surprising and unique, and he weaves it together compellingly. He states his views clearly, leaves room for disagreement, and champions love no matter where you are in this conversation.” —Jud Wilhite, Sr. Pastor, Central Christian Church

Messy Truth

Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0525654275
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 257

Book Description
From the author of Messy Grace, a former pastor raised by gay parents, comes a compassionate playbook to help Christians, church staff, and ministry leaders create a culture of belonging without sacrificing theological convictions. What should we do? This is a question many Christians are asking as they face shifting societal norms, conflicting opinions, and often inaccurate scriptural interpretations regarding those who identify as LGBTQ+. Caleb Kaltenbach believes there’s a more helpful question:What am I willing to do to keep and build influence with ______________? Caleb knows our love for others is best measured by the lengths we’ll go to help them. He also recognizes that people find and follow Jesus better in community than in isolation. As a child raised by three activist gay parents, Caleb experienced firsthand the outrage of some Christians. That’s why he is committed to creating a sense of belonging for all people. True community can happen only when Christians are intentional in infusing their attitudes, systems, and values with grace and truth. This hopeful, practical book offers tools for encouraging church involvement, strengthening personal relationships, increasing empathy, and engaging in pivotal conversations about grace and truth with our whole community. Fostering a culture of belonging is a messy process, but it holds a massive possibility for everyone involved: a growing relationship with Jesus.

Everyday Sacrament

Author: Laura Kelly Fanucci
Publisher: Liturgical Press
ISBN: 0814637930
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 152

Book Description
In Everyday Sacrament: The Messy Grace of Parenting Laura Kelly Fanucci sees the Catholic sacraments through the smudged and sticky lens of life with little ones. From dinnertime chaos to bath-time giggles to never-ending loads of laundry, Laura stumbles into the surprising truth of what the seven sacraments really mean: that God is present always, even in the messes of motherhood. A spiritual memoir of parenting’s early years and a sacramental theology rooted in family life, Everyday Sacrament offers an honest, humorous, and hopeful look at ordinary moments as full of grace.

Messy Faith

Author: A. J. Gregory
Publisher: Revell
ISBN: 1441201947
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
While most of us trudge toward the cross with the best intentions, at times our lives just don't pan out the way we've planned. Messy Faith addresses the muddled adventure that we call "working out our salvation." It is being sure and unsure, whole and broken, warring, losing, and winning. It is being right and being wrong and having no clue, but believing anyway. And it is trusting in God to perfect the final product of our flawed, human lives. Author A. J. Gregory explores her own personal experiences, and those of a handful of flawed biblical heroes and others who have endured painful or simply ordinary realities in the journey to belief. This honest book will comfort anyone who has had a less-than-straight path to belief and those who continue to struggle.

Models of the Mind

Author: Grace Lindsay
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472966457
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401

Book Description
The human brain is made up of 85 billion neurons, which are connected by over 100 trillion synapses. For more than a century, a diverse array of researchers searched for a language that could be used to capture the essence of what these neurons do and how they communicate – and how those communications create thoughts, perceptions and actions. The language they were looking for was mathematics, and we would not be able to understand the brain as we do today without it. In Models of the Mind, author and computational neuroscientist Grace Lindsay explains how mathematical models have allowed scientists to understand and describe many of the brain's processes, including decision-making, sensory processing, quantifying memory, and more. She introduces readers to the most important concepts in modern neuroscience, and highlights the tensions that arise when the abstract world of mathematical modelling collides with the messy details of biology. Each chapter of Models of the Mind focuses on mathematical tools that have been applied in a particular area of neuroscience, progressing from the simplest building block of the brain – the individual neuron – through to circuits of interacting neurons, whole brain areas and even the behaviours that brains command. In addition, Grace examines the history of the field, starting with experiments done on frog legs in the late eighteenth century and building to the large models of artificial neural networks that form the basis of modern artificial intelligence. Throughout, she reveals the value of using the elegant language of mathematics to describe the machinery of neuroscience.

Detoured

Author: Jen Babakhan
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers
ISBN: 0736976736
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 210

Book Description
Does having it all even exist? Former marketing executive turned third-grade teacher, Jen Babakhan never expected her transition to stay-at-home mom would bring feelings of grief and loss. She felt God was calling her to be home with her newborn son, and she wanted to be with him—yet she felt conflicted about giving up her career. Detoured chronicles the often-bumpy path Jen took to contentment and peace in her new role at home. She honestly shares the struggles and joys of being home, and the truth she uncovered about “having it all.” She invites you to walk beside her on this journey and find: a new confidence and peace in your decision to place your career on hold an invitation to discover your true identity that has nothing to do with your job title a sense of community and the knowledge that you are not alone in your motherhood journey Stay-at-home motherhood isn’t easy—but it can be the most beautiful detour you ever take.

Give Grace

Author: Megan Smalley
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1400217563
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
Are you traveling through a difficult season? With thoughtful discussion and reflection questions and inspiring stories, Give Grace, written by Megan Smalley, provides you with a safe place to process the ups and downs of life and find new inspiration to trust God's plan as you rest in his unfailing love. Through her own journey with loss and hope, Megan is passionate about sharing the message of God's grace for our lives, whatever we are experiencing today. In Give Grace, she shares her painful experience with infertility, as well as heartfelt stories of encouragement and personal growth from her own life, in order to come alongside us in our own times of questioning and waiting. Give Grace will help you: Feel comfortable discussing the challenging times Grow spiritually and reflect on deeper thoughts Identify the purpose behind your pain Give Grace is also an ideal gift for anyone going through a challenging time to let them know that they are cared for, loved, and able to handle anything with God's grace. If you are traveling through a difficult season--however big or small--you will find comfort in the Scripture, stories, and reflections in this inspiring book.

Messy Beautiful Love

Author: Darlene Schacht
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 1400206219
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 233

Book Description
Messy Beautiful Love delivers an incredible testimony of grace that offers hope for today’s marriages and a spark for rekindling love. Love gets messy. Financial problems, sickness, aging parents, a chronically unhappy spouse . . . trials will inevitably come that threaten your marriage. No matter how long you’ve been married or how strong your relationship is, sooner or later you are going to have a mess to clean up. Messy Beautiful Love is about cleaning up messes God’s way, exchanging your ideas for His, and being prepared for both the best and the worst that marriage has to offer. When you surrender your relationship to God, then and only then will you experience the blessing of marriage as He intended. This is the blessing of obedience. Messy Beautiful Love is an invitation to that obedience. The cynical world says marriages don’t last, but God knows better. Tune out the world and tune in to Him. When you do that, a beautiful marriage is not only possible, it’s inevitable.

Messy Minimalism

Author: Rachelle Crawford
Publisher: Broadleaf Books
ISBN: 1506466877
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 217

Book Description
Think minimalism means a perfectly curated, always tidy home? Think again. Drowning in tides of toys, overflowing closets, and a crazy schedule, Rachelle Crawford assumed you had to be naturally organized to keep a tidy living space. Then she found minimalism: the messy, real-life kind, that is less about perfection and more about purpose. Thus began a journey toward decluttering her home, calendar, and soul. With empathy, grace, and humor, Crawford--who curates the popular Abundant Life with Less site--shares doable ways to own less and live more fully. Laying out practical strategies for reducing waste, curbing consumption, decluttering, and finding lots more joy, Crawford offers no-nonsense solutions for the rest of us. Learn to become a more conscious consumer, create a capsule wardrobe, inspire family members to join you, free up more time for the things that matter, and create a tidy(ish) home. The messy minimalist way is a no-judgment zone, one in which we learn sustainable habits and grace-based practices. It's about living lightly on the earth and making room for purpose. Becoming a messy minimalist is not about turning into someone else; it's about clearing away clutter and expectations to unearth who you really are. It's about carrying fewer things so that we find ourselves holding onto what truly matters.

God of Tomorrow

Author: Caleb Kaltenbach
Publisher: WaterBrook
ISBN: 0735289999
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 242

Book Description
With a voice of reason and grace, pastor Caleb Kaltenbach challenges the church to choose the path of hope in response to polarizing cultural issues that are straight from the front pages of today’s newspapers. Divergent politics, immigration issues, bullying, re-defining family, racism, terrorism, new ways of categorizing people, and multiple other issues are negatively impacting our communities today. Some feel the country we live in now isn't the same one they lived in twenty years ago. Culture is consistently changing, and many Christians are nervous about what tomorrow will bring. However, we don't need to worry, because we serve the God of tomorrow. Culture will always change, but God never changes. God owns tomorrow. He has been in tomorrow, prepared tomorrow, and will walk with us into tomorrow. He will help us handle our ever-shifting culture as we journey forward. Every cultural issue we deal with today is something that Jesus dealt with in his day. The issues are the same, they just look different. Yet Jesus trusted the God of Tomorrow and knew that he was in complete control. Because of his trust in God, Jesus engaged culture in a very intentional way, and we can do likewise. God of Tomorrow includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter, providing a great platform for small groups to dialogue about these culturally-relevant topics.