Goodbye Norman Rockwell is about a young woman who is battling addiction in a marriage with an abusive alcoholic. She has three children who are living with the hell of alcoholism. The marriage is loveless, basically sexless and Melissa gets involved in an affair which she has resisted but temptation and loneliness is too great. Will she be able to find happiness and recovery or will she be doomed to pass on the legacy of the past generations? If you have ever struggled with addiction or a dysfunctional family, this is a must read.
The parables of Jesus have been the favorite subject of theologians and Sunday school teachers alike. There is something about a story that connects with the heart of its hearer in a way that didactic teaching doesn't. They are memorable and relatable. It is easy to take the metaphors and allegories of the parables and adapt them to our own culture and circumstances today. However, in doing this we may miss Jesus' meaning and why he told stories as he did.This book explores the context of eschatological crisis in which Jesus delivered his parables and how a Jewish-Christian audience in particular would relate to this context; the implication being that how the parables are interpreted and applied must be reconsidered. Jesus uses parables to confront Jewish eschatology, including the belief in an imminent restoration of Israel as a nation, and instead declares imminent judgment on Israel for their rejection of him. This would have created a sense of crisis in Jesus' listeners as their long-held beliefs were challenged; specifically regarding questions Jesus raised about who are included and excluded from the Kingdom and how Jesus' coming was connected with the Kingdom and Israel's judgment. Jesus' parables encourage his audience to put their hope not in a kingdom with national borders but in the inaugurated Kingdom of God.The essence of the question Jesus poses to his Jewish contemporaries is the same throughout the parables, "How will you respond? Will you believe me and receive my word or reject me and condemn yourself?" Jesus' audience lived at time where a drastic change was being made in man's relationship to God. A final judgment was soon coming on the old way of relating to God, culminating in the destruction of the temple so that they would never again be able to offer the sacrifices once prescribed by God and so central to their faith. Rather than the kingdom of Israel being returned to its former glory, God was establishing his Kingdom in and through the hearts of those who would receive the redemptive work of his Son. Those of us reading 2,000 years later often underestimate the crisis of this transition and miss how much this tension is felt in the Gospels. A proper understanding of the eschatological crisis of immanent judgment will change the reader's awareness of the upheaval that Jesus' coming Kingdom brought to the Jewish nation and the way his parables are interpreted.
In this issue: One Bad Moment by Sandy RozanskiMy Only One by Edward HofertA Mystery Revealed by Rick PowellStart Again by Michael R. CollinsDisconnected by AnnMarie MartinUnremembered Skies and Snows by Alexandra PlattI am a Proud Asperger's Grandma by LeaAnn LyonCollecting Cats by Chad LutzkeOblations by Nate MaxsonThe Keepers of the Harvest and GMO: Food From the Dark Side by Wendy LeeThat One Special Thing by Micki HoganGuardian of the Night by Shawna Plat
A complete story brought to you by Shauna Hudson of BWWM Club.Tobias Botwin has always been the man.A bad boy billionaire playboy, and the guy every woman wanted to lock down but couldn't.That was until his mother died, and his father got sick of his playboy antics.Now cut off from the family fortune, Tobias soon finds himself interning for the beautiful and powerful Angeline Snow; a woman that's set to whip him into shape But as Tobias learns more about himself than he ever thought possible under her guidance, he soon discovers he's got a real thing for this strong and beautiful woman.But will Angie feel the same being fully aware of his relationship history?Find out in this sexy suspenseful romance by Shauna Hudson.Suitable for over 18s only due to Saucy sex scenes.
Sometimes love arrives softly but it storms in like a blizzard for one cowboy Life is hectic on a good day for rodeo stock contractor Kash Kressley. Between dodging flying hooves and babying cranky bulls, he barely has time to sleep. The last thing Kash needs is the entanglement of a sweet romance, especially with a woman as full of fire and sass as the redheaded photographer he rescues at a rodeo. Determined to capture the best images possible, rodeo photographer Celia McGraw is fearless and feisty. Not one to back down from a challenge, her biggest risk isn't in her work. Danger lurks in the way her heart responds to one incredibly handsome stock contractor. Will Kash and Celia capture the spirit of Christmas and each other's hearts?
Two old flames reignite with a little holiday magic. Levi Clarke is on a crusade to create a merry Christmas for the patrons of Center for Hope community center. He'll do whatever it takes to make it happen, even it means seeking a sponsorship from Kat Kingsley, the woman too stubborn to realize she's still in love with him.
