Ken Gire

The peaceful farm life of a teenage girl in Germany is abruptly upended when WWII comes knocking at her family's door. One month before her sixteenth birthday, Mildred "Mickchen" Schindler and her family are captured by Russian Soldiers. Having already survived life in Hitler's Nazi Germany, they now face the terror of a new enemy-Stalin's Red Army.Driven from their home, Mildred and her family become refugees along with a sad, slow-moving caravan of other families who have suffered the same fate. Cleverly disguised by her mother, Mildred avoids being taken to a work camp until one morning when authorities arrive unexpectedly. Her father has already been taken by Russian soldiers, and now she is taken from her mother and brother.Mildred recounts, in meticulous detail, her treacherous journey and the roller coaster of raw emotions she experiences -fear, regret, loneliness, humility, perseverance, and defiance. Mildred's odyssey of making her way home and finding her family in a war-torn countryside takes many riveting twists and turns. The discovery of a secret, hidden document offers hope for a brighter future.From harrowing to heartwarming, this memoir provides a unique perspective of a Gentile girl's road to resilience and her fortitude against all odds to forge a life filled with love and laughter.Surviving Hitler, Evading Stalin is a remarkable testimony to the strength of the unconquerable human spirit and an endearing account of God's faithfulness in the midst of faithless circumstances.

The most gripping, intimate, and inspiring account of Pearl Harbor. The first memoir ever published by a USS Arizona survivor. At 8:10 a.m. on December 7, 1941, Seaman First Class Donald Stratton was consumed by an inferno. A million pounds of explosives had detonated beneath his battle station aboard the USS Arizona, barely fifteen minutes into Japan's surprise attack on American forces at Pearl Harbor. Near death and burned across two thirds of his body, Don, a nineteen-year-old Nebraskan who had been steeled by the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, summoned the will to haul himself hand over hand across a rope tethered to a neighboring vessel. Forty-five feet below, the harbor's flaming, oil-slick water boiled with enemy bullets; all around him the world tore itself apart. In this extraordinary, never-before-told eyewitness account of the Pearl Harbor attack-the only memoir ever written by a survivor of the USS Arizona-ninety-four-year-old veteran Donald Stratton finally shares his unforgettable personal tale of bravery and survival on December 7, 1941, his harrowing recovery, and his inspiring determination to return to the fight. Don and four other sailors made it safely across the same line that morning, a small miracle on a day that claimed the lives of 1,177 of their Arizona shipmates-approximately half the American fatalaties at Pearl Harbor. Sent to military hospitals for a year, Don refused doctors' advice to amputate his limbs and battled to relearn how to walk. The U.S. Navy gave him a medical discharge, believing he would never again be fit for service, but Don had unfinished business. In June 1944, he sailed back into the teeth of the Pacific War on a destroyer, destined for combat in the crucial battles of Leyte Gulf, Luzon, and Okinawa, thus earning the distinction of having been present for the opening shots and the final major battle of America's Second World War. As the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack approaches, Don, a great-grandfather of five and one of six living survivors of the Arizona, offers an unprecedentedly intimate reflection on the tragedy that drew America into the greatest armed conflict in history. All the Gallant Men is a book for the ages, one of the most remarkable-and remarkably inspiring-memoirs of any kind to appear in recent years.

Praise for Windows of the Soul Every once in a while a book comes along that makes you stop and think—and then think some more—like Ken Gire’s wonderful book Windows of the Soul. —John Trent in Christian Parenting TodayKen Gire has created a book that gently pours forth, like water out of a garden bucket, cleansing our thoughts and opening the petals of our spirits, providing us with a new sense of clarity in our search for God. —Manhattan (KS) MercuryEach word, each phrase, is painstakingly wrought, loaded with thoughts and prayer, and filled with new glimpses of God’s love, grace, and strength. —The Christian AdvocateWindows of the Soul will surprise you with the many and varied windows God uses to speak to us. With the heart of an artist, Ken Gire paints word pictures in prose and poetry that will thrill your heart. —Mature LivingWindows of the Soul is a rare book, resounding with the cry for communion that is both ours and God’s. With passion, honesty, and beauty, Ken Gire calls us to a fresh sensitivity to God’s voice speaking through the unexpected parables that surround us. —Christian Courier

Grow in your faith as you spend time with the One who knows you thoroughly and loves you completely.Take a step-by-step journey through key moments in Jesus’ life with this compilation that weaves events, emotions, and thoughts into a moving depiction of the life of Christ.Each of the sixty-six meditations, told in chronological order, opens with Scripture and concludes with prayer. Moments with the Savior allows you to:Travel with Jesus and His disciples through the Galilean countrysidePress through the throngs at the temple in JerusalemMarvel at the Savior’s challenging words, miraculous authority, and tender compassionWatch as strength floods a lame man’s limbs and wonder washes over his faceSee the meaningful relationships Jesus formed with those He encountered This beautiful gift book includes depictions of Jesus’ humanity and divinity, Scripture verses, and heartfelt prayers. Moments with the Savior invites you into a more intimate relationship with Him as you learn more about Jesus’ life.

When You Need a Savior Who Stills the Wind"Here's the rub about faith. Sure, prayer often changes outward things, but the only guaranteed miracle God offers us is inner peace, the peace of Christ. A peace so crazy deep that it cannot be analyzed or understood. It descends on us even when everything else is falling apart, while the drug-addicted child does not come to his senses, or the job offer doesn't pan out, or the cancer rages and the marriage is a hollow mess. But I'll let you in on a secret. This miracle of the 'inner variety,' this inexplicable and supernatural calm in the storm, is the greatest miracle you'll ever experience."Bestselling author Ken Gire weaves together stories from the Bible, history, and his own life to reveal how we can find strength and encouragement through the storms of life. Experience the joy of knowing the God who is always there to reach out a hand and pull you out of the waves.

What must it have been like to draw near to Christ as he drew near to the cross? Reflecting on Michelangelo's majestic Pieta, in which Mary gathers the suffering Jesus into her arms, Ken Gire offers seven meditations on a costly discipleship that invites us to take up our cross and follow our Savior - through death to life everlasting

Imagine getting a glimpse of heaven, a preview of life in God's presence. Could life here ever be the same?Capt. Dale Black has flown as a commercial pilot all over the world, but one flight changed his life forever--an amazing journey to heaven and back. The only survivor of a horrific plane crash, Dale was hovering between life and death when he had a wondrous experience of heaven. What he saw, what he heard, and what he learned there continues to ripple through his life and touch others. Against all odds, Dale miraculously recovered from his injuries and learned to fly again. Now, with his life as a testament, he shares his inspiring story--offering hope and encouragement for those dealing with serious injuries or the loss of a loved one, and those looking for assurance about this life and the next.Experience a Life-Changing Vision of Heaven

The terrain of Colorado forms a metaphor for life as acclaimed writer Ken Gire reflects upon the smooth, even terrain of eastern Colorado in contrast to the wild, uncertain, jagged terrain of western Colorado. The majestic, awe-inspiring mountains of western Colorado were born out of the most terrifying eruptions. And that is the unrelenting work of heaven, to make everything beautiful in its time. All of us would like life to be smooth with no upheavals. But the fact is that our lives are anything but. Our lives are full of upheaval, for that is life as we are given it. Gire looks at the beauty that is the result of these upheavals.

The North Face of God addresses those times of adversity when God seems to have abandoned us. Sometimes, when the cold winds of life blow and we cry out to God, he's silent, and we wonder if he still cares about us—or ever cared. Drawing on the Psalms, Ken Gire climbs the mountainous terrain of God's seeming indifference and helps us learn how to hold on to hope, despite our circumstances. He also calls us to become good “climbing partners” for other people who need help and encouragement along the way.

Around us, there are hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life unhurried serenity and peace and power. A life where we see all that is sacred. It seems the more we pack into our lives, the less we experience of our lives. We've become modern-day Marthas, busy, distracted, and empty, instead of like her sister Mary, calm, focused, and fulfilled. How do we, like Mary, create "pauses" in our days and weeks to hear what the Savior has to say to us? How do we make time for the things that ultimately matter? How can we become more spiritually sensitive to the everyday moments of life? In Seeing What Is Sacred (formerly titled The Reflective Life), acclaimed writer Ken Gire unlocks the door to change by introducing us not to a trendy new method, but to a centuries-old tradition of seeing the sacred in the everyday through reflective living. In this momentous work, readers will: Discover this rich heritage that stretches from David, Solomon, and Jesus himself to Augustine, Brother Lawrence and Mother Teresa.Learn "habits of the heart" that deepen their intimacy with Christ through Scripture, meditation, and prayerCultivate a spiritual sensitivity that allows them to see God at work in all of life's moments

The Divine Embrace is an invitation to a more intimate relationship with Christ. Using the movements of the "Emperor Waltz" as a metaphor for the Christian life, Ken Gire invites readers to enter into the joy and the freedom of the dance--to be held in the Lord's arms, to feel his presence and touch in their lives, to be embraced by the one whose love for them knows no end. Gire urges Christians to pay close attention to God's gifts and callings, and not to take them for granted. Each sighting of God's work, he promises, will cause us to fall more in love with him.