Changing Families

Almost any parent you asked would tell you that they want their children to be happy, successful adults. But many of us forget (or never knew to begin with) that lasting personal joy is not necessarily found the way the world says it is - through reaching a certain socioeconomic status, having a certain job, buying a certain house, or having a certain amount in one's bank account. In fact, says Kristen Welch, author of Raising Grateful Kids in an Entitled World, personal satisfaction comes not from grabbing onto things but from holding them with an open hand and, very often, giving them away.

Written from her dual perspective as a psychologist and a mother, Lerner brings us deeply personal tales that run the gamut from the hilarious to the heart-wrenching. From birth or adoption to the empty nest, The Mother Dance teaches the basic lessons of motherhood: that we are not in control of what happens to our children, that most of what we worry about doesn't happen, and that our children will love us with all our imperfections if we can do the same for them.

A young tween waxes eloquent about the changes her family has gone through over the years, using the seasons as a background for her reflective poem.

Good luck comes in threes, so they say. Only in the case of Jenny Allerton and her family - it was bad luck. Heartbreak, threats and financial disasters all struck at once. When an easy solution to the family’s financial problems turns up from a mysterious and unexpected source, Jenny’s parents are faced with a difficult moral dilemma – should they go to the police or accept and enjoy what fate has put in their path? Funny Goings On in Sandlebury Bay is written in our usual light-hearted, not to be taken too seriously, tongue in cheek, heart-warming, feel good, style. We hope you ...

Melinda Long's How I Became a Pirate was a New York Times best-seller, a Book Sense Book of the Year, and a Parents' Choice Gold Award winner. In this humorous sequel, Jeremy Jacob is babysitting his infant sister when his old pirate friends come knocking. They want the treasure stashed in the backyard, but Jeremy will only help if the pirates take care of Bonney.

Frank Senko had always known how to have a good time. But after a job change forced Frank to begin a long car commute every day, his daughter Jen noticed changes in his personality and beliefs. Long hours on the road listening to talk radio commentators like Rush Limbaugh sucked her father into a suspicion-laden worldview dominated by conspiracy theories, fake news, and rants about the "coastal elite" and "libtards" trying to destroy America.

The final book in the landmark Cazalet Chronicles, recently broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It is the 1950s and as the Cazalets' beloved matriarch, the Duchy, passes away, she takes with her the last remnants of a world - of great houses and servants, of class and tradition - in which the Cazalets have thrived. Louise, now divorced, becomes entangled in a painful affair; while Polly and Clary must balance marriage and motherhood with their own ideas and ambitions.

Widowed Kate Everett is looking forward to starting her "second act". She’s planned out everything that she wants - a new house, a new job, maybe even a new man. She can’t wait until everything falls into place. But life has a way of butting in, and Kate soon finds herself dealing with unexpected houseguests, helping her daughter plan the world’s smallest wedding, and sudden unemployment. Things get even more complicated with the reappearance of her old college love, Jake. He realizes the mistake he made years ago in letting her go, and is eager to win her back.

Raising kids with hearts for Christ may be the hardest thing you ever try to do, but it's also the most important thing. Packed with funny and honest stories, biblical insight, and practical steps you can put into practice today, this hands-on parenting manual will encourage and equip every parent through any stage. Founders of a multi-campus church and family coaches with 30 years of experience, Dave and Ann share the hard-earned but easy-to-apply principles that ensure a strong parent-to-child relationship and a strong foundation for your child.

Today, the godly family is the devil’s number one target. This battle which started in the Garden of Eden against Adam’s family, is aggravating. And without any doubt, the family that is supposed to be an incubator for great stars, in most cases has become a place of many tears. It is not supposed to be so! Pastor Godson reveals God’s plan of deliverance and restoration for individuals and families in this book. Having experienced deliverance and restoration, and has been ministering it to others for more than 20 years, with tangible results, he writes to help others discover the ...

“Randy Judd has done it again! He has created a page-turner with an uplifting theme and you get to go through superb storytelling to get there.” VICTORIOUS BY DESIGN MAGAZINE recently named Randy Judd to their Star Power List of Authors! “The strong put off their hate and proceed unfettered while the feeble wear the hate as an anchor, slowing their journey.” In the aftermath of the American Civil War, two families make contrasting decisions on how they proceed. The Chisms—owners of a cotton plantation—continue to hold a grip on their past traditions. The Stones—owners of a ...

Embracing the idea that our children deserve our honesty, vulnerability, and leadership, you’ll discover a powerful framework for raising your family with integrity and confidence. Giving and receiving the trust, communication, cooperation, respect, and joy that every parent and child deserves ultimately allows our children to become the leaders our future so desperately needs.

When a school project allows her to create her own video game, the hero is a girl who knows how to handle any situation—something Courtney struggles with in real life. Whether it’s learning to share a room with her stepsister or supporting her mom when she announces she’s running for mayor, Courtney’s blended family has to learn to work together differently. It’s a whole new game for Courtney, and she’s figuring out the rules as she goes.

Her life was once filled with love and new beginnings. But she'd given up her hopes and dreams of marriage and a family and instead buried herself in her big-city career and the small home in her quiet home-town neighborhood...then everything changed. A sudden life changing decision...a few too many drinks...a man fixing coffee in her kitchen....and not just any man. Katherine Sutton isn’t inexperienced at having to face difficult moments in her life…there have been many and she knows there will be more. Tom Waters has seen it all in his twenty years of working for Jedidiah Morgan. The ...

From one of the country’s most recognizable journalists: How becoming a grandmother transforms a woman’s life. After four decades as a reporter, Lesley Stahl’s most vivid and transformative experience of her life was not covering the White House, interviewing heads of state, or researching stories at 60 Minutes. It was becoming a grandmother. She was hit with a jolt of joy so intense and unexpected, she wanted to “investigate” it - as though it were a news flash.

For the last ten years, Agnes Parsons’s biggest challenge has been juggling yoga classes and lunch dates. Her Santa Monica house staff takes care of everything, leaving Agnes to focus on her trophy-wife responsibilities: look perfect, adore her older husband, and wear terribly expensive (if uncomfortable) underwear. When her husband disappears, leaving Agnes and their infant daughter with no money, no home, and no staff, she is forced to move across the country, where she lands a job teaching at an all-boys boarding school in the Bronx.

In this sequel to The Year of the Dog, Pacy has another big year in store for her. The Year of the Dog was a very lucky year: She met her best friend, Melody, and discovered her true talents. However, the Year of the Rat brings big changes: Pacy must deal with Melody moving to California, find the courage to forge on with her dream of becoming a writer and illustrator, and learn to face some of her own flaws. Pacy encounters prejudice, struggles with acceptance, and must find the beauty in change.

It can be easy to become task-oriented, focusing on the goals ahead of us and checking off our to-do lists rather than focusing on the people in our lives. Entrepreneur and business coach Brian Dixon set out to discover the secret to living a life that matters and finding work you love. In Start with Your People, Brian shares principles, tips, and personal stories to help you maximize the most important resource to succeed in both life and calling: relationships. Join Brian on a journey to discover the people-first mindset that changes everything.

Until two years of age, Craig and Samantha’s son Connor was just like other kids - playful, verbal, and affectionate. Then everything changed. He stopped talking, displayed behavioral problems, and withdrew into his own world. The official diagnosis - autism. Faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, Craig and Samantha refused to believe a meaningful life for Connor was impossible. God confirmed their faith by revealing to Craig that Connor would one day touch the lives of thousands of people around the world.

Seventeen-year-old Caprice wants to piece her family back together now that her older brother has returned home, even as she resents that he ever broke them apart. Just as she starts to get a new footing—falling in love for the first time, uncertainly mending her traumatized relationship with her brother, completing the app that will win her a college scholarship and a job in tech—wildfires strike Sierra, her small California town, forcing her to reckon with a future that is impossible to predict.