Difficult Times

Michael usually concerns himself with basketball and hanging out with his friends, but every once in a while, his parents drag him to meetings and rallies with their anti-immigrant group. And it all makes sense to Michael. Until Mina, a beautiful girl from the other side of the protest lines, shows up at his school and turns out to be funny, smart - and a Muslim refugee from Afghanistan. Suddenly his parents' politics seem much more complicated.

Set across the United States and abroad, Meron Hadero’s stories feature immigrants, refugees, and those on the brink of dispossession, all struggling to begin again, all fighting to belong. Moving through diverse geographies and styles, this captivating collection follows characters on the journey toward home, which they dream of, create and redefine, lose and find, and make their own. Beyond migration, these stories examine themes of race, gender, class, friendship, betrayal, the despair of loss, and the enduring resilience of hope.

Redefining victory through the eyes of a cancer survivor! Author Paul Manwaring was diagnosed with prostate cancer in January 2008. Kisses from a Good God recounts his journey from the first diagnosis, through the prayers of believing friends and family, his choice to undergo surgery, and to his ultimate healing victory. Kisses from a Good God provides encouragement and challenges some commonly held beliefs. He removes shame from those who have been healed by the hands of doctors and surgeons rather than through prayer. Instead of simply encouraging you with practical, biblical truths, a ...

This book contains a collection of stories from my childhood and beyond. Like the jam and jelly jar photo on the cover, I have arranged these little portions of sweet things for you to taste and enjoy. You can’t make jam without going through the difficulty of picking every berry, sometimes getting scratched in the process, crushing them, putting them under some heat, stirring it often, and reducing them down to something sweet and memorable. Most of these short stories have come about that same way for me. In a sense, this represents some of the jam that has come from my life and ...

Hard times make us look for God. Everyone has problems. But if we could solve all our difficulties ourselves, would we ever search for God? Psychologist John Townsend says "It is actually the very unfixability of our problems and our powerlessness to bring right results that keep us asking, 'Where is God?'" With a compelling narrative, Townsend offers new insights into the pursuit for God's help and presence.

Grandpa is dying. He can barely move his hands any more but, stubborn as ever, refuses to stay in hospital. He's determined to finish his last painting, 'River Boy', before he goes. At first Jess can't understand his refusal to let go, but then she too becomes involved in the mysterious painting. And when she meets the river boy himself, she finds she is suddenly caught up in a challenge of her own that she must complete - before it's too late...

Why is suffering the common lot of all people everywhere - believers and non-believers alike - and why does it seem that the world is out of control when it comes to the problem of pain and suffering? Who’s in Charge of a World that Suffers? includes an informative and inspirational new introduction by Franklin Graham that speaks to today’s reader in the midst of painful circumstances.

We talk every day—and we often do it without thinking. But, as you well know, there are some things that are harder to talk about—especially issues pertaining to politics, culture, lifestyle, and diversity. This groundbreaking book will show you how to get to that important next level in difficult conversations, to talk in an authentic and straightforward way about culture and diversity, and to speak from the heart with tools from the head. You'll learn to navigate these difficult conversations, and take what you've learned beyond the conversation and out into the world.

The doctors assure Erin Bennett and her parents that they can't find a physical cause for her headaches. But the throbbing, violent pain is so intense that Erin knows she needs help. Even landing the lead in the senior musical opposite David Devlin, the good-looking, popular guy everyone else is wild about, doesn't give Erin much pleasure. In fact, she finds David so annoying that her headaches are getting worse. Erin knows that the headaches started just after the death of her younger sister, Amy, one year ago. She though her grieving was over, but somehow the headaches must be connected to Amy.

What if the greatest obstacles in your life were actually the keys to unlocking your destiny? Discover how to transform your struggles into stepping stones in Embrace Your Goliath Moment. With every challenge lies a hidden opportunity to grow, conquer, and rise above. Are you ready to face your giant, step into your purpose, and embrace the greatness you were born for? Drawing from the life of David, who turned a life-threatening encounter into a life-defining victory, this book uncovers how challenges are not setbacks but divine appointments. You’ll learn to see obstacles through the ...

Martin Conway comes from a family filled with heroes and disgraces. His grandfather was a statesman who worked at the US Embassy in London during WWII. His father is an alcoholic who left his family. His sister is an overachieving Ivy League graduate. And Martin? Martin is stuck in between—floundering. But during the summer after 7th grade, Martin meets a boy who will change his life forever. Jimmy Harker appears one night with a deceptively simple question: Will you help?

Do you find your productivity and your professional advancement are challenged by workplace complexity, frequently changing goals, your own time-wasting habits, and co-workers who are... shall we say... “challenging?” Do you leave work knowing that you could have completed much more than you did? It’s time to take control of your day. Inside of The Stress-Free Work Day - How to Effectively Organize Your Day, Be Super Productive, Increase Your Motivation, and Get Out by 5! you’ll find step-by-step directions to becoming your most positive and productive self. This book reveals why ...

This book is full of stories, some true happenings, some just good stories meant to lift your spirit. Each of these short messages are a lesson unto themselves. Mostly they are written with the hopes that they will touch something in your heart and help you in your daily walk with Christ.

"What's Happened to Me?": Sarah finds herself in a strange place, and she can recall only one thing - her name. A young man, Heath de Charon, explains to Sarah that he found her unconscious on the grounds of his family's estate and has been caring for her. "When the Clock Chimes": Drake Iverson lands a summer job on Sandstone Mountain. There are no computers; he has to do all the work by hand in a large leather-bound book. He doesn't mind, as long as he can be near Gina, who is pretty and kind. "The Mysteries of Chance": Dylan Sorenson offers his help to a girl who seems to be in distress.

Katsuyamas never quit - but 17-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt Hannah at their family’s flower shop. She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill of which she might even be proud. Then her mom decides to sell the shop - to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents during WWII.

Calling Anna and Bennett's romance long distance is an understatement: She's from 1995 Chicago and he's a time traveler from 2012 San Francisco. The two of them never should have met, but they did. They fell in love, even though they knew they shouldn't. And they found a way to stay together, against all odds. It's not a perfect arrangement, though, with Bennett unable to stay in the past for more than brief visits, skipping out on big chunks of his present in order to be with Anna in hers. They each are confident that they'll find a way to make things work...until Bennett witnesses a single event he never should have seen....

As much as we’d like to avoid suffering in life, all of us will occasionally face earth-shattering hardships. You might be dealing with one now, or perhaps your friend or a loved one is, or maybe you’d just like to prepare yourself for when one inevitably occurs in your life. Self-Discipline in Difficult Times is the right book for you if you want to learn how to press ahead as your world turns upside down.

What if finding her means losing himself? Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he could travel through time. When he was 10, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at 15, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he's actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers".

Conquer Life’s Hardest Battles and Emerge Victorious! Are You Struggling with Life’s Unbearable Challenges? Feeling Defeated? This Book is Your Blueprint to Overcoming Every Storm! Life is a battlefield, and every warrior faces trials that shake the core of their existence. From financial ruin to spiritual drought, from broken relationships to unseen spiritual warfare—life’s toughest challenges can leave you gasping for hope. But what if you had a proven roadmap to victory? This power-packed, wisdom-filled book is your ultimate guide to overcoming life’s toughest battles—not ...

Only He who made our hearts fully understands them; and no one but the Son of man who is the Son of God can be touched with the feeling of all our infirmi¬ties, having been in all points tried as we have been tried. But whoever has had any experience of trials, suffering, sorrow, bereavement, and has been divinely helped to profit by that experience, can hope to be of service in words of sympathy to those similarly tried and troubled. It is the heart which bleeds with its own sorrows which can go out in living sympathy toward another bleeding heart; and it is the hearts that have gained ...