Religious Grief

Written by Leonard Wibberley—author of over 100 published novels, including The Mouse That Roared. A man diagnosed with inoperable cancer sells his belongings to fulfill a lifelong dream to go on safari in Africa and hunt an elephant. But as he tracks the great creature, a bond forms between the hunter and the hunted, transforming the man and helping face his own death. “Beautifully, poetically wrought, this short novel echoes with a depth found in the best of fiction.”—Robert Kirsch, Los Angeles Times “All that a reader might expect from this author is contained in this little ...

What do we think of when we think about heaven? What might it look like? Who or what might be there? Since humans began to huddle together for protection thousands of years ago, these questions have been part of how civilizations and cultures define heaven, the good place beyond this one. In this engrossing cultural history of heaven, Catherine Wolff delves into how people and cultures have defined heaven over the centuries. She describes how different faiths and religions have framed it, how the sense of heaven has evolved, and how nonreligious influences have affected it.

Chiara Luce, a girl full of vitality, suddenly fell gravely ill. And, strangely, moment by moment, a new life full of light began to unfold for her. She was 18 when she died, yet she had lived to the full. On September 25, 2010, Chiara Luce was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI and is now known as "Blessed Chiara Badano".

In this unabridged audio download, Letters from the Land of Cancer, award-winning writer Walter Wangerin Jr. offers his profound insights into the greatest challenge we face: confronting our own mortality. Diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in January 2006, Wangerin began writing letters to his friends and family members. Now he offers these intimate letters to all who ask questions about living and dying well.

Two years after Marilyn loses her fiancé to cancer, she becomes a Christian and marries Henry, joining him in a worldwide ministry that leaves little time for family or personal reflection. When her old grief resurfaces, she’s shocked by the tsunami that rips through their lives. Intensive counselling fails to bring healing, and when Henry writes a public letter that decimates their churches and spins them out of fellowship—and lifelong employment—she faces an emotional and spiritual reckoning that challenges her to the core.

Jenna Camden knew nothing would be the same again. She felt like a guest in her own home...empty rooms echoed with precious memories, quiet nights filled with shadows of so many cherished yesterdays. Nothing was the same. Not even Christmas.A Christmas love story of hope, courage, and the enduring strength of love… Jenna didn’t have to look around her home with its colorful and shining Christmas decorations, the tall Christmas tree in her front room with the many Christmas ornaments that told in a special way the story of her family, to know that no matter what she did it would never ...

The Yoder Family Saga follows widow Miriam Yoder and her four unmarried daughters, Megan, Rebecca, Josephine, and Lillian, as they discover God’s plans for them and the hope He provides for a happy tomorrow. Josephine Yoder works for bachelor Abe Schmidt on his horse farm despite her mother’s concerns. When a new farmhand arrives, tensions rise and tempers flare. However, a missing horse forces their unlikely alliance, igniting passions of a different sort. Will the horse thief be caught? Can Josephine’s wild heart be tamed, or will she be unwilling to sacrifice her independence?A ...

Welcome to Morrissey County! This fictional region in Pennsylvania Amish country is home to several generations of strong-willed Amish women who know what they want in life, even if others disagree. Join these women on their search for love and acceptance. Morrissey County, 1979 Sarah Kauffman has always abided by the Ordnung, and not only because her father happens to be the town’s bishop and would, she feels, disown her if she didn’t. But when her mother passes away, she longs to escape the clutches of her father and run away to the Englisch world. When her father wants her to marry ...

Texas businessman Mike Fechner had it all. Money. Investments. Prestige. Until he did the unthinkable. He sold his company and poured his life's earnings into a ministry for the poor. With a strong faith in God at his core, this millionaire turned missionary envisioned a long future serving the urban Dallas poor and the people of poverty-stricken Africa.

When your life falls apart - through a death, a lost relationship, a diagnosis - you want more than anything to know that your pain has a purpose. And that beyond your pain, a new day awaits. Tricia Lott Williford discovered this in a few tragic hours when her 35-year-old husband died unexpectedly. In And Life Comes Back, she writes with soaring prose about her tender, brave journey as a widow with two young boys in the agonizing days and months that followed his death.

Thirty short-yet-powerful morning and evening reflections offer encouragement, hope, and inspiration to people dealing with a life-threatening illness, and to their family members and caretakers. Here are honest insights and personal stories from a pastor who continues his own journey with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease".

The Yoder Family Saga follows widow Miriam Yoder and her four unmarried daughters, Megan, Rebecca, Josephine, and Lillian, as they discover God’s plans for them and the hope He provides for a happy tomorrow. Lillian Yoder is the baby of the family and is keen to grow up and find her way in the world. Noah Troyer has been captivated by Lillian since he was a young boy, but becoming an Amish wife is appalling to her. She wants to break free into the wide world just beyond her settlement. Can Noah capture Lillian’s heart before it’s stolen away by the ways of the world? Or, will the ...

On a February day in 2008, Forrest Church sent a letter to the members of his congregation, informing them that he had terminal cancer; his life would now be measured in months, not years. In that remarkable letter, he wrote: "In more than one respect, I feel very lucky." He went on to promise that he would sum up his thoughts on the topics that had been so pervasive in his work-love and death-in a final book.

Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Love does. Amy Harte, an Emergency Medicine physician, lost her mother to cancer suddenly on the day of her residency graduation one year ago. As a doctor, she struggles with not being able to save her mother and experiencing her best day on her worst. Since then, she has turned from her relationship with God in her guilt and grief. Near the fateful day’s anniversary, her father calls to tell Amy the bank may take her childhood home. Amy knows she must save the house that holds the last precious memories of her mother. Meanwhile, Amy meets a gorgeous ...

Through captivating stories and with disarming honesty, Bussie gives concrete, practical strategies to help listeners cultivate hope, seek joy, practice accompaniment, compost their pain, and rediscover the spiritual practice of lament. Tackling difficult questions without political divisiveness, Bussie speaks to both progressive and conservative Christians in ways that unite rather than divide.

Losing a loved one can leave you feeling broken, but grief is not something that can be fixed or cured. It is the experience of missing a part of yourself. In Victorious Heart, Kim Peacock openly recounts the devastating loss of her oldest daughter, Nicole, and reveals how the Lord carried her through—and is still carrying her through—the deepest sorrow of her life.

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die. In recent years non-religious funerals have become more common, but without an established canon of texts to fall back on, it can be difficult to plan an appropriate service for a loved one who had no religious belief or connections. Texts recommended by secular humanists, especially modern texts, can sometimes sound trite or overly informal.

Kate Braestrup's life was transformed by the loss of her husband; now Kate faces the possibility that she may lose her son. As a young mother, Kate Braestrup discovered the fierce protectiveness that accompanies parenthood. In the intervening years - through mourning her husband and the joy of remarriage and a blended family - Kate has absorbed the rewards and complications of that spirit. But when her eldest son joins the marines, Kate is at a crossroads.

Collection of short stories: The Conqueror Earthworms -- Granddaughter's fascination with earthworms brings grieving widow back to the land of the living. You Asked for It -- New pastor tries to cure church of "But we've always done it that way before." Something Smells Good; It Has to Be Brownies -- Struggling writer and artist team up to sell their wares. The Case of the Rich Dead Mom -- P I Bobbi Heck is asked by one of the heirs to investigate a rich woman's death. Carrier Pigeon -- Fledgling missionary is recruited by an organization that is not what it appears to be.

A Journey Through Grief, Loss, Hope and Recovery will benefit those working through sorrow, and those comforting others. Choosing to thrive in the midst of trauma, loss, and illnesses that change lives forever for both young and old alike is the underlying message in this audiobook. It is never easy, but there is hope to thrive and not just survive the journey to recovery. In some way, pain, loss, and tragedy unmistakably touch all of our lives.