Spiritual Biography

Does a day without difficult news seem out of reach? Does this world seem topsy turvy at best, toxic at worst? Max Lucado’s signature storytelling and biblical insights provide strength and encouragement amid the current chaos. In Be Strong and Courageous, today's headlines and the truth of Scripture intersect in compelling fashion. Max offers a fresh look at the story of Elijah the prophet, showing listeners how they can stand firm day by day in the face of turbulent times, regardless of the challenging circumstances they may face.

On her journey to near stardom in the music business, Monica Madrid wound up a broke, demoralized alcoholic. Through the twists and turns of a colorful life, she rubbed elbows with Prince, Rick James, and other artists and was in a musical battle with Tupac Shakur. She came close to fulfilling her childhood dream, but once it was stripped from her grasp, her path led to money, prestige - and broken relationships. Monica's story is one of loss, love, and redemption.

When Julie Jacky was 38, she felt shame and heartache as she took money out of her son's savings account to keep the lights on. After she climbed her way out of bankruptcy, she realized she needed to deal with other shameful secrets from her past that were holding her back and preventing her from becoming the person she wanted to be.

Join former NBC newsman and Meet the Press moderator David Gregory as he probes various religious traditions to better understand his own faith and answer life's most important questions: Who do we want to be, and what do we believe?

When Carol Cymbala says that nothing is impossible for God, she means it. For nearly thirty years she has experienced God's light shining steadily in the heart of a city that has become synonymous with coldness and decay. She has watched in awe as he has mended human beings whose lives seemed beyond help. She has also seen how prayer can be the dynamic tool God uses to solve the worst kind of problems.

When a 200-pound glass partition fell on Donna Fado Ivery's head resulting in brain injury, disability, and chronic pain, she could no longer count on walking, speaking, or thinking. How would she care for her infant, her preschooler, her husband, and herself? How would she continue to serve as pastor? With humor and humility, this inspirational memoir speaks to Donna’s struggle through medical, social, and church prejudice with the abiding support of family and the Holy Spirit.

Unexpected Places is the personal story of gospel singer Anthony Evans, son of well-known pastor Tony Evans and brother of author Priscilla Shirer. In this intimate and moving memoir, Anthony shares the details of his struggles with depression and doubt and encourages listeners with the unique story of his search for purpose and identity. From growing up duty-bound to his name, to his time as a finalist and then talent producer on The Voice, Anthony explores the pressures he experienced as a child and as a young man in Hollywood.

Growing up in a family where everyone was just fine, Don Follis learned early on to keep his arms crossed and his emotions at bay. While his spiritual life groaned for development, the land of numb held him back. He didn’t think about the connection between his emotional and spiritual lives.

More than any other world leader in recent times, George W. Bush is a man of faith...a conservative Christian who has brought the power of prayer and the search for God's will into the Oval Office. His faith has proven to be a bedrock of strength and resolve during two of the most tumultuous years in our nation's history.

From his difficult childhood on the poor side of town to his rise as a multiple Grammy-winning artist, Kirk Franklin’s Church Boy is a personal story of unwavering faith, remarkable talent, and unyielding perseverance. His narrative is a testament to how God can transform pain and adversity into sources of strength and joy. In this gripping account, Franklin shares the pivotal moments that shaped his faith, including a dramatic ten-foot fall from a darkened stage in November 1996.

Love from Heaven provides a unique insight into love; its origin, its importance and the different ways we can love. Lorna explains why it is that we love ourselves so little and teaches how people can release more of the love that we all have locked away inside ourselves.

Like so many saints before him, Samuel Rutherford did his best work while he was imprisoned for the gospel. While in exile from his hometown, he wrote hundreds of letters to his friends and members of his congregation. Christians of all walks have drawn strength from Rutherford's letters, which were printed several years after his death in 1661 and have been called “the most remarkable series of devotional letters that the literature of the Reformed churches can show.” The Loveliness of Christ is a collection of short excerpts from these letters.

Becky Powell faced the unthinkable on May 16, 2013. Her husband, Mark, called and said, "I've done something terrible." Within hours, she learned that he had taken his own life and, over a period of several years, millions of dollars from friends and colleagues. Everything she believed to be true, the very fiber of her marriage, was called into question. Yet from that first horrific moment, God was there. Awful Beautiful Life is Becky's journey through the two years surrounding Mark's death and how she overcame.

Do we have anything in common with the bad guys of the Bible? The sins of wrath, idolatry, and abuse of power are closer to us than we think. How do we guard against them? We learn not only by following moral exemplars; we also need to look at the warnings of lives gone wrong. In this fictionalized narrative, JR. Forasteros reintroduces us to some of the most villainous characters of Scripture. He shows us what we can learn from their negative examples, with figures such as Cain, Jezebel, and even Satan serving as cautionary tales of sin and temptation.

Growing up in the only Korean family in a Minnesota town, Michelle Lee-Barnewall has felt the pain of racial discrimination and the resulting identity confusion that follows. Through the telling of her personal story, she seeks to transcend the current divide between those who emphasize social justice concerns and those who believe these concerns compromise the core of the gospel. A Longing to Belong integrates a biblical worldview and personal experience on the topic of race and race relations.

Enlightening, revelatory, and bold, Beyond Jesus reveals how our political and religious institutions are an outward manifestation of the inner beliefs we hold about who we are, and that beneath the layers of dogma about Jesus lies a key to our spiritual evolution and the astonishing possibility it holds for the future.

Renee Altson's powerful, personal narrative details the evil done to her throughout her life---almost exclusively at the hands of the church---and how she struggles and stumbles toward faith despite her ordeal.

At some point in our lives, we all hear some version of "You can't do it". When that influential voice (whether outside or inside you) tells you why you can't - maybe that's the perfect reason why you can. At 27, actor, viral YouTuber, and one of the top former Vine stars Marcus Johns wants to shift our perspective on the resistance and obstacles that discourage our most powerful contributions.

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.

For as long as she can remember, Olympic gold medalist Sanya Richards-Ross's life has been measured in seconds. The fewer, the better. But when the race is over, how do you know what to run towards next? In Chasing Grace, join Sanya as she helps you see your own experiences through God's eyes.