Not long ago, author Bill Myers had a clear and unmistakable encounter with the Lord. No audible voice, no burning bush, just a still, small impression that asked, If I put you in a coma and you could not tell anyone about Me; if you could do nothing for Me . . . would I be enough? Bill realized that too many believers, himself included, have became more focused on serving the Lord we love, rather than loving the Lord we serve. Through the pages of The Jesus Experience, Myers will take you on your own personal journey of rediscovering God’s love for you and, in turn, loving others more deeply.

Katherine Anne Porter called courage “the first essential” for a writer. “I have to talk myself into bravery with every sentence,” agreed Cynthia Ozick, “sometimes every syllable.” E. B. White said he admired anyone who “has the guts to write anything at all.” An author who has taught writing for more than thirty years, Ralph Keyes assures readers that anxiety is felt by writers at every level and can be harnessed to produce honest and disciplined work. Keyes offers specifics on how to make the best use of writers’ workshops and conferences and how to handle criticism of works in progress; he also exposes the most common “false fear busters.”

The anxiety of rejection is an inevitable part of any writer’s development. In this book, Ralph Keyes turns his attention from the difficulty of putting pen to paper—the subject of his acclaimed The Courage to Write—to the frustration of getting the product to the public. Inspiration isn’t nearly as important to the successful writer, he argues, as tenacity, and he offers concrete ways to manage the struggle to publish. Drawing on his long experience as a writer and teacher of writing, Keyes provides new insight into the mind-set of publishers, the value of an agent, and the importance of encouragement and hope to the act of authorial creation.

For years, the beloved classic devotional Streams in the Desert® has sustained and replenished God’s weary desert travelers. Now, bursting forth like a sparkling clear river of wisdom, encouragement, and inspiration, this updated edition of Streams in the Desert promises to revive and refresh today’s generation of faithful sojourners, providing daily Scripture passages from the popular New International Version and modern, easy-to-understand language that beautifully captures the timeless essence of the original devotional.

Would you willingly overlook clear direction from God that speaks directly to you and where you are in life right now? God’s guidance is near at hand. He is not only your Authority, he is also your Author. As God writes the stories of your life, he uses your past to open up your future. It is your privilege to listen to your own story so you can live boldly for the sake of the Greatest Story, the good news of Jesus Christ. God reveals himself to you–and to others–through the story he has written in your life.

One man’s story of his journey through spiritual uncertainty to a newfound understanding of his relationship to God. For those who have questioned their Christian faith, Robert Benson offers an account of his sojourn in a season of trouble and his journey back to God. In this spiritual self-portrait, Benson’s experiences–battling depression and re-examining the deep Christian faith in which he has been immersed since childhood–become poignant testament of one believer’s struggle with the mysteries of faith’s road.

In a world of comparison and competition, it’s hard to remember that our true worth lies not in our circumstances, our achievements, or our failures. It doesn’t even lie in how we react to those things. Our worth lies in God’s unending love for us. With deep compassion, Mary DeMuth dares you to believe that the God who started a good work in you is faithful to bring it to glorious completion. That the God who redeems you also loves you—right now and always—with a beautiful love. That you are a daughter of the King, always welcomed in his presence. Discover here a future of strength and security, knowing that you are wildly loved and destined to have a great impact on the world around you.

Inspire is a single-column, wide-margin New Living Translation Bible that will be a cherished resource for coloring and creative art journaling. It is the first Bible of its kind―with over 400 beautiful line-art illustrations spread throughout the Bible. Full-page and partial-page Scripture art is attractively displayed throughout the Bible, and the illustrations can be colored in to make each Bible unique, colorful, and customizable. Every page of Scripture has two-inch-wide margins, with either Scripture line-art or ruled space for writing notes and reflections, or to draw and create. The generous 8.65-point font ensures optimal readability, and quality cream Bible paper is great for creative art journaling. Inspire is available in the popular New Living Translation, and is designed uniquely to appeal to art-journaling and adult coloring book enthusiasts.

A prayer labyrinth with four paths.
A path of questioning.
A book full of questions that demand an answer. And a life changed forever…

There are times when knowing God at a deeper level means knowing ourselves better … and vice versa. But how do we get to the core of who we are? Perhaps by hearing-and answering-the questions God asks.

The Third Path offers 26 of the questions found within God’s Holy Word, questions He asked biblical characters He dealt with directly. Questions that demanded answers. These same questions, when answered carefully and thoughtfully, allow us to know ourselves better … and God better still. Let’s walk.

“Who am I becoming?”

That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren’t pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words:

“Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.”

It wasn’t the response he expected, but it was—and continues to be—the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil.

Within the pages of this book, you’ll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.

Create a gospel-centered rule of life.

Habits form us more than we form them. The modern world is a machine of invisible habits, forming us into anxious, busy people. We yearn for the freedom of the gospel but remain shackled by our screens and exhausted by our routines. How can we truly break free, find rest, and form a life that aligns our habits with our foundational beliefs?

According to Justin Earley, the answer is a rule of life. The Common Rule’s four daily and four weekly habits transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbor. Take the first step toward a life of intentionality and discover how simple, meaningful habits can transform your everyday moments into a rhythm of peace and purpose.

Work. For some this word represents drudgery and the mundane. For others work is an idol to be served. In either case, a biblical understanding of work as godly activity and a means of spiritual formation is lost.

Striking a balance between theological depth and practical counsel, Work Matters engages the theological basis of God’s plan for everyday work. Tom Nelson explains how the fall has impacted vocation, how God’s redemption touches every sphere of our lives including our work, and how what we do now is connected to what we will do forever. As Nelson connects Sunday worship to Monday morning, he gives readers practical tools for understanding their own gifts, so that they may better live in accord with God’s design for work.

Learn how best-selling authors proofread their manuscripts to avoid typos, inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and errors in punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling. Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, by professional freelance author, editor, and proofreader Kathy Ide, is the essential go-to tool for aspiring and experienced writers and editors. This book includes all of the material from Ide’s popular Polishing the PUGS book (now out of print), with added PUGS guidelines and helpful tips from multi-published authors on how to catch typos and other common mistakes.

In this completely revised and updated second edition, Renni Browne and Dave King teach you, the writer, how to apply the editing techniques they have developed to your own work. Chapters on dialogue, exposition, point of view, interior monologue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an expert editor would go through to perfect your manuscript. Each point is illustrated with examples, many drawn from the hundreds of books Browne and King have edited.

The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It’s just that simple. In Hooked, author Les Edgerton draws on his experience as a successful fiction writer and teacher to help you overcome the weak openings that lead to instant rejection by showing you how to successfully use the ten core components inherent to any great beginning.

We’ve all read them: novels by our favorite authors that disappoint. Uninspired and lifeless, we wonder what happened. Was the author in a hurry? Did she have a bad year? Has he lost interest altogether? Something similar is true of a great many unpublished manuscripts. They are okay stories that never take flight. They don’t grip the imagination, let alone the heart. They merit only a shrug and a polite dismissal by agents and editors. It doesn’t have to be that way. In The Fire in Fiction, successful literary agent and author Donald Maass shows you not only how to infuse your story with deep conviction and fiery passion, but how to do it over and over again.

In this unique book, Ann Hood will help you find fresh, creative images, words and gestures to evoke feelings in your fiction. In 36 “mini-lessons,” Hood sheds new light on love, hate, fear, grief, guilt, hope, jealousy and other major emotions. Each lesson offers instruction on rendering that particular sentiment; “good” and “bad” examples illustrating how writers have succeeded and where others have gone wrong; and imaginative exercises for putting the feeling into words.

Based on Mixon’s work as a successful independent fiction editor, The Art & Craft of Fiction: A Practitioner’s Manual brings together in one place everything you need to know about writing a novel, an in-depth exploration of the myriad aspects of creating fiction in a warm, entertaining voice that welcomes you into the greater fellowship of all writers.