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Solution-focused Pastoral Conseling: An Effective Short-term Approach for Getting People Back on Track
by Charles Allen KollarWith a clear understanding that time is of the essence for both you and those looking to you for help in their lives, Dr. Charles Allen Kollar shows that counseling need not be long-term to produce dramatic results. According to Dr. Kollar, in most cases the solution lies within the counselees themselves. Using the tested methods found in Solution-Focused Pastoral Counseling, pastors will be well equipped to help counselees discover and put these solutions in motion speedily and productively.
Solve: Finding God's Solutions in a World of Problems
by Talbot DavisMany people are good at pointing out problems. What if God’s people were among the few who are good at finding solutions? How would our world and our lives be different? This five-week study focuses on the person of Nehemiah in the Bible, who faced the difficult work of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem after his people returned from exile. Confronted with this complicated task and the many dilemmas that came with it, Nehemiah chose not to dwell on his problems or to pursue his own answers. Instead, he sought God’s solutions, following God’s lead and trusting God’s purposes. God’s people today are called to do the same. In each chapter, Talbot Davis shows how Nehemiah’s experiences mirror the problems we face, as individuals and as a society. As you read this book, you will hear God’s call to be someone who finds solutions. You will see how you can follow in Nehemiah’s footsteps, building up your life and the world around you. You will be challenged not to focus on problems, but to seek God’s solutions and how you can help bring them about. This book is based on a sermon series Talbot Davis delivered at Good Shepherd United Methodist Church. Each chapter includes questions for reflection and discussion, a practical focus for the week, a closing prayer, and daily scripture passages to guide personal reading throughout the week.
Solving Bible Mysteries
by James KennedyOften a Bible passage's meaning is obvious. But sometimes Scriptures seem incomprehensible, even contradictory. How do we as believers correctly interpret these puzzling passages? The author of What If Jesus Had Never Been Born? and What If the Bible Had Never Been Written? takes an in-depth look at passages of Scripture that are difficult to understand. From an overview of the dichotomy of faith versus works to the meaning behind I John 3:9 ("Whoever has been born of God does not sin." [NKJV], Solving Bible Mysteries offers powerful insight on some of Christianity's challenging questions.
Soma: The Divine Hallucinogen
by David L. SpessThe definitive work on the ancient Hindu soma rituals mentioned in the Vedas and debated by scholars for decades.• The first book to identify the mysterious soma plant.• A breakthrough book that reenvisions the role of psychoactive plants in religion.Soma has been shrouded in mystery for centuries. It is simultaneously a sacred hallucinogenic plant used in secret rituals, a personified God, and an important cosmological principle. Summarizing all previous research on the subject, David Spess goes far beyond his predecessors and shows that soma provides an important key to the understanding of the earliest systemized methods of medicine, psychology, magic, rejuvenation, longevity, and alchemy. Most significant is that his intensive research provides the most compelling case yet for actual identification of the plants that served as the basis for the divine hallucinogen Nelumbo nucifera, the sacred lotus of India, as well as some members of the Nymphaea genus. With the renewed interest in the ritual use of psychoactive substances, shamanism, psychic phenomena, and alternative modalities of healing, Soma provides a much needed bridge between Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. Contained within the enigmatic verses about soma in the Rig Veda is a secret about ourselves and the nature of our relationship to the world and cosmos. Soma makes this knowledge available to us once again.
Somali, Muslim, British: Striving in Securitized Britain (LSE Monographs on Social Anthropology #81)
by Giulia LiberatoreSomalis are one of the most chastised Muslim communities in Europe. Depicted in the news as victims of female genital mutilation, perpetrators of gang violence, or more recently, as radical Islamists, Somalis have been cast as a threat to social cohesion, national identity, and security in Britain and beyond. Somali, Muslim, British shifts attention away from these public representations to provide a detailed ethnographic study of Somali Muslim women’s engagements with religion, political discourses, and public culture in the United Kingdom. The book chronicles the aspirations of different generations of Somali women as they respond to publicly charged questions of what it means to be Muslim, Somali, and British. By challenging and reconfiguring the dominant political frameworks in which they are immersed, these women imagine new ways of being in securitized Britain. Giulia Liberatore provides a nuanced account of Islamic piety, arguing that it needs to be understood as one among many forms of striving that individuals pursue throughout their lives. Bringing new perspectives to debates about Islam and multiculturalism in Europe, this book makes an important contribution to the anthropology of religion, subjectivity, and gender.
Somatic Descent: How to Unlock the Deepest Wisdom of the Body
by Reginald A. RayA powerful meditation practice for connecting with your body's innate, guiding wisdom.Have you ever had a "gut feeling" about a certain person or situation? Or a sense of intuition about how to respond to a particular challenge in your life? There's nothing magical or mystical about those kinds of scenarios. In fact, our body contains immense wisdom not directly available to our conscious mind, and it is continually communicating to us in the form of bodily feelings, impressions, sensations, corporeal intuitions, and felt senses. However, because most of us are so cut off from our somatic experience, we are quite unaware of this dimension of our body's expression. Although this intelligence may feel hidden most of the time, the wisdom of the body can actually be a guide for us in living our lives fully and also in responding compassionately to others. Through a meditation practice called Somatic Descent, Reggie Ray shows us how to connect with our body's intuitive intelligence. In Somatic Descent we see that the body is always showing us what sort of response, direction, or action may be called for at any given time, and can in fact be relied upon as a primary practical resource for decision-making in our everyday life.The book will include links to online audio recordings of the guided meditations to further aid the reader.
Somatic Lessons: Narrating Patienthood and Illness in Indian Medical Literature (SUNY series in Hindu Studies)
by Anthony CerulliIn ayurvedic medical practice, the ways in which and the reasons why people become ill are often explained with stories. This book explores the forms and functions of narrative in Āyurveda, India's classical medical system. Looking at narratives concerning fever, miscarriage, and the so-called king's disease, Anthony Cerulli examines how the medical narrative shifts from clinical to narrative discourse and how stories from religious and philosophical texts are adapted to the medical framework. Cerulli discusses the ethics of illness that emerge and offers a genealogy of patienthood in Indian cultural history. Using Sanskrit medical sources, the book excavates the role, and ultimately the centrality, of Hindu religious thought and practice to the development of Indian medicine in the classical era up to the eve of British colonialism. In addition to its cultural and historical contributions to South Asian Studies, the medical narratives discussed in the book contribute fresh perspectives on medicine and ethics in general and, in particular, notions of health and illness.
Some Family
by Donald Harman AkensonUsing supporting evidence that runs from the Solomon Islands and classical China to ancient Ireland, Akenson argues that there are four basic genealogical forms. Highly significant on its own, this insight also provides the information needed to assess the Latter-day Saints' efforts to provide a single narrative of how humanity keeps track of itself. Appendices cover topics of vital interest to historians, genealogists, and ethnographers, such as the use and limits of genetic data in genealogy, the reality of false-paternity as a widespread phenomenon in genealogical lines, and the vexing issues of incest and cousin-marriage. A unique study of a neglected topic, Some Family illuminates the stories that cultures tell themselves through their family trees.
Some Family: The Mormons and How Humanity Keeps Track of Itself
by Donald Harman AkensonUsing supporting evidence that runs from the Solomon Islands and classical China to ancient Ireland, Akenson argues that there are four basic genealogical forms. Highly significant on its own, this insight also provides the information needed to assess the Latter-day Saints' efforts to provide a single narrative of how humanity keeps track of itself. Appendices cover topics of vital interest to historians, genealogists, and ethnographers, such as the use and limits of genetic data in genealogy, the reality of false-paternity as a widespread phenomenon in genealogical lines, and the vexing issues of incest and cousin-marriage. A unique study of a neglected topic, Some Family illuminates the stories that cultures tell themselves through their family trees.
Some Folks Feel the Rain Others Just Get Wet: Others Just Get Wet
by James W. MooreThis is another way of saying that some people smell the roses, while others just complain about the thorns. In his warm, conversational style, popular author James W. Moore explores the reasons why some people are able to see our time on earth as a gracious gift from God rather than as an agonizing endurance test; and, simply put, why some people have the ability to celebrate life with an abundance of gratitude. Each chapter in this book includes a reference to an important passage of Scripture, powerful stories and examples from the lives of others, and practical suggestions for better daily living. A study guide is also included. Chapter Titles: Can You Feel the Strength to Keep on Believing When It's Hard? Can You Feel the Zest of Life? Can You Feel the Power of Commitment? Can You Feel the Joy of Freedom? Can You Feel the Power of Love? Can You Feel the Strength to Persevere? Can You Feel the Attitude of Gratitude? Can You Feel the Call to Discipleship? Can You Feel the Quality of Childlikeness? Can You Feel the Firm Foundation? Can You Feel the Good Side of Worry? Can You Feel the New Way of Looking at Things? Can You Feel the Miracle of Encouragement? Can You Feel the Sense of What's Valuable? Can You Feel the Beauty of Inclusiveness? Can You Feel God Hugging You to Life?
Some Kind of Crazy: An Unforgettable Story of Profound Brokenness and Breathtaking Grace
by Terry WardleAn unforgettable story, in the tradition of Hillbilly Elegy and Educated, that reveals how a careful look at a broken past can open a path to profound healing and a satisfying future. This is the intriguing story of the arduous childhood of a miner's son growing up in the Appalachian coalfields of southwestern Pennsylvania. The brokenness of Terry Wardle's early life led to problems in adulthood that brought him to confinement in a psychiatric hospital. But that was not the end--in time Wardle experienced an emotional and spiritual transformation that began a journey toward greater health and personal freedom. So what does a man whose life was shaped by an often affectionate, sometimes hilarious, and always dysfunctional family have to share with all of us? Some Kind of Crazy is alternately, funny, tragic, insightful, and deeply biblical, a riveting book that will lead you to a place where God may touch and heal your own brokenness, whatever form it may take.
Some Kind of Hate
by Sarah Darer LittmanDeclan Taylor is furious at the world. After winning state as a freshman starting pitcher, he accidentally messes up his throwing arm. Despite painful surgery and brutal physical therapy, he might never pitch again. And instead of spending the summer with his friends, Declan is forced to get a job to help his family out. On top of that, it seems like his best friend, Jake Lehrer, is flirting with Declan’s crush and always ditching him to hang out with the team or his friends from synagogue. <P><P> So Declan ends up playing a lot of Imperialist Empires online and making new friends. It’s there he realizes he’s been playing with Finn, a kid from his class. Finn is the first person who might be just as angry as Declan—he gets it. As the two spend more time together, Finn also introduces Declan to others who understand what it’s like when the world is working against you, no matter how much you try. How white kids like them are being denied opportunities because others are manipulating the system. And the more time Declan spends with Finn, the more he sees what they’re saying as true. So when his new friends decide it’s time to fight back, Declan is right there with them. Even if it means going after Jake and his family. And each new battle for the cause makes Declan feel in control of his rage, channeling it into saving his future. But when things turn deadly, Declan is going to have to decide just how far he’ll go and what he’s willing to sacrifice. <P><P> In a stunning story set against the rise of white nationalism comes an unflinching exploration of the destruction of hate, the power of fear, and the hope of redemption.
Some Like It Scot: A Novel
by Pepper BashamShe lives her life on the fly. His heart is double-knotted to home. Can two different souls create a life together?Popular travel writer and podcaster Katie Campbell roams the world collecting other people's stories. She's built a career as "Miss Adventure," known for saying yes to anything new--country, food, or experience--and predictably finding those adventures taking a downward turn into misadventures.Offered the chance to explore her ancestral roots through a three-week Edwardian experience, Katie finds herself immersed in the beauty and eccentricity of Scotland. In her period attire, with traditional foods and activities, the opportunities for misadventures are endless, especially with the presence of a maniacal macaw, a jealous co-worker, and an all-too-surly Scotsman.Reclusive and protective Graeme MacKerrow doesn't venture far from his island home. A stoic Scotsman, Graeme's comfort zone has always been family, and after his sister's death, he's even more determined to save the MacKerrow ancestral home and keep those he loves close. The sudden intrusion of a six-foot-one American lass, famous for her traveling misfortunes, was far from his plan.As this world of folklore, community, and woodworkers-in-kilts tempts Katie to discover her own story, could this one grand series of misadventures lead her directly to where she belongs? And would a settled-in-Scot ever risk loosening his grip on what's familiar to allow a wanderlust writer a home in his heart? How could their very different worlds share the same page of life's story when "home" is in two very different places? But maybe home--and the future--isn't quite what either one imagined it would be. Maybe home is less about a place . . . and more about a person.
Some New World: Myths of Supernatural Belief in a Secular Age
by Peter HarrisonIn his famous argument against miracles, David Hume gets to the heart of the modern problem of supernatural belief. 'We are apt', says Hume, 'to imagine ourselves transported into some new world; where the whole form of nature is disjointed, and every element performs its operation in a different manner, from what it does at present.' This encapsulates, observes Peter Harrison, the disjuncture between contemporary Western culture and medieval societies. In the Middle Ages, people saw the hand of God at work everywhere. Indeed, many suppose that 'belief in the supernatural' is likewise fundamental nowadays to religious commitment. But dichotomising between 'naturalism' and 'supernaturalism' is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, just as the notion of 'belief' emerged historically late. In this masterful contribution to intellectual history, the author overturns crucial misconceptions – 'myths' – about secular modernity, challenging common misunderstandings of the past even as he reinvigorates religious thinking in the present.
Some Seed Fell on Good Ground: The Life of Edwin V. O'Hara
by Timothy Michael DolanA historical biography that &“illuminates a remarkable churchman who was in the vanguard of his time,&” written by New York&’s archbishop (Publishers Weekly). A man far ahead of his time, Archbishop Edwin V. O&’Hara of Kansas City (1881–1956) orchestrated numerous initiatives that profoundly affected American Catholic life. His ceaseless activity as both priest and bishop sowed seeds that flourished long past his lifetime, from liturgical reform to Bible study, campus ministry to social justice, minimum wage legislation to founding the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. The pastoral challenges he confronted in the first half of the last century―institutional complacency; disorganization among Catholics and reluctance to openly profess their faith; ignorance of social justice principles; the defense of the Church in a sometimes hostile culture―all remain significant challenges for the American Church today. Timothy Michael Dolan, Archbishop of New York, researched and composed this biography and continues to cite O&’Hara as his role model of an immensely effective bishop. In an effort to revisit the pioneering work of church leaders, this book includes a new preface by Archbishop Dolan. &“This is the long-needed definitive life of one of the American Church&’s greatest leaders.&” —The Catholic Key
Some Small Magic
by Billy CoffeyFrom acclaimed author Billy Coffey comes Some Small Magic, "a story of determination and love . . . that deserves to be read" (RT Book Reviews). All Abel wants is a little bit of magic in his life. Enough money so his mom doesn’t cry at night. Healing for his broken body. And maybe a few answers about his past. When Abel discovers letters to him from the father he believed dead, he wonders if magic has come to the hills of Mattingly, Virginia, after all. But not everything is as it seems. With a lot of questions and a little bit of hope, Abel decides to run away to find the truth. But danger follows him from the moment he jumps his first boxcar, forcing Abel to rely on his simpleminded friend Willie—a man wanted for murder who knows more about truth than most—and a beautiful young woman they met on the train. From Appalachia to the Tennessee wilds and through the Carolina mountains, the name of a single small town beckons: Fairhope. That is where Abel believes his magic lays. But will it be the sort that will bring a broken boy healing? And is it the magic that will one day lead him home? “Unforgettable. Evocative as memory, haunted as the South. Some Small Magic is big story magic written on the heart. Don’t read if you’re not prepared to be broken and awestruck at once.” —Tosca Lee, New York Times bestselling author
Some Things Last Forever (The Gentle Hills, Book #4)
by Lance WubbelsThis wonderful final story in The Gentle Hills series finds the Macmillans saying goodbye to their best friends who are leaving to train as missionaries. They also find themselves in a whirlwind of other concerns, like caring for Marjie's wounded brother and adopting two young neighbor children whose mother has died.
Some Trouble with Cows
by Beth RoyFascinating in its combination of personal stories and analytical insights, Some Trouble with Cows will help students of conflict understand how a seemingly irrational and archaic riot becomes a means for renegotiating the distribution of power and rights in a small community. Using first-person accounts of Hindus and Muslims in a remote Bangladeshi village, Beth Roy evocatively describes and analyzes a large-scale riot that profoundly altered life in the area in the 1950s. She provides a rare glimpse into the hearts and minds of the participants and their families, while touching on a range of broader issues that are vital to the sociology of communities in conflict: the changing meaning of community; the impact of the state on local society; the nature of memory; and the force of neighborly enmity in reshaping power relationships during periods of change. Roy's findings illustrate important theoretical issues in psychology and sociology, and her conclusions will greatly interest students of ethnic/race relations, conflict resolution, the sociology of violence, agrarian society, and South Asia.
Some Unquenchable Desire: Sanskrit Poems of the Buddhist Hermit Bhartrihari
by BhartrihariAn award-winning translator finds surprisingly modern themes in a selection of erotic and religious stanzas from one of classical India's most celebrated poets.Although few facts are known about his life, the Indian poet Bhartrihari leaps from the page as a remarkably recognizable individual. Amidst a career as a linguist, courtier, and hermit, he used poetry to explore themes of love, desire, impermanence, despair, anger, and fear. “A thousand emotions, ideas, words, and rhythmic syllables stormed through him,” writes translator Andrew Schelling in an evocative introduction. “In particular he shows himself torn between sexual desire and a hunger to be free of failed love affairs and turbulent karma.” Schelling’s translation represents a rare opportunity for English-language readers to become acquainted with this fascinating poet. Attuned to Bhartrihari’s unique poetic sensibility, Schelling has produced a compelling, personally curated set of translations.
Somebody Like You: A Novel
by Beth K. VogtCan a young widow find love again with her husband's reflection? Haley's three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he's killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening--and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed? Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relationship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together--and whose ghost could drive them apart? Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can't change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.f Haley loving him as Stephen--and not as some reflection of his twin. How can Haley and Stephen honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together--and whose ghost could drive them apart? Somebody Like You reminds us that while we can't change the past, we have the choice--and the power through God--to change the future and start anew.
Somebody Told Me
by Mia SiegertA novel of trauma, identity, and survival. After an assault, bigender seventeen-year-old Aleks/Alexis is looking for a fresh start—so they voluntarily move in with their uncle, a Catholic priest. In their new bedroom, Aleks/Alexis discovers they can overhear parishioners in the church confessional. Moved by the struggles of these "sinners," Aleks/Alexis decides to anonymously help them, finding solace in their secret identity: a guardian angel instead of a victim. But then Aleks/Alexis overhears a confession of another priest admitting to sexually abusing a parishioner. As they try to uncover the priest's identity before he hurts anyone again, Aleks/Alexis is also forced to confront their own abuser and come to terms with their past trauma.
Somebody's Baby
by Annie JonesFor the last year, Josie Redmond had raised her twin sister's child as her own. Now Adam Burdett could take her boy away. The scion of a prominent South Carolina clan, he'd come home to claim his rightful son. Expecting the fight of her life, Josie was stunned to discover the handsome Southern charmer had a different agenda. The prodigal son who'd turned his back on a whole town was seeking his own redemption. Could Josie help Adam forgive the sins of the past and create the home they'd always wanted -- a place where they could both truly belong?
Somebody's Hero
by Annie JonesRenovating and selling her late husband's cabin is just the chance young widow Charity O'Clare needs. With the money from the sale, she and her daughter can move to the city--away from her family! Of course, as soon as she gets to tiny Mt. Knott, South Carolina, Charity finds a whole new family stew. Jason "Lucky Dawg" Burdett may be the handsomest man she's ever seen, but his meddlesome relatives are the "last" thing she needs. Still, Charity didn't count on Jason becoming her daughter's hero--or swaying her own heart. And now, she has to choose between old dreams of independence. . . and new dreams of love.
Somebody's Santa
by Annie JonesShhh! Our Town's Secret Santa Is. . . Burke Burdett? The alpha brother in the pack of Burdett brothers? The handsome man who disappeared from my life last summer after some very complicated family business? Yet he's asking me, Dora Hoag, a workaholic with nowhere to go for Christmas, to help fulfill his mother's dying wish. She wanted Burke to take over as Secret Santa for Mt. Knott, South Carolina. To help the less fortunate find something extra in their forgotten stockings. How can I say no? Especially when what I want most for Christmas is another chance at forever with the man I love.
Somebody's Sinning In My Bed (Deacon Thurgood Pillar Ser. #1)
by Pat G'Orge-WalkerA wickedly funny, uplifting novel of love and betrayal. . .good karma and bad karma. . .sin and redemption. . .Chyna and her sister, Janelle, are always moments away from a catfight. They love each other, but Janelle has never forgiven her sister for swiping her first love, Cordell. That was ages ago, and now Chyna is showing off as the First Lady of New Hope Assembly, a church caught between the old ways of Holiness and new ways of serving its community. New Hope's leader, Reverend Grayson Young, is also caught--in the infamous Sweet Bush lounge, an establishment well-known for adult pleasures. . .With the church congregation running wild in the aftermath of her husband's scandalous behavior, Chyna turns to Janelle for guidance. But if Chyna thinks she's getting sympathy, she'd better think again, because Janelle's got her own crisis. And when Cordell suddenly reappears in their lives, what follows are squabbling, chaos, and surprises that show just how hard the road to salvation really is. "Filled with characters that jump off the page. . . . Pat G'Orge-Walker has a way of showing us our flaws in a humorous manner." --Shelia M. Goss, author of Delilah