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The Walk Youth Study Book: Five Essential Practices of the Christian Life (The Walk)
by Adam HamiltonHow do we walk with Christ—daily follow him, grow in him, and faithfully serve him?In the Gospels, Jesus modeled for us the Christian spiritual life. The apostles taught it in their writings. And the Church has, through the last 2,000 years, sought to pursue this Christian spiritual life. In The Walk, Adam Hamilton focuses on five essential spiritual practices that are rooted in Jesus’ own walk with God and taught throughout the New Testament. Each of these practices is intended as part of our daily walk with Christ while also being an essential part of growing together in the church.In each chapter, Hamilton explores one of these practices, its New Testament foundation, and what it looks like to pursue this practice daily in our personal life and together in the life of the church. Deepen your walk with Christ as we explore the five essential practices of worship, study, serving, giving, and bearing witness to our faith.This Youth Study Book takes the ideas presented in Adam Hamilton’s book and interprets them for young people grades 6-12.
Changing My Mind: The Overlooked Virtue for Faithful Ministry
by William H. WillimonYes, pastor, you can (and should) change your mind! The context of ministry continually changes, the surrounding culture changes, and a living God demands constant movement and change. So, pastors and preachers must be prepared to change! Some of the current assumptions about how to persevere in ministry need to be questioned. What ideas and approaches do we need to change, in ourselves and in our ministries? And how, exactly, do we change our minds and practices, when we're called to be steady, stable, and sure? Will Willimon narrates of some of the twists and turns in his own journey as a pastor. These stories and "change-of-mind-and-ministry" points can be helpful to new pastors who are negotiating their own way into future ministry. Novice pastors can receive guidance and encouragement from hearing how a prominent pastoral leader, bishop, author, seminary professor, and well-known preacher for nearly five decades changed, grew, and adapted in Christian ministry. And longtime pastors will find assurance and encouragement as they continue to grow and change, too. The book consists of guidance from an older, experienced pastoral leader to other pastoral leaders, especially young and new ones. Willimon frames the material around the ways he has changed his mind and offers crucial ways that he once thought about ministry compared and contrasted with how he thinks now. He depicts the pastoral vocation as requiring adaptation and revision by its practitioners. Along the way, the book includes conversations with First and Second Timothy as the precursor of this book, an older, experienced pastor (Paul) offering advice to a young, unseasoned pastor (Timothy).
The Will of God (Festival Bks.)
by Leslie D. WeatherheadDuring the tumultuous era of World War II, the city of London shattered under unrelenting bombs dropped by Nazi Germany. Millions of buildings were destroyed or damaged, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, and survivors were left to ask: How can this destruction be part of God’s plan? What is God’s will in all of this?After City Temple in London was reduced to rubble, Rev. Leslie Weatherhead crafted five sermons on understanding the will of God to help his congregation endure religious doubt as their city—and church—crumbled around them. Weatherhead’s sermons were eventually published as The Will of God, a resource that has sold more than a million copies and has been a lifeline for grieving persons seeking to understand God’s purpose for their pain. This revised edition of the classic book includes background information and photos of the historical setting that inspired this book, and a new cover and layout to refresh a timeless message—both for new readers and returning fans.
Face to Face: Meeting Christ in Friend and Stranger
by Samuel WellsPastors, priests, and pastoral caregivers often accompany people who are struggling to negotiate experiences of sickness, bereavement or anxiety. There are no easy answers in such situations, no formulaic remedies, and no slick theological explanations. The process of being present, listening, and responding is demanding. It can require skills and wisdom beyond the ministers' own experience. Often, caregivers feel they receive as much or more than they give to the care seekers in such encounters. In Face to Face, Samuel Wells reflects theologically and pastorally on twenty such encounters in care giving that were both hugely challenging and hugely instructive for him. The result is a book of profound practical wisdom and understanding that will inform and enrich pastoral ministry for all who read it. An extended introduction on the nature and practice of pastoral ministry provides the foundation for the telling of these memorable and moving accounts.
Mom Seeks God: Practicing Grace in the Chaos
by Julia RollerThe first months and years of motherhood can be the most challenging and disorienting of your life—and faith. When you’re surrounded by the happy chaos of children, how do you spend quiet time with God if the only quiet time you get is while you sleep? How can you demonstrate a solid spiritual life to your children if you don’t have time to pursue one yourself?When Julia Roller discovered that her spiritual growth had been stunted by the busyness of life with her toddler, she embarked on a yearlong journey through ten spiritual disciplines: prayer, fellowship, submission, study, simplicity, silence, worship, fasting, service, and celebration. As she focused on each discipline, she discovered practical ways to observe them—even in the chaos of her every day.Mom Seeks God offers a highly relatable story and useful advice to help new moms grow in their faith as they address life changes with grace, patience, and prayer. As readers discover ten essential faith practices, they’ll learn that motherhood, itself, is a spiritual discipline, and may be God’s most effective technique for forming a more Christ-like life.
The Journey Leader Guide: Walking the Road to Bethlehem (The Journey)
by Adam HamiltonCelebrate the 10th Anniversary of Adam Hamilton’s classic, The Journey.Since 2011, tens of thousands of churches and small groups have turned Adam Hamilton’s best-selling book on the birth of Christ into a classic that’s read each year. In The Journey, Adam Hamilton travels from Nazareth to Bethlehem in a fascinating look at the birth of Jesus Christ. As he did with Jesus' crucifixion in 24 Hours That Changed the World, Hamilton once again approaches a world-changing event with thoughtfulness. Using historical information, archaeological data, and a personal look at some of the stories surrounding the birth, the most amazing moment in history will become more real and heart-felt as you walk along this road.This 64-page Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide your group through the 5-session DVD study, The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. Inside you’ll find session plans, discussion questions, as well as multiple format options and suggestions of ways to make the study a meaningful experience for any group. Read The Journey on your own or, for a more in-depth study, enjoy it with a small group utilizing the Leader, DVD featuring Adam on-site in the Holy Land, and resources for youth and children.
My Strength and My Song: A Year with the Psalms
by Simon Peter IredaleFew biblical books so widely and deeply resonate with spiritual pilgrims as the Psalms. Rich in powerful and evocative imagery, reflecting timeless human emotions and experiences ranging from the depths of despair to the highest joy, these ancient writings affirm the eternal truths that God is present, God loves, God cares, and God saves. From the heartfelt cries of individuals and the story of the Israelite nation woven throughout, contemporary readers join the psalmists in seeking and finding the God of hope, comfort, strength, protection, and renewal. Following an introduction, this book guides readers on a year-long journey through the Psalms, offering a personal study/reading for each week. Each reading carefully unpacks the psalm, highlights its key insights, and closes with a reflection and a prayer.
Home for Christmas: Tales of Hope and Second Chances (Home for Christmas)
by Justin ColemanHome for Christmas brings inspiring stories of hope and second chances into the Advent season. Author and pastor Justin Coleman matches real life stories of struggle and triumph to the Advent themes of hope, love, joy, and peace to show how the light of Christmas shines brightly even in hard times. Each chapter lifts up a scripture reflection alongside tales of men and women who reflect on the Advent themes with love and longing. Throughout each of the four chapters and the accompanying DVD for a small-group experience, Coleman captures the stories of formerly incarcerated men and women as they find work and opportunity through Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, California. These men and women share their holiday memories and experiences in light of the hope and new life they’ve experienced at Homeboy. Forward by Father Gregory Boyle. Additional components for this four-week study include a comprehensive Leader Guide and a DVD featuring author and pastor Justin Coleman.
Citizens of Hope: Basics of Christian Identity (The Basics)
by Clayton Oliphint Mary Brooke CasadHope is central to our identity as Christians. Just as our bodies need food, our souls need hope, and the supreme hope is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. How does that relationship become real to us? In this book and 4-week study, readers are guided on a formative path of understanding who God is and who they are as God’s children. Citizens of Hope is part of The Basics Series. An invitation into a more faithful and profound understanding of Christian hope. An excellent resource for small groups, Sunday school, individual meditation, and both new and maturing disciples of Jesus. —Janice Riggle Huie, Bishop of the Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church A hope-filled description of what it means to be followers of Jesus Christ and a reminder of how God is at work in every aspect of our Christian journey. I commend this book to individuals and groups seeking to know how to walk as a citizen of hope in our Twenty-first-century world.—Amy Valdez Barker, Executive Secretary, Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church
Raising Children To Love Their Neighbors: Practical Resources for Congregations
by Carolyn C. BrownRead the IntroductionDoes your congregation want to raise more mission-minded children? Here are practical plans with reproducible activities and outlines for classroom and service experiences for children ages 3 to 12.Carolyn Brown offers great “how to” plans that churches can build into their current programs. She includes : a hands-on enrichment curriculum for grades 1-5; over a year of monthly service projects for preschoolers; mini-workshops for teachers; and newsletters blurbs about the program."Carolyn Brown has written a 'must read' book for all parents and teachers. I know of no other book that presents so clearly, helpfully, and persuasively Jesus’ mandate to raise children to “love our neighbors as ourselves.” More than a mandate, it offers dozens of doable, practical suggestions for each age group and grade level. I will recommend this book to every teacher and parent in my church."--Rev. Dr. Donald L. Griggs, author of Teaching Today's Teacher to Teach published by Abingdon Press (item #9780687049547)From the Circuit Rider review: "Teachers, parents, Sunday school teachers, and church preschool teachers are all very familiar with the importance of teaching children to share, to take turns, to say “please” and “thank you,” and to not hurt others’ feelings. Veteran Christian educator Carolyn Brown puts this important formation into the larger context of the mission of the church. How do our children grow in compassion? How can we lead them to leave the world better than they found it? How do we raise mission-minded children?" (Click here to read the entire review.)
A New History of Christianity
by Hans J. HillerbrandThis book is a history of Christianity from its earliest beginnings to the end of the twentieth century. The book provides students with an introduction to the many persons, places, movements, and events necessary for the telling of our story, the story of the Church. This history of Christianity is told in its essentials, simply and straightforwardly for students with little or no experience in the academic study of religion. It is a story told within the complex contexts of larger world events and world cultures, but defined and simplified by attention to those developments which have proven most influential for the past and present shaping of Church thought and practice. The book is a comprehensive and definitive introduction to the history of Christianity. It provides students with the necessary outline and description of the broad sweep of movements and periods in this history, but it also pauses at important points to provide details about the lives of Christians as lived at various times and in various locations. This story is told in easy-to-understand prose and with illustrative photographs, maps and charts.
Go BIG: Lead Your Church to Explosive Growth
by Bill Easum Bil CorneliusBill Easum and Bil Cornelius are two strikingly different, yet surprisingly similar pastors. One undertook to revitalize a moribund mainline church; the other, to plant a new nondenominational congregation. Coming from different generations, their ministries took place under dissimilar circumstances. Yet both have experienced substantial, even explosive, growth in congregational mission and membership. Along the way they learned some important lessons, such as the centrality of strong pastoral leadership, the need for an unhesitating pursuit of excellence in all areas of the church's ministry, and the requirement that you picture an audacious vision for your church and live into that vision. Regardless of the current size of your church, you will find here inspiring, ready-to-implement ideas to help your church go BIG.
Guidelines Finance: Handling God's Money in the Church
by CokesburyThe goal of the ministry of finance is to fund ministries that nurture persons in their faith. The finance system in the congregation will raise, manage, and disperse the funds of the congregation that help realize the mission and vision of the church. This Guideline is designed to help equip you in leading this ministry group in your congregation.This is one of the twenty-six Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation 2017-2020 that cover church leadership areas including Church Council and Small Membership Church; the administrative areas of Finance and Trustees; and ministry areas focused on nurture, outreach, and witness including Worship, Evangelism, Stewardship, Christian Education, age-level ministries, Communications, and more.
Prayer and Devotional Life of United Methodists
by Steve HarperThis volume in the United Methodist Studies series challenges United Methodists to engage in life-transforming practices. The author explains a theme and underscores major emphases within the United Methodist denomination. This adult study is divided into four sections with suggestions for group discussion, and can be completed in 4 to 8 sessions. No leader’s guide is needed. The sections are: 1 - Living from the Heart - This chapter examines the essence of prayer and devotional life for United Methodists: holiness of heart and life. The chapter is divided into two sections to enable this examination: Cimmunion (heart) and Compassion (life). 2 - Read and Pray Daily - Exploring these two central disciplines in Christian formation and the Wesleyan Tradition guides readers into practical expressions of what it means to read devotionally (lection divina) and pray continually (the life of prayer). 3 - Get Connected! - The idea of "connectionalism" is a significant part of our tradition. This chapter examines this idea from two vantage points of classic formation principles and the concrete structures Wesley used in early-Methodism, which still contain implications for today. 4 - Go On! - The cultivation of prayer and devotional life in United Methodism is not about "attainment" but rather about "journey." This chapter examines the pilgrimage motif through the two lenses of the biblical doctrine of Christian perfection, and the practical development of that message through an action/reflection model of Christian formation.
Rise, Red River
by Tara Beagan“The map of the land is in our blood.”A woman trawls the bottom of a riverbed with a makeshift plough, hoping to dislodge something—anything. The world has drastically changed: rivers run dry, rampant bushfires leave little left to burn. Still she persists searching for the stories of her loved ones, maybe even her own. She is not alone—an ancestor watches nearby. This desolate landscape is about to unearth its long-held secrets.Inspired by the grassroots organization Drag the Red, which searches for evidence of missing Indigenous and settler women, girls, 2 Spirit, and people of all genders in the Red River of Treaty One Territory, this ethereal and engrossing drama is a profound offering to those who persevere in spite of sorrow. Told in Anishinaabemowin, English, and French, Tara Beagan’s prophetic play draws a direct connection between the treatment of Indigenous peoples and the abuse inflicted on the land. Fluid and majestic like the river itself, Rise, Red River is an invocation, a revelation, and a call to action.
Founding Folks: An Oral History of the Winnipeg Folk Festival
by Kevin NikkelThe story of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, from the folks who were there Every July since 1974, Manitoba’s Birds Hill Provincial Park has been home to one of Canada’s most vibrant and storied celebrations of folk music—the Winnipeg Folk Festival. Founding Folks tells the festival’s origin story, from founder Mitch Podolak’s unlikely dream of bringing folk music to prairie stages to how it became one of the most influential Folk Festivals in North America. Through conversations with staff, volunteers, and musicians—including Bruce Cockburn, Tom Jackson, and David Amram—filmmaker Kevin Nikkel offers a nuanced look at community building, explores the relationships between politics and culture, and provides fascinating insight into the lifelong friendships that developed among some of folk music’s most defining figures. Brought to life by more than ninety photographs, this book is a testament to the vitality of prairie arts and culture. Founding Folks captures the spirit and enthusiasm of those early festival days and preserves this legacy for festival goers, students of culture and history, music enthusiasts, and folkies everywhere.
Upward!: Wesleyan Formation in Three Movements
by Steve Harper Paul W. ChilcoteA powerful guide for new and longtime United Methodists.Upward! is a simple but brilliant course on Wesleyanism for regular people. It thoroughly and methodically guides readers through the distinctive qualities of the Wesleyan way—the theology, practices, habits, and attitudes that characterize Methodist people. Paul W. Chilcote and Steve Harper, two of Methodism’s most beloved teachers, offer this extraordinary book as an invitation to a life of wisdom and wonder in our current world. It is a book of both instruction and celebration, teaching (or reminding) us what makes the Wesleyan way most gracious and lovely. Pastors and other leaders will use Upward as their primary resource for sharing the Wesleyan approach. It can be used in a wide variety of ways and settings—as a sermon series, congregation-wide study, or for new member classes, to name a few. Individuals will use the book as a personal study, ideally in connection with others. Upward! helps leaders and readers to:- correct misconceptions about Wesleyan theology- clarify and reclaim Wesleyan theology- gain a new framework for understanding Wesleyan theology and sharing it with others
Leadership Essentials: Practical Tools for Leading in the Church
by Yvonne Gentile Carol CartmillWhere will you find your next team of capable, committed leaders for your congregation? Churches across the country search for committed people with a heart for ministry, people who are ready to use their gifts in the ministries of the church. Your best potential leaders may already be in your congregation. This resource, used as a study tool or a desk reference, will help men and women in the church find the tools, direction and inspiration they need to become the best leaders they can be. Leadership Essentials offers practical skills, worksheets, and practice exercises in areas including: What Kind of Leader Will You Be?Making DisciplesBuilding and Sustaining TeamsMeetings that WorkDeveloping Vision, Mission, and Values StatementsStrategic PlanningEffective Communication Managing Conflict Leading Change and Encouraging InnovationDeveloping the Next Generation of Leaders Keeping It All in PerspectiveLeadership Essentials offers direction distilled from years of experience in church known for its vibrant lay leadership. With tested and real-life techniques from COR's leadership development team, Carol Cartmill and Yvonne Gentile, this book can be used by individuals as a continual study or by topic or by groups who are working together to build their leadership skills. Carol Cartmill and Yvonne Gentile have created a series of valuable resources that you can use to implement more effective recruitment, training, inspiration and mentoring of lay leadership in your congregation. Their first resource, Serving from the Heart: Finding Your Gifts and Talents for Service, guides participants to find their spiritual gifts as well as their passion and talent for ministry. In the second resource, Leadership from the Heart: Learning to Lead with Love and Skill, lay leaders continue their learning experience in ten areas of servant leadership. Carol Cartmill is the Director of Leadership Development for The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection. She and her team launched the spiritual gifts ministry in 1998. Carol has led workshops relating to equipping ministries on both the local and national level. She resides in Overland Park, Kansas with her husband Jim and their two teenage daughters. Yvonne Gentile is Divisional Vice President of Merchandising for Helzberg Diamonds, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway company. Since joining the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in 1996, she has used her passion for equipping and developing emerging leaders by serving on the Spiritual Gifts team, the Committee on Lay Leadership, and theStrategy Team for Leadership Development. Yvonne and her husband Franklive in Overland Park, KS. What people are saying about Serving from the Heart? Discovering one’s spiritual gifts is a liberating experience. Serving from the Heart is an instrument of liberation. The creative, gifted folks at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection developed a very useable resource for congregations who want to release the God-given human resource for creativeministry.” Herb Mather, Center for Christian Stewardship
365 Devotions for Women
by Sally D. SharpeStrengthen your bond with God, one devotion at a time.As women, we have many roles and responsibilities. We are daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, caregivers, working women, leaders, teachers, pastors, and pastors’ wives, neighbors, friends—and the list goes on. Yet in all of these roles, we bring a special gift that God has given us: the gift of nurturing—helping others feel loved, appreciated, and capable of achieving all they are meant to be.We, too, however, need nurturing. Often, we forget or ignore this fact, finding ourselves overextended and drained after giving all we have without taking time for our own needs. Our lives tend to be busy, hectic, and sometimes even frenzied, leaving little time for ourselves or God. Yet God longs to wrap loving arms around us and give us rest, encouragement, hope, strength, peace, and joy. God is the only One who can fill us and make us whole.365 Devotions for Women is written to help you focus on your relationship with God. Twelve different Christian women share their reflections on what it means to be a woman of faith, walking with God day by day. As you go through the year (whether you start in January or June), encountering a different writer each month, you will find spiritual refreshment and a sense of camaraderie for the challenge of giving your relationship with God the time and attention it deserves. Though these women have diverse backgrounds, personalities, and ways of relating to God, they have a common theme: God loves you and longs to be in relationship with you.The contributors are Nell W. Mohney (January), HiRho Park (February), Cynthia Gadsen (March), Kelly Clem (April), Lillian C. Smith (May), Nancy Nikolai Shedden (June), Anne Hagerman Wilcox (July), Marie Schockey (August), Hilda Davis (September), Sallie Dye (October), Monica Johnson (November), and Ellen Gray (December)Begin today to nurture your relationship with God. It’s the most important nurturing of all!
Will Willimon's Lectionary Sermon Resource: Year A Part 2
by William H. WillimonWill Willimon is widely acclaimed as one of the top ten preachers in theworld. For each Sunday of the Christian year, Will provides just whatyou need to begin the journey toward a sermon. This guide will stoke,fund, and fuel your imagination while leaving plenty of room to insertyour own illustrations, make connections within your congregationalcontext, and speak the Word in your distinctive voice. Guidance fromWill Willimon is like sitting down with a trusted clergy friend andasking, "What will you preach next Sunday?" Year A Part 2 is part of asix-volume set that includes years A, B, and C (2 volumes per year) inthe Revised Common Lectionary. Part 1 includes the Pentecost through the end of the church year, Christ the King/Reign of Christ Sunday.Each week of sermon resources includes:1. Readings 2. Theme title3. Introduction to the Readings4. Encountering the Text5. Proclaiming the Text6. Relating the Text
A History of Christian Thought Volume II: From Augustine to the Eve of the Reformation
by Justo L. GonzalezA treatment of the evolution of Christian thought from the birth of Christ, to the Apostles, to the early church, to the great flowering of Christianity across the world. Beginning with Augustine, Volume 2 covers the flowering of Christian thought that characterized both the Latin West and the Byzantine East during the Middle Ages.
Heaven and Earth: Advent and the Incarnation
by William H. WillimonWatch out. God is on the way.It’s not within our own power to make a fresh start. If we’re to have a future different from the past, it must come as a gift, something not of our devising. What we need is a God who refuses to be trapped in eternity, a God who not only cares about us but is willing to show up among us and do something with us, here, now.In Heaven and Earth: Advent and the Incarnation, Will Willimon introduces you to the God who does just that, bringing heaven to earth and changing everything. In Advent we celebrate and anticipate the earth-shaking, life-transforming good news that God is coming to us. Watch out. Get ready. God is on the way.Additional components to use the book as a four-week small group study include a leader guide and DVD/Video Sessions featuring Will Willimon.
Sisters: Loving God With Heart and Soul, and Mind and Strength (Sisters: Bible Study for Women)
by John SchroederThis is the leader's guide for this study in the Sisters: Bible Study for Women series. For more information about Sisters, go to www.sisters.cokesbury.com.
Genesis to Revelation: A Comprehensive Verse-by-Verse Exploration of the Bible
by Wayne BarrStudy the books of Numbers and Deuteronomy, beginning with Moses and Adam numbering the people and ending with Moses' death and the Israelites continuing. Some of the major ideas explored are: identity; the blessing of God; the problems of freedom; realism, faith, and the future; following through; living with consequences; misusing the name of the Lord; observing the Sabbath; love and law; the seriousness of disloyalty; hiding from need; andadvancing toward justice.Leader Guide includes: A verse-by-verse, in-depth look at the Scriptures. Background material, including word studies and history of the biblical setting. Answers to questions asked in the Participant Book. Application of the Scripture to daily life situations. Discussion suggestions. A variety of study options. Practical tips for leaders to use.More than 3.5 million copies of the series have been sold.This revision of the Abingdon classic Genesis to Revelation Series is a comprehensive, verse-by-verse, book-by-book study of the Bible based on the NIV. These studies help readers strengthen their understandingand appreciation of the Bible by enabling them to engage the Scripture on three levels: What does the Bible say? Questions to consider while reading the passage for each session. What does the passage mean? Unpacks key verses in the selected passage. How does the Scripture relate to my life? Provides three major ideas that have meaning for our lives today.The meaning of the selected passages are made clear by considering such aspects as ancient customs, locations of places, and the meanings of words. The simple format makes the study easy to use.Updates will include: New cover designs. New interior designs. Leader Guide per matching Participant Book (rather than multiple volumes in one book). Updated to 2011 revision of the New International Version Translation (NIV). Updated references to New Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible. Include biblical chapters on the contents page beside session lesson titles for at-a-glance overview of biblical structure. Include larger divisions within the contents page to reflect macro-structure of each biblical book. Ex: Genesis 1-11; Genesis 12-50; Exodus 1-15; Exodus 16-40; Isaiah 1-39; Isaiah 40-66.The simple format makes the study easy to use. Each volume is 13 sessions.
40 Days with Wesley: A Daily Devotional Journey
by Rueben P. JobIn an accessible, inviting format, this forty-day devotional experience weaves inspirational readings on faith and prayer with quotes and excerpts from John Wesley. Each selection offers a simple daily pattern of reflection with a prayer, scripture, a short reading, quotes from John Wesley, and a blessing to take with you through the day. Even those new to Wesley or a daily prayer guide will find this book an easy read for reassurance and inspiration during the Lent and Easter season. Those familiar with Rueben Job's writing will be delighted to find selections of his writing from the past two decades in a new format.Packaged in a flexible, soft-cover binding with a ribbon bookmark making it perfect for gifts.