Showing results by narrator "Lyle Blaker" in All Categories

In 52 Ways to Connect with Your Smartphone Obsessed Kid, author Jonathan McKee offers just the help you need to have meaningful interaction with your kids instead of always overreacting to their unhealthy consumption of technology and media. In a world where over 80 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds now own a smartphone, parents are searching for ways to pry their kids' eyes from their devices and engage them in real, face-to-face conversation.

High school players in a working-class neighborhood in the 1970s gain desperately needed structure and guidance from Jack "Clyde" Dempsey, a scrappy, charismatic coach who seems like nothing more than a football geek. But Coach also happens to be the toughest guy on the streets of Boston, with a temper to match, and it's his secret life as a mob enforcer/collector that forces him to flee the country, becoming one of America's most wanted.

"The Company Commanders" is a fun and exciting science fiction short story. It is the third short story in a series. If you are a fan of short stories or science fiction you will love reading this.

It's wild. One day people finally start treating you like an adult. And it feels good. For a while. Then you run into adult problems, and everyone acts like you should know what to do in any given situation. But what if you don't? What if, when everyone expects you to stand on your own two feet, you're just trying to put one foot in front of the other without tripping? If adulting has got you stressed, anxious, or even despairing, what you need is sound, biblical advice from someone who's been there. JP Pokluda's got you covered.

One in eight Americans struggles with hunger, and more than 13 million children live in food-insecure homes. As Christians we are called to address the suffering of the hungry and poor: "For I was hungry, and you gave me food..." (Matthew 25:35). However, the problems of hunger and poverty are too large and too complex for any one of us to resolve individually. I Was Hungry offers not only an assessment of the current crisis but also a strategy for addressing it. Jeremy Everett, a noted advocate for the hungry and poor, calls Christians to work across ideological divides....

We all carry burdens of guilt and shame. We're weighed down, constantly reminded of where we've fallen short. But the truth is we're carrying around something that isn't ours. Our sins and shortcomings belong to Jesus. He carried them to the cross. He paid our debt. And he wanted to make sure we knew it. In this book, listeners discover the seven last sayings of Christ from the cross - both what he said and what his words mean for our lives today - so that they can lay their burdens at the foot of the cross and receive God's unsurpassable grace.

We have a leadership problem, and we all know it. When we look at our churches, we see two glaring problems: a lack of qualified leaders, and a general mistrust of leadership as a response to sinful leadership. But churches need leaders. What do we do? The answer is in The Leadership Formula.

Combining the very best elements of hard science fiction with a suspenseful, action filled manhunt, this novel is an exotic adventure set in a future colonial Mars. Following a trail of destruction across the remote outposts of the Martian wastelands, police vigilantes are eager to exact revenge on a gang of hardened criminals who are desperate to flee justice or fight to the death if cornered. Explore an alien world of breathtaking beauty where death is only a mistake away and love may be found in the most unexpected places.

What do you do when it feels like God isn’t there―when the state of the world, our own suffering, or the struggles of those we know suggest that God is absent? When you’ve experienced soul-crushing silence from heaven, despite your fervent supplications? Looking at Habakkuk, Job, David, and Jesus, as well as reflecting on his own experience of deep suffering, Adam Mabry examines the art of lament―how to cry out to God in desperation from a place of faith and hope. At the end, there are practical suggestions for what you can do to keep faith even in times of darkness and doubt.

Most people want to live forever. They desire long, healthy, fulfilling lives. But God has a bigger, better plan, though it comes at a cost. There is a training process that we need to go through. More than that, a complete change of heart is needed—we must be born again. And to follow Christ, our will must be submitted to his will, and our lives must be filled with his Spirit. There is only one way to eternal life.

Are you tired of looking for productive, loyal employees in an era of chronic talent shortages? Do you want to know how innovative businesses successfully recruit and retain refugees with limited English, the formerly incarcerated, and people with disabilities? Hidden Talent shows how ten companies, from a global tech firm and a major hospital to a small painting company, effectively invest in this marginalized and routinely overlooked talent—and the practical lessons they have learned on that journey.

Scholars and citizens have often assumed that dispassionate rationality, reciprocity, and nonviolent tolerance are necessary conditions for the sustained development of democracy. Accordingly, they reject oppositional parties that spurn consensus and terms of mutual respect—and often use force to accomplish their political goals—denouncing extremists as antidemocratic.

As both a pastor and a parent, Cameron S. Shaffer is alarmed by the mass exodus of young people from the church over the past couple decades. The rise of the Nones and exvangelicals is clear evidence that our current children's and youth ministry practices are ineffective and must change if we want to stem the tide of dechurching. Whatever we're doing now is not creating lifelong disciples.

God's Focus on the Fatherless is an excellent thematic study guide offering a fresh perspective to leaders of local churches who desire to be in tune with God's heart for the marginalized within our communities.

Teenagers and Mental Health imparts gospel hope and guidance for churches and youth leaders ministering to teens with mental health struggles and their families.

Men who serve the church well are men who have learned how to lead their own families with wisdom and skill. Bettis considers practical lessons from household management and debunks misconceptions.

Created for the next generation of believers, the dynamic new Holy Spirit Essentials series introduces foundations of faith for living a Spirit-empowered life. Taken from the trusted teachings of leading Christian voices, these updated, concise, accessible overviews include real-world applications, related Scriptures, and prayers.

Drawing upon the timeless wisdom of Thomas Aquinas, The Natural Law offers clear insights into perplexing ethical dilemmas. The compelling conclusions of Aquinas emerge through a critical examination of contemporary ethical frameworks, including moral relativism, utilitarianism, and Machiavellian politics. In part one, which elucidates the core principles of natural law ethics, the listener will discover fundamental truths underpinning the concepts of right and wrong, which are rooted in the very fabric of our humanity.

Gavin and Nax are smugglers struggling to find work on a backwater space station, so when Lila, a highborn lady, hires them for a short jaunt to the nearest wormhole, they don't ask many questions. But Lila is fleeing the galaxy's mightiest empire, carrying knowledge of lost technologies that could reshape the stars. Now, this unlikely trio must learn to work together as they race between star systems and unravel forgotten mysteries while staying one step ahead of the imperial fleets and a ruthless prince.

As John Freeman writes in California Rewritten, "Literature of so many kinds and so many genres from so many different types of people—at the highest level—has been coming out of California and from Californians for decades now." Freeman, one of the sharpest editors working today, has followed the evolution of California's literary life since his teenage years in Sacramento. In over fifty essays inspired by his hosting of Alta Journal's popular California Book Club, he offers an essential road map to California literature now.