Spiritual Friendship

All ministry leaders need to cultivate healthy and life-giving friendships with peers, and especially with Jesus. Unfortunately, the concept of friendship has been reduced to clicks and “likes” on social media sites that are neither life-giving, nor truly signs of friendship.

Charlotte Carter is sure that Colorado Stevens is the one she’s been waiting for, but unforeseen events have caused them to become distant. Both the young nurse and her handsome suitor are hiding secrets that they can’t find the courage to share. As Charlotte watches Colorado pulling away, her past begins eating at her heart and threatening her entire future. Complicating matters is the arrival of Sarah, a young mother with a secret of her own. Sarah is pregnant, on the run, and in desperate need of help. Colorado is happy to do the Christian thing and lend a hand, but Charlotte can’t...

We need companions on our spiritual journey. The modern world has taught us to value autonomy and individualism. Our churches often see spirituality as personal and private. But we cannot go long in our Christian pilgrimage before realizing that isolation leads to spiritual barrenness. We soon discover that our souls long for accompaniment, intimacy, and spiritual friendship. As a result, many Christians today are rediscovering the ancient practice of spiritual direction. 

This Cinderella invited to the ball gets help from a surprising source. But will she win her "Prince Charming", who's relegated her to the friend zone? When store department manager David Warwick, her secret crush, unexpectedly invites shy florist Ellie Ashton to represent the store at a glittering London ball, she feels more the ugly step-sister than princess material. No make-up, hair that was last styled for her high school prom, and not a single dress in her wardrobe, let alone a ballgown. Only a complete makeover can help her to look and feel the part. Attending the ball with the ...

For readers of The Wild Edge of Sorrow and Crying in H-Mart--a profound and searching memoir of life, loss, grief, and renewal from one of American Buddhism’s most vital new voices. How do we grieve our losses? How can we care for our spirits? one long listening offers enduring companionship...

In Book Two of this series, the bonds of friendship that were formed in that lovely pink cottage on the beach of Ivory Shores continue to grow stronger as the women support one another through the highs and lows of the upcoming year. Circumstances, beyond anyone's control, force the group to question if there will ever be a reunion trip to Ivory Shores. As they seek to understand God's will, they are each faced with difficult decisions. Will they live in disappointment, heartbreak, and anger, or will they choose to embrace the gifts of second chances, contentment, and joy? “The author ...

FAIRACRES PUBLICATIONS 085 In ‘Eight Chapters on Perfection’ the humanity and wisdom of Walter Hilton are revealed, as he explores the possibilities of friendship and love between those drawn to prayer. In ‘Angels’ Song’ this fourteenth-century English mystic considers how in the spiritual life the action of grace can be distinguished from illusion. Walter Hilton was born c. 1340-5. Little is known of his life, but it is believed that he studied at Cambridge, pursued a legal and administrative career, attempted the solitary life, and finally discovered his true vocation as an ...

Two men. One river. A lifetime of grief neither can name. A retired doctor wakes beside a river he can't remember driving to. His camp is stocked. The fish are always biting. The fire catches on the first match. And he can't remember anything before the water. Then a younger man stumbles out of the trees — loud, warm, with trembling hands and a laugh that fills the whole valley. He doesn't remember how he got here either. Night after night, they trade stories by the fire. A tobacco harvest in Kentucky. A wife in red shoes. A daughter who said pasketti. A patient who died on the table and ...

The Bible calls Jesus the friend of sinners, but it's hard to imagine what friendship with Jesus really looks like. We so often don't even know how to do friendship with the people around us, despite all the options we have to connect. So how are we supposed to feel that close to a holy, perfect, and invisible God? How do we see Jesus as the real person he is? And how do we experience true friendship with him when we struggle to maintain true friendship on earth? Join author Jared C. Wilson as he explores what it means to be a friend of Jesus.

Join Rachel Anne Ridge, author of the beloved memoir Flash, in a journey back to the pasture. As she adopts a second rescue donkey as a little brother for Flash - a miniature named Henry - she finds that walking with donkeys has surprising lessons to teach us about prayer, renewing our faith, and connecting to God in fresh ways.

Who is the Holy Spirit, and exactly what does He do? Many people find the Holy Spirit mysterious and confounding. Why is the third person in the Godhead—the one Jesus said would be the believer’s ultimate source of truth and comfort—the source of such confusion? In The God I Never Knew, Robert Morris clearly explains that the Holy Spirit’s chief desire is for relationship – to offer us the encouragement and guidance of a trusted friend.

In Book One of this series, an unlikely group of six vastly different women journey together to a secluded, southern beach known as Ivory Shores. Not one of them knows just how much impact she will have on the others through the life experiences she brings with her into their tiny beach house. As friendships grow, bonds strengthen, and individual stories unfold, each woman – no matter how bold, bitter, or broken her heart is – begins to find her own place in the great story of healing and restoration. "I loved this book, and I think you will too. Six women travel to the beach together, ...

Find power in your prayer like never before with this inspiring guide from #1 New York Times bestselling author Bishop T.D. Jakes. In a time when women carry more influence than any other generation, the power of prayer has never been more important to remind us that we do not have to bear our...

Here are only a few of the new friends you'll meet in TEENAGE CHRISTIAN: ASHLEY wins a songwriting contest and backstage passes to meet her favorite rock star, but discovers there's only one true Rock worthy of her love. MELISSA dreads attending a new high school, but learns that unknown roads are often mapped out by God. NICOLE and her best friend must spend Valentine's Day at a nursing home where both encounter real love when they least expect it. WHITNEY suffers from insomnia, but a heavenly cure brings sweet dreams. JESSICA feels like she's missing out on Halloween fun, then learns ...

Do you desire a new new normal of healthy life giving relationships as well as increased peace and joy in your everyday life? In this 14 day devotional we will embark on an inner healing journey. We will take a look at some biblical truths revealed throughout scripture, that we can safely build the foundations of our lives upon. There will be times to reflect on your unique upbringing and childhood years, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring healing of past wounds and freedom from unhealthy patterns, actions or thoughts passed on from previous generations. We will explore some of life’s core...

For Patricia Harris and Tracy Coleman, finding a house with the 'Just Divine' coffee shop attached was the answer to their prayers. Their homes were being torn down to make room for a parking lot. The place they found was also a bargain. As they move in, the two find out why they had got such a great deal. Secrets of the past are haunting the present. Now, Pat and Tracy are caught up in a mystery thriller as they try to right the wrongs connected with the house and the shop.

In No Greater Love, Rebecca McLaughlin walks us through the highs and lows of friendship love—a love that’s been neglected and malnourished in our modern world. She draws especially on Jesus in the Gospels and on Paul to show how powerful and precious Christian friendship is and how we can walk through the hurt, loss, and disillusionment that comes from broken friendship trust. Beginning with the words of Jesus on the night he was betrayed and abandoned, she points us to his battle-tested love as the unending source of our best love for one another.

Guardian Angel. Battlefield Memories. Christmas miracles. Roger Wilson is a seeker of truth. He and his best friend, Mark Myers, have an unbreakable bond. His new friend, Wayne Bennett, is struggling to believe in something larger than himself. An odd messenger named Zeke may have more to say about both friendships, as Roger is given a preview of his destiny. Will he make the right choices for his future? A Quest for Freedom is a spiritual fantasy that explores many coming-of-age themes as Roger battles tragedy and discovers romance and adventure against the backdrop of his military world. ...

When your sensitive child asks about death, what do you say? Seven-year-old Jesus is learning that patterns connect everything, until his best friend Micah dies chasing beauty on a roof. Now he must face what every deep-feeling child discovers: loving means risking loss. As strange marks spread toward his heart and nine broken children choose to build together anyway, Jesus learns the hardest truth: understanding the dance doesn't stop it from ending. What readers are saying: "My daughter processed her grandfather's death through this book" ★★★★★ "Finally, a story that doesn't ...

For anyone who's lost a pet, that period of sadness can last for years. Some say never again while others just have to get another. And although the new pet will never take the place of the one you lost, it will certainly bring you great joy. And when this family found Teddy Bear, the wounds of sadness healed and everything changed. A feel-good story everyone should read. After all, once you see Teddy Bear, you'll see your own pet.