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Church of Cowards by Matt Walsh

What Would You Surrender for God?Christians in the Middle East, in much of Asia, and in Africa are still being martyred for the faith, but how many American Christians are willing to lay down their smartphones, let alone their lives, for the faith? Being a Christian in America doesn’t require much these days. Suburban megachurches are more like entertainment venues than places to worship God. The lives that American “Christians” lead aren’t much different from those of their atheist neighbors, and their knowledge of theology isn’t much better either.

The spiritual junk food we’re stuffing ourselves with is never going to satisfy. As St. Augustine said over a millennium ago, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him. Only God Himself can make our lives anything but ultimately meaningless and empty. And we will never get anywhere near Him if we refuse to take up our cross and follow Jesus. This rousing call to the real adventure of a living faith is a wake-up call to complacent Christians and a rallying cry for anyone dissatisfied with a lukewarm faith.

Habits of the Household by Justin Whitmel Earley

You long for tender moments with your children–but do you ever find yourself too busy to stop, make eye contact, and say something you really mean? Daily habits are powerful ways to shape the heart–but do you find yourself giving in to screen time just to get through the day? You want to parent with purpose–but do you know how to start?

Award-winning author and father of four Justin Whitmel Earley understands the tension between how you long to parent and what your daily life actually looks like. In Habits of the Household, Earley gives you the tools you need to create structure–from mealtimes to bedtimes–that free you to parent toddlers, kids, and teens with purpose. Learn how to:

• Develop a bedtime liturgy to settle your little ones and ground them in God’s love
• Discover a new framework for discipline as discipleship
• Acquire simple practices for more regular and meaningful family mealtimes
• Open your eyes to the spirituality of parenting, seeing small moments as big opportunities for spiritual formation
• Develop a custom age chart for your family to more intentionally plan your shared years under the same roof

Each chapter in Habits of the Household ends with practical patterns, prayers, or liturgies that your family can put into practice right away. As you create liberating rhythms around your everyday routines, you will find your family has a greater sense of peace and purpose as your home becomes a place where, above all, you learn how to love.

Hidden Christmas by Timothy Keller

Even people who are not practicing Christians think they are familiar with the story of the nativity. Every Christmas displays of Baby Jesus resting in a manger decorate lawns and churchyards, and songs about shepherds and angels fill the air. Yet despite the abundance of these Christian references in popular culture, how many of us have examined the hard edges of this biblical story?

In his new book Timothy Keller takes readers on an illuminating journey into the surprising background of the nativity. By understanding the message of hope and salvation within the Bible’s account of Jesus’ birth, readers will experience the redeeming power of God’s grace in a deeper and more meaningful way.

Love Does by Bob Goff

Can a simple concept shift your entire world? Bob certainty thinks so. When it comes to loving your neighbors, rather than focusing on having the “right answers” or checking the “right boxes,” what if you decide to simply DO love? To shamelessly show love and grace to those around you? What would that look like? It might look like spending sixteen days in the Pacific Ocean with five guys and a crate of canned meat. It might look like taking your kids on a world tour to eat ice cream with heads of state. It might look like taking a road trip with a stressed-out college student–even though you just got married a few days before. In Love Does, Bob shows you how to live a fully engaged life; how to stop putting things off until “next time” and instead find your place of imagination, whimsy, and wonder today; and that God usually chooses ordinary people to get things done When love does, life gets interesting. Light and fun, unique and profound, the lessons drawn from Bob’s life and attitude in this collection of stories just might inspire you to be secretly incredible, too.