As with the streets of Oakland, California; three families’ lives intersect and are bound by blood ties, secrets and deceit. Each one, desperate to put their sordid pasts behind them, has strived to create the perfect life for themselves and their children. Consumed with the petty criminal activities of their children, as well as dealing with their own trust issues with each other, each parent will do anything and everything to protect their legacy. However, when the actions of three friends attract the attention of an Oakland kingpin, hidden truths and long-buried rivalries bubble to the surface. A case of mistaken identity that ends in murder shakes the very core of each person involved. Are they able to come to terms with their past transgressions and move ahead to a clean future, or will the secrets and lies lead them down a path of destruction? The streets of Oakland are waiting and watching.

She never ceased to have a loving heart for those who seemed to not love enough.

Sometimes the strongest souls come from the toughest adversities. After facing years of verbal and physical abuse and repression at the hands of those whom she loved the most, Tambre Ross had nowhere else to turn—except to her angels. After breaking free from the toxic bonds of abuse, Tambre was finally able to fully immerse herself in the love of the angels around her. When her guardian angel gave her a foreboding warning about pain to come, she had no choice but to hone her gift, trust in God, and learn to find her purpose in the journey so she could perhaps once again be hopeful for tomorrow.

This book offers a cross-disciplinary approach to pain and suffering in the early modern period, based on research in the fields of literary studies, art history, theatre studies, cultural history and the study of emotions. The volume’s two-fold approach to the hurt body, defining ‘hurt’ from the perspectives of both victim and beholder - as well as their combined creation of a gaze - is unique. It establishes a double perspective about the riddle of ‘cruel’ viewing by tracking the shifting cultural meanings of victims’ bodies and confronting them with the values of audiences, religious and popular institutional settings and practices of punishment. It encompasses both the victim’s presence as an image or performed event of pain and the conundrum of the look – the transmitted ‘pain’ experienced by the watching audience.

What really happens to human consciousness at death? How might love and immortality be related? What is purgatory and do most religions teach the concept of purgatory? What is spirituality? Is the essence of the mystery we call "God" the same for the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jew, and Muslim? Is it more important what my religion teaches me to believe, or is it more important that my religion enables me to become more loving and compassionate? How might one practice a reverence for life by our food choices? How do we balance work and spirituality? How do we balance spirituality and social-justice work? In this collection of sermons and reflections, Floyd Vernon Chandler suggests that there are many valid spiritual paths to Enlightenment and Holiness. Understanding the mystery we call "God" is akin to the story of five blind men touching different parts of a huge elephant. Each man's description and understanding of the elephant will vary based upon the location of his touch. The importance of any religion is determined by how much our respective spiritual paths lead us to grow in love and compassion for one another and for all other forms of life on this planet. The sermon and reflections found in Beyond the Grave: Love and Immortality express a Universalist theology that all souls will eventually be reunited with the mystery we call "God." Inherent in this collection of writings is the belief that there is truth in all religions and that there are many valid spiritual paths. No religious dogma or ideology has a monopoly on truth.

Where Can You Turn for Hope When the Hurt Runs Deep? At some point in life, every one of us will face the dark pain of heartache and despair, a hurt that pierces so deep we’re left gasping with questions: Why me? Why now? What have I done to deserve this? Will the pain ever go away? How can God just stand by and let this happen? What do I have left to hope for? Writing from insights gained not only through her own valleys of deep hurt but also from years of study and counseling others through life’s heartaches, Kay Arthur shows how pain can be the doorway that leads you to deeper understanding, renewed purpose, and greater intimacy with God. Without glossing over the realities of sorrow, she will guide you through twelve pivotal truths about healing and hurt. These key principles will become anchors for your soul, reminding you that your pain does have purpose, that difficult times can make you more like Jesus, and that there is always hope for the future. Because no matter how deep the hurt, God’s love runs deeper still. Includes a Study Guide and Prayer Journal to help you draw closer to God.

If you have suffered in your intimate relationships, marriage, or singleness state of being. This book is for you. We suffer in silence from lack of intimacy from our mates, spouses, or during courtships for many reasons mainly because of our lack of knowledge of a true relationship, marriage, partnership, or commitment. Mixed with distorted views because of sexual violations as a child, because of physical or sexual abuse as a teen, because of rape, because of incest, because of our insecurities, because we lack self-esteem, because we lack self-control, because of our lack respect for ourselves. We week love in all the wrong ways from the wrong people at the wrong times because of our own lustful desires and desperation that leads us into a deep level of sexual sins and addictions. But Jesus has the power to free you from all sexual sins, lustful desires, and acts of desperation. Read how he made me free from all the above!