Everyone goes through the wilderness. But not everyone makes it to the promised land. We all know what it's like to feel trapped in the most painful seasons of life. To taste the tears, wince under the pain, and watch our best days fade away into the past. In other words, we know what it's like to feel stuck in a desert. Fortunately, there's hope. The words inside are liquid hope to drink while you walk through whatever wilderness you're in. You'll laugh and you'll cry. Light bulbs will pop in your mind, strength will flood your soul, and direction will surge to your feet. And in the end, you'll find a way out. In refreshing honesty and down-to-earth style, Russ draws revelation, humor and strength from his own story along with a strange people out of the pages of Scripture who endured their own wilderness journey. He paints a compelling picture to lead us out of the fog and agony of our toughest seasons and into new places of perspective, clarity, healing and courage. You may be in the fight of your life. But you don't have to die there. Nor do you just have to survive. You can learn how to thrive. In fact, your best days just may be up ahead.

Longtime fly fisherman Quinn Grover had contemplated the “why” of his fishing identity before more recently becoming focused on the “how” of it. He realized he was a dedicated fly fisherman in large part because public lands and public waterways in the West made it possible. In Wilderness of Hope Grover recounts his fly-fishing experiences with a strong evocation of place, connecting those experiences to the ongoing national debate over public lands. Because so much of America’s public lands are in the Intermountain West, this is where arguments about the use and limits of those lands rage the loudest. And those loudest in the debate often become caricatures: rural ranchers who hate the government; West Coast elites who don’t know the West outside Vail, Colorado; and energy and mining companies who extract from once-protected areas. These caricatures obscure the complexity of those who use public lands and what those lands mean to a wider population. Although for Grover fishing is often an “escape” back to wildness, it is also a way to find a home in nature and recalibrate his interactions with other parts of his life as a father, son, husband, and citizen. Grover sees fly fishing on public waterways as a vehicle for interacting with nature that allows humans to inhabit nature rather than destroy or “preserve” it by keeping it entirely separate from human contact. These essays reflect on personal fishing experiences with a strong evocation of place and an attempt to understand humans’ relationship with water and public land in the American West. Purchase the audio edition.

"If we want revival in our communities, then let us learn from those being revived." For many Western Christians, the experience of suffering and persecution is remote. For Chinese Christians, on the other hand, persecution is a regular aspect of the Christian life. If a Christian from the West was transported to a Chinese house church, the topic of suffering would be ever--present in preaching and conversation. With decades of persecution under the thumb of the Chinese Communist Party and a rich theology of suffering, the Chinese house church movement has much to contribute theologically to the global church. In Faith in the Wilderness, editors Hannah Nation and Simon Liu pull together the insights of the Chinese Church for the West. These sermonic letters from Chinese Christians will awaken readers to the reality of the gospel--the ground of our hope--in the midst of darkness. Readers will be convicted, encouraged, and edified by the testimony of these Chinese Christians.

FOR DISTRIBUTION OUTSIDE THE USA. In The Land Between, author Jeff Manion uses the biblical story of the Israelite's journey through Sinai desert as a metaphor for being in undesired, transitional space. After enduring generations of slavery in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob travel through the desert (the land between) toward their new home in Canaan. They crave the food of their former home in Egypt and despise their present environment. They are unable to go back and incapable of moving forward. The Land Between explores the way in which their reactions can provide insight and guidance on how to respond to God during our own seasons of difficult transition. The book provides fresh biblical insight for people traveling through undesired transitions (e.g. foreclosure, unemployment, parents in declining health, post-graduate uncertainty, business failure, etc.) who are looking for hope, guidance, and encouragement. While it is possible to move through transitions and learn little, they provide our greatest opportunity for spiritual growth. God desires to meet us in our chaos and emotional upheaval, and he intends for us to encounter his goodness and provision during these upsetting seasons.

'The Bible is not a sterile Book immaculately conceived in some sort of mystical, holy vacuum. Though God is the ultimate Author, He used human writers as His instruments. And to interpret properly His Word we must enter their world. The bleating of sheep on barren hills, the mournful wail of a ram's horn trumpet on the temple steps, the harsh clang of sword hitting sword in epic battle hang like tapestries in the background of every page.' - Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness. Life's struggles can make us feel as if we're wandering in the desert, thirsty for hope and healing. Using Isaiah 40 as a backdrop, best-selling author Charles Dyer takes us on a journey through ancient Judea for a vivid reminder that others before us have known suffering - and, just as God was present for them in their pain, He will walk with us through our wilderness.