What are you supposed to do when the holidays hurt? Divorce. Financial stress. Chronic illness. Losing a loved one. Experiencing any of these situations during the year is difficult. But the holiday season, once joyful and happy, can heighten this pain. When Holidays Hurt, written by Bo Stern, will help you find hidden hope amid your pain and loss--even when it feels impossible. Bo spent two Christmases struggling to connect with the joy of the season. As she watched her husband, Steve, struggle with terminal ALS, Bo quietly felt her spirit for the season fade--and has noticed others suffering the same way. Through stories and scriptures, Bo offers readers: A way to redeem what can often become painful days--Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays and anniversaries, milestones such as weddings and graduations, and more 35 thoughtful devotions divided into specific seasons of life that range from holidays to special occasions At the end of each devotional, tangible ways to find hidden hope and prayers to recite When Holidays Hurt is an encouraging self-purchase or gift for loved ones who are hurting and enduring hard times and need to be reminded of hope, peace, and purpose. Bo’s authentic voice promotes readers to thrive during the holidays and equips them with coping tools to use throughout the year.

While the rest of the world around us becomes excited and enamored with our cultures celebration of Christmas, some of us struggle through the holiday season overcome with clouds of depression and battles with fear and dread. Fractured relationships, dysfunction, compromised finances, loss of loved ones, isolation, and any number of other circumstances become even harder to navigate due to the often unrealistic expectations of the holiday. Loneliness magnifies, stress accelerates, busyness intensifies, and sadness can overwhelm us. I have written When Christmas Hurts from the depths of my own pain and experience in hopes of helping those who struggle with this season for similar and various reasons. Gods Word and his principles of love, power, and truth are woven into every element of encouragement. Practical suggestions and challenges are presented to help navigate this often stressful and difficult season. The passion behind this book is to bring hope and healing to hearts that are hurting, helping them break free from the burdens of stress and dread and find a new revelation of celebrating Christmas with joy and simplicity.

Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Thirty biblical meditations for women that offer hope in times of suffering. Hurt is real. But so is hope. Kristen and Sarah have walked through, and are walking in, difficult times. So these thirty biblical reflections are full of realism about the hurts of life-yet overwhelmingly full of hope about the God who gives life. This book will gently encourage and greatly help any woman who is struggling with suffering-whether physical, emotional or psychological, and whether for a season or for longer. It is a book to buy for yourself, or to buy for a member of your church or friend. For anyone who is hurting, this book will give hope, not just for life beyond the suffering, but for life in the suffering. Each chapter contains a biblical reflection, with questions and prayers, and a space for journaling.

Only two weeks from his crucifixion, Jesus has stopped in Bethlehem. He has returned to visit someone important—the innkeeper who made a place for Mary and Joseph the night he was born. But his greater purpose in coming is to pay a debt. What did it cost to house the Son of God? John Piper shares a tale of what might have been through the story-poem of an innkeeper whose life was forever altered by the arrival of the Son of God. Ponder the sacrifice that was made that night. Celebrate Jesus's birth and the power of his resurrection. And encounter the hope his life gives you for today—and for eternity. This imaginative story has been redesigned and makes a great gift for families.

Are you hurting or suffering in silence? God has a purpose in your pain. Many people in general, and even Christians admittedly avoid the subject of pain almost as much as they avoid pain itself. But once you understand the purpose of pain, you can make the most of the painful experiences in life. In The Furnace of Affliction: How God Uses Our Pain and Suffering for His Purpose, Horace Williams, Jr. tackles this challenging topic. Based on the Word of God, insights from other leaders, and his studies, he addresses several key points, including: How pain develops our faith How pain determines our path How pain delivers comfort, joy, and peace And how pain deepens our commitment to God. Packed with personal stories and scripture to support his points, Horace shares his insights on the problem of pain. His candid and straightforward communication style engages the reader as he addresses this critical topic for the body of Christ today.

We live in a world where beauty is everything. Society tells us that if we just looked a certain way, if we had the right products, if we were skinny enough, then we would be enough —we would have value. Society is wrong, but it took Katie H. Willcox years to understand this: “Over the course of my 30 short years, I have both worked as a professional model and been the exact opposite of our culture’s beauty ideal. I have struggled with my weight and felt like I didn’t and never would fit in. Then I had a powerful realization: my misery and self-loathing didn’t change with my weight or how ‘pretty’ society thought I was, so my looks weren’t the source of happiness and worth that I had believed them to be. But then, what was? And how had I come to invest so much of myself in beliefs that were so untrue?” In these pages, Katie shares the lessons she learned in her journey to find the answers to these questions. She reveals who gains from our feeling small and why we need to examine the messages we receive from our culture and our families. She explains how we can redefine beauty, make healthy the new “skinny,” and harness the power of our thoughts to choose self-love. Katie encourages us to discover our true magnificent selves, find our purpose, and pursue our dreams —and help others to do the same. Join the movement! Visit www.HealthyIsTheNewSkinny.com and follow us on Instagram @healthyisthenewskinny.

When it comes to the end of a relationship, the loss of a loved one, or even a national tragedy, we are often told we need “closure.” But while some people do find closure for their pain and grief, many more feel closure does not exist and believe the notion only promises false hopes. Sociologist Nancy Berns explores these ideas and their ramifications in her timely book, Closure. Berns uncovers the various interpretations and contradictory meanings of closure. She identifies six types of “closure talk,” revealing closure as a socially constructed concept—a “new emotion.” Berns also explores how closure has been applied widely in popular media and how the idea has been appropriated as a political tool and to sell products and services. This book explains how the push for closure—whether we find it helpful, engaging, or enraging—is changing our society.