"No one seems to be happy with the present. That loathing of the present is understandable. The present moment, in modern life, is hard to love, or even to grasp. For the modern present is a state of constant motion. Perpetual moral, social, and psychic revolution is the price we pay for our unprecedented liberty, equality, and prosperity. Though we rightly prize those great political goods, having our world turned upside down every morning makes us all of us uneasy and some of us miserable. We exacerbate our unease by our failure to recognize it. With our ritual insistence that we are perfectly content to "go with the flow," we deny even the existence of our disquiet. We refuse to see what time it is, and we refuse to see ourselves"--

Do you feel like you're just waiting to find your purpose? Do you want to live like you were made for more? Many of us feel restless, and that might not be a bad thing. . . When our restlessness awakens our longing to be woven into God's story, it can launch us into living the life of purpose God designed for us. In this video-based small group Bible study (DVD/video streaming sold separately), Bible study teacher and author of Get Out of Your Head Jennie Allen helps you discover a practical plan to identify the loose threads of your life and how to weave them together for God's glory and purposes. Jennie uses the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis to explain how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater tapestry of God’s narrative—and how our story can do the same. In this study you will: Explore practical ways to identify the threads of your life. Learn how to intentionally weave those threads together. Discover how your gifts, passions, places, and relationships aren’t random; they’re deliberate and meaningful. Speak the truth about your suffering: it’s possible it has produced the very thing you want to give back to the world. The Restless Study Guide engages the mind and heart through stories, Bible study from the life of Joseph, and Threads—a tool to help you see your own personal story and to uncover and understand the raw materials God has given you to use for his glory and purpose. What would happen if you spent the rest of your life running without reservation after His purposes for you? Designed for use with the Restless Video Study (9780879922374), sold separately

From debut author Cole Nagamatsu comes an atmospheric contemporary fantasy about three teens coming of age in the wake of a mysterious death. Last summer, Link Miller drowned on dry land in the woods, miles away from the nearest body of water. His death was ruled a strange accident, and in the months since, his friends and family have struggled to make sense of it. But Link's close friend Noemi Amato knows the truth: Link drowned in an impossible lake that only she can find. And what's more, someone claiming to be Link has been contacting her, warning Noemi to stay out of the forest. As these secrets become too heavy for Noemi to shoulder on her own, she turns to Jonas, her new housemate, and Amberlyn, Link's younger sister. All three are trying to find their place—and together, they start to unravel the truth: about themselves, about the world, and about what happened to Link. Unfolding over a year and told through multiple POVs and a dream journal, We Were Restless Things explores the ways society shapes our reality, how we can learn to love ourselves and others, and the incredible power of our own desires. A great pick for readers who want: YA contemporary books with touches of YA fantasy Modern ghost stories and fairytales Young adult LGBT books with an asexual character

The renowned actress who played Nikki Newman on The Young and the Restless opens up about her sixty-year career in this scintillating memoir. Melody Thomas Scott admits she is nothing like her character on The Young and the Restless, who’s seen it all in her forty-year tenure on America’s highest-rated daytime serial. But there’s plenty of drama beyond her character’s plotlines. In this captivating memoir, Melody reveals the behind-the-scenes saga of her journey to stardom and personal freedom. As Nikki went from impoverished stripper to vivacious heroine, Melody underwent her own striking transformation, becoming a household name in the process. Raised by her abusive grandmother, Melody acted in feature films with Alfred Hitchcock, John Wayne, and Clint Eastwood—and endured abuse of industry men before taking control of her life and career in a daring getaway move. Melody shares all this, plus juicy on-and-off-set details of what it’s like to be one half of the show’s most successful supercouple, “Niktor.” In witty, warm prose, readers meet the persevering heart of an American icon. Prepare to be moved by a life story fit for a soap opera star.

It is 1939. Eva Delectorskaya is a beautiful 28-year-old Russian émigrée living in Paris. As war breaks out she is recruited for the British Secret Service by Lucas Romer, a mysterious Englishman, and under his tutelage she learns to become the perfect spy, to mask her emotions and trust no one, including those she loves most. Since the war, Eva has carefully rebuilt her life as a typically English wife and mother. But once a spy, always a spy. Now she must complete one final assignment, and this time Eva can't do it alone: she needs her daughter's help.

A compelling exploration of how our pursuit of happiness makes us unhappy We live in an age of unprecedented prosperity, yet everywhere we see signs that our pursuit of happiness has proven fruitless. Dissatisfied, we seek change for the sake of change—even if it means undermining the foundations of our common life. In Why We Are Restless, Benjamin and Jenna Storey offer a profound and beautiful reflection on the roots of this malaise and examine how we might begin to cure ourselves. Drawing on the insights of Montaigne, Pascal, Rousseau, and Tocqueville, Why We Are Restless explores the modern vision of happiness that leads us on, and the disquiet that follows it like a lengthening shadow. In the sixteenth century, Montaigne articulated an original vision of human life that inspired people to see themselves as individuals dedicated to seeking contentment in the here and now, but Pascal argued that we cannot find happiness through pleasant self-seeking, only anguished God-seeking. Rousseau later tried and failed to rescue Montaigne’s worldliness from Pascal’s attack. Steeped in these debates, Tocqueville visited the United States in 1831 and, observing a people “restless in the midst of their well-being,” discovered what happens when an entire nation seeks worldly contentment—and finds mostly discontent. Arguing that the philosophy we have inherited, despite pretending to let us live as we please, produces remarkably homogenous and unhappy lives, Why We Are Restless makes the case that finding true contentment requires rethinking our most basic assumptions about happiness.

A thoughtful exploration of loneliness, in the tradition of Henri Nouwen's classic Reaching Out. Loneliness may be more pervasive now than at any other time in human history. Cell phones and "instant messaging" not withstanding, our longing for meaningful connections seems to increase in direct proportion to our accessibility. In The Restless Heart, Ronald Rolheiser identifies different types of loneliness and discusses the dangers and opportunities they represent in our lives. Using contemporary parables from literature, film, and his own life, he shows that loneliness can be a tremendously creative and even valuable force when it is recognized, accepted and used as a dynamic catalyst. With his trademark clarity of vision, honesty, and intelligence, Rolheiser offers a distinctively Christian approach to living an examined, involved life and presents suggestions that will free readers to discover greater meaning and fulfillment in their own lives.