Our Story...His Story


Book Description

Rick and Polly Rood began their married life like many other couples-hoping for a life blessed by God, and to be used by Him in his service. Twelve years later, however, their life took an unexpected turn when at age 34 Polly was diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, a neurodegenerative illness. For the next nineteen years they navigated this unexpected journey, which included Polly's residing in nursing home for the last eleven years of her life. This book recounts their struggles and fears, as well as their persevering hope. More than that, however, it tells the story of how God graciously carried them through these years of affliction. Rick's prayer is that by telling their story many others might find hope in our gracious and merciful God, both for this life and the next. "Our Story...His Story shows how God graciously wills to strengthen his people to be faithful to each other and to Him in the midst of long-lasting affliction." Mark R. Talbot, PhD. Associate Professor of Philosophy, Wheaton College "I pray God will use this book to encourage many others who are navigating the unavoidable storms of life." Wesley K. Willmer, PhD. Former Vice-President for Advancement, Biola University. Author Bio: Rick Rood is a native of Seattle, WA and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is a graduate of Seattle Pacific University (BA in history) and Dallas Theological Seminary (ThM in Old Testament). He has served as a hospital chaplain with Healthcare Chaplains Ministry Association since 1996, at both an acute care and a psychiatric hospital in the Dallas, TX area. Rick cared for his wife Polly until her home going in 2003. They have a son and daughter. Rick married his new wife Li Lin in 2012 in Taipei, Taiwan. They reside in the Dallas area.




When You Don't Like Your Story


Book Description

Bestselling author, cofounder of Girlfriends in God, and writer for Proverbs 31 Ministries Sharon Jaynes reveals the secret to living a better story: understanding that the worst parts of our past are the very things God uses most. Many people don't like the story God is writing in their lives. The mistakes, failures, tragedies, and circumstances outside of our control linger in our minds and hold us back. How do we come to grips with the pieces of our stories that we wish weren't there? How do we silence the pain of what has been done to us and the shame of what we've allowed to be done through us? In When You Don't Like Your Story, Bible teacher Sharon Jaynes shows us how God untangles our most painful emotions with the fingers of grace, putting his redemption on display. In the hardest parts of our narratives, we get to see God's greatest work--and this changes the ending of our stories. As we overcome shame, offer forgiveness, and use our stories to help others, we find freedom from the past and learn to live in the restoration of the present.




You Can Trust God to Write Your Story


Book Description

WHAT’S GOD DOING IN YOUR STORY? Our kids beg us for stories at bedtime or while we drive; we gather around firepits and dinner tables to tell and retell our favorite tales—the more dramatic the better. But when it comes to our actual lives, we prefer something less sensational, even boring—sunny skies and smooth sailing, please and thank you. We want our own stories to be predictable, safe, controllable, and catastrophe-free. When plans fall apart, jobs are lost, kids wander off, doctors give bad reports, we often wonder, "What are you doing, God? Are you sure you have this under control? It doesn’t really seem like it right now." God is the master Storyteller. He’s writing your story and it’s a part of His bigger, grander, eternal Story. But we’re still in the middle. We haven’t gotten to the happy ending yet, and it can be hard to trust Him in the thick of our struggles. That’s why Robert and Nancy share their own story, friends’ stories, and the stories of people in the Bible who have faced life-altering challenges, but, in the end, have found God to be faithful. Learn why you really can trust God to write your story—no matter what plot twists you may encounter along the way. "This is a unique and charming book, integrating stories of God’s providence from His people and His Word. Nancy and Robert write personally and beautifully, infusing readers with a Christ-centered vision, hope, and trust for the future." -Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, Giving is the Good Life, and Deception "You Can Trust God to Write Your Story is an amazing book whose title says it all. For if you are a follower of Jesus, every day of your life—whether you feel like it or not—is weighted with kingdom purpose, eternal significance, and a royal destiny filled with joy and contentment. Let my dear friends, Robert and Nancy, help you embrace the mysteries of the Lord’s Providence. For when it comes to happy endings, you can’t find a better Author than the God of the Bible. Happy endings are His forte—turn the page, trust Him, and discover it for yourself." -Joni Eareckson Tada, Joni and Friends International Disability Center




This is Our Story


Book Description

"Chilling and suspenseful, with just the right number of twists." --Kirkus Reviews Five boys went hunting. Four came back. And the evidence shows it could have been any one of them, in this thrilling mystery with a big twist, for fans of Courtney Summers. Kate Marino's senior year internship at the District Attorney's Office isn't exactly glamorous--more like an excuse to leave school early that looks good on college applications. Then the DA hands her boss, Mr. Stone, the biggest case her small town of Belle Terre has ever seen. The River Point Boys are all anyone can talk about. Despite their damning toxicology reports the morning of the accident, the DA wants the boys' case swept under the rug. He owes his political office to their powerful families. Kate won't let that happen. Digging up secrets without revealing her own is a dangerous line to walk; Kate has personal reasons for seeking justice. As she gets dangerously close to the truth, it becomes clear that the early morning accident might not have been an accident at all-and if she doesn't uncover the true killer, more than one life could be on the line including her own.




God's Story, Your Story


Book Description

Carpools and car crashes, job switches and joint custody, moves and motionlessness. Is there a cohesive storyline to the chaos, confusion, and clutter of your daily life? According to well-loved author Max Lucado, the answer is a resounding yes! So what is the text of your life? With his unequaled warmth and honesty, Lucado plumbs the depths of your storyline and comes up smiling. “Your story indwells God’s,” writes Lucado. “This is the great promise of the Bible and the hope of this book ... Above and around us God directs a grander saga, written by his hand, orchestrated by his will, unveiled according to his calendar. And you are a part of it ...” Join Max for an unforgettable journey woven with New Testament stories and contemporary examples of God’s beautiful story-making skills. The beginning of the narrative is legendary, the middle unfolds with surprises still in store, and the ending of your final earthly chapter ushers in a reunion that almost defies description. It’s time to see what your life looks like when God’s story becomes your story.




Let Me Tell You My Story


Book Description

Over the course of two years, a group of award-winning photographers, filmmakers, painters, and writers trailed and documented the flood of refugees pouring into the West from the Middle East and Africa, recording the refugees' firsthand accounts of who they are and what made them refugees. Spare, haunting, utterly magnificent, and profoundly human, this inspiring collection creates a portrait of the greatest humanitarian crisis of modern history. From the pregnant mother in the dusty warehouse-turned-refugee-camp in Greece to the emaciated child in a mud-filled tent in Bangladesh to the lone Sudanese crouched under an overpass in Italy--the people inside this remarkable volume of exquisite photography and stories of resilience will teach you that the surest way to draw humans together begins with the words "I want to tell you my story . . ."




Your Story Matters


Book Description

Your Story Matters presents a dynamic and spiritually formative process for understanding and redeeming the past in order to live well in the present and into the future. Leslie Leyland Fields has used and taught this practical and inspiring writing process for decades, helping people from all walks of life to access memory and sift through the truth of their stories. This is not just a book for writers. Each one of us has a story, and understanding God's work in our stories is a vital part of our faith. Through the spiritual practice of writing, we can "remember" his acts among us, "declare his glory among the nations," and pass on to others what we have witnessed of God in this life: the mysterious, the tragic, the miraculous, the ordinary. With a companion video curriculum from RightNow Media, this is a "why not" book as opposed to a "how to" book. Leslie asks each of us an important question: "Why not learn to tell your story, in the context of the grander story of God?"




The End of Our Story


Book Description

Every love story has a breaking point... From the author of Paperweight comes the star-crossed romance of two high school friends in a tale rife with deeply buried secrets and shocking revelations. BEFORE: Bridge and Wil have been entangled in each other’s lives for years. Under the white-hot Florida sun, they went from kids daring each other to swim past the breakers to teenagers stealing kisses between classes. But when Bridge betrayed Wil during their junior year, she shattered his heart and their relationship along with it. AFTER: When Wil’s family suffers a violent loss, and Bridge rushes back to Wil’s side. As they struggle to heal old wounds and start falling for each other all over again, Bridge and Wil discover just how much has changed in the past year. Though they once knew each other’s every secret, they aren’t the same people they used to be. Bridge can’t imagine life without Wil, but sometimes love isn’t enough. Can they find their way back to each other, or will this be the end of their story?




Your Story, My Story


Book Description

From the award-winning author of The Friendship comes a shattering, brilliantly inventive novel based on the volatile true love story of literary icons Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes. In 1963 Sylvia Plath took her own life in her London flat. Her death was the culmination of a brief, brilliant life lived in the shadow of clinical depression--a condition exacerbated by her tempestuous relationship with mercurial poet Ted Hughes. The ensuing years saw Plath rise to martyr status while Hughes was cast as the cause of her suicide, his infidelity at the heart of her demise. For decades, Hughes never bore witness to the truth of their marriage--one buried beneath a mudslide of apocryphal stories, gossip, sensationalism, and myth. Until now. In this mesmerizing fictional work, Connie Palmen tells his side of the story, previously untold, delivered in Ted Hughes's own uncompromising voice. A brutal and lyrical confessional, Your Story, My Story paints an indelible picture of their seven-year relationship--the soaring highs and profound lows of star-crossed soul mates bedeviled by their personal demons. It will forever change the way we think about these two literary icons.




Your Story Is Your Power


Book Description

HOW DO YOU DEFINE YOURSELF? IN A VERY REAL SENSE, we define ourselves through our stories. If we can truly understand the stories that made us the women we are, including the motivations behind our actions and thoughts, we can take charge of how our future unfolds. WHAT IS AT THE HEART OF YOUR STORY? Follow the prompts, tools, questions, and advice through a labyrinth of self-discovery to reach the center of your voice, your power, your truth. And then learn how to share that story—and all of your Feminine Power—with a world that needs to hear it.