Kevin Courageous


Book Description

The authors conceived of this work following the tragic illness that befell their second grandson, Kevin Sean Mansfield, in 2018. Doctors and nurses worked feverishly to determine what had afflicted Kevin, then 18, but they and Kevin's parents did not know the cause of his possibly life-threatening condition. Finally, tests confirmed that Kevin had suffered initially from a strain of influenza that morphed into encephalitis, a potentially deadly swelling or inflammation of the brain - only the second such case reported in the United States! Unconscious and unresponsive, Kevin lay comatose for eight days. While the medical personnel attending him were not confident he would survive, it was day-to-day and minute-to-minute with Kevin's mother never leaving his hospital room for six weeks. After three weeks, Kevin, with his dedicated mother by his side, opened his eyes and emerged from the coma. This is the rest of the story.




Courageous Leadership


Book Description

The book you hold resonates with this conviction: that leaders such as you have the potential to be the most influential forces on planet Earth. Yours is the staggering responsibility and the matchless privilege of rallying believers and mobilizing their spiritual gifts in order to help people who are far from God become fully devoted followers of Christ. Life transformation and the eternal destinies of real people depend on the redemptive message entrusted to the local church. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to lead your church effectively so God’s message of hope can change the world? Then this book is for you. Courageous Leadership is Bill Hybels’ magnum opus, a book far too important to be written before its time. Only now, after nearly thirty years leading his own church from a handful of people with a burning vision into a globe-spanning kingdom force—only after almost three decades of victories and setbacks, of praying hard and risking big—is Hybels ready at last to share the lessons he has learned, and continues to learn, about Christian leadership. Too much is at stake for you not to maximize your spiritual gift of leadership, insists Hybels. In this passionate, powerful book, he unpacks the tools, tasks, and challenges of your calling. You’ll discover the power of vision and how to turn it into action. You’ll gain frontline insights for developing a kingdom dream team, discovering your leadership style, developing other leaders, making decisions, walking with God, embracing change, staying your God-given course, and much, much more. Drawing on his own richly varied life experiences, Hybels fleshes out vital principles with riveting firsthand stories. This is far more than another book on leadership strategies and techniques. You’ll find those topics in here, to be sure. But beyond them, you’ll find the very essence of one of today’s foremost Christian leaders—his fervent commitment to evangelism and discipleship and his zeal to inspire fellow church leaders even as he seeks to keep growing as a leader himself. If unchurched people matter to you . . . if you love seeing believers serve passionately with their spiritual gifts . . . if God’s heartbeat for the church is your heartbeat as well . . . then this book is a must. Courageous Leadership will convince you to lead with all your might, all your skill, and all your faith. And it will give you the tools to do just that.




Courageous Cultures


Book Description

From executives complaining that their teams don’t contribute ideas to employees giving up because their input isn’t valued--company culture is the culprit. Courageous Cultures provides a road map to build a high-performance, high-engagement culture around sharing ideas, solving problems, and rewarding contributions from all levels. Many leaders are convinced they have an open environment that encourages employees to speak up and are shocked when they learn that employees are holding back. Employees have ideas and want to be heard. Leadership wants to hear them. Too often, however, employees and leaders both feel that no one cares about making things better. The disconnect typically only widens over time, with both sides becoming more firmly entrenched in their viewpoints. Becoming a courageous culture means building teams of microinnovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates working together. In our world of rapid change, a courageous culture is your competitive advantage. It ensures that your company is “sticky” for both customers and employees. In Courageous Cultures, you’ll learn practical tools that help you: Learn the difference between microinnovators, problem solvers, and customer advocates and how they work together. See how the latest research conducted by the authors confirms why organizations struggle when it comes to creating strong cultures where employees are encouraged to contribute their best thinking. Learn proven models and tools that leaders can apply throughout all levels of the organization, to reengage and motivate employees. Understand best practices from companies around the world and learn how to apply these strategies and techniques in your own organization. This book provides you with the practical tools to uncover, leverage, and scale the best ideas from every level of your organization.




FRIENDSHIP


Book Description

Acclaim for Friendship: a gift divine By Chuck Mansfield Retired educator Linda Giarraputo Jeans has written, “Reading FRIENDSHIP is experiencing the gift of lifelong relationships (and) stepping into the realm of meaningful human connection. In today’s world, we seem to not have the time nor the situations where long lasting bonds are built. Chuck takes us into his life, a life of faithfulness, honesty, support, humor and trust. Enjoy FRIENDSHIP in its finest voice.” Frequent reader Lucine Morris has emailed, “Mansfield demonstrates once again the advantage of having a keen memory. Thanks are due him for documenting the rewards that derive from devoting energy to developing and maintaining strong relationships. The insights he shares deftly fulfill the promise of the title of his new book.” U.S. Army veteran, retired attorney and senior international executive Arthur L. Burns has commented: “Mansfield’s subject, FRIENDSHIP, is probably one of the few things that still light our world in the midst of all the darkness and fear around us. So, kudos!” U.S. Army Vietnam War veteran, Bronze Star recipient and retired senior information technology executive Edward M. Finegan has stated, “Mansfield’s book FRIENDSHIP is a work of love, caring, helping and the immense value of friendship... I continue to be impressed with the scope of his creativity in bringing many of the more important aspects of life to the awareness of large audiences. After all, what do we really have in this journey if not true, loyal, reliable friends?” Author, former coach and retired law firm administrator Thomas P. Kiley, Jr. has written, “His latest effort may be the author’s most heartwarming. Each essay is a blend of deep thought and graceful prose. He writes poignantly, as only he can, about friendships made in Brooklyn, grammar school, Garden City, Chaminade High, Holy Cross College, the Marines, business and finally Westhampton. No matter how far and wide he has roamed during his 79 years, Mansfield has never left a friend behind.” U.S. Navy veteran and former CEO James C. Norwood, Jr. has written, “I have always been amazed with the brilliance of Chuck’s ability to create interesting stories that have transcended three-quarters of a century. In many cases his stories are mine! The memories he brings back to life are incredible. I only wish we could relive our loving lifelong friendship. Having best friends who love you as much as you love them makes one’s life complete.” Of FRIENDSHIP former Marine Corps combat helicopter pilot and Vietnam War veteran Bain D. Slack has observed, “Most people have only a handful of really good, dependable friends you know that you can always count on. What is Mansfield’s secret that enables him to have such a large number of really good friends? He himself is the very best friend a person could have. I had a serious problem... As soon as Chuck learned of my plight, using his own resources and his own time, energy and intelligence, he took it upon himself to solve my problem.”




The Perfect Season


Book Description

Kiley and Mansfield have co-authored this new book, which has been heralded variously as “an inspirational story of how faith, persistence, desire and brotherhood can make great things happen,” “recollections that the contributors all agree molded their lives while at the same time adding a valued quality of life for each of them,” “The story of young men coming of age in the sixties and how they continued the relationships throughout their lifetimes” and “those heady days of 1961...brought back to life from the unique perspective of the men on the field. I found it hard to put down and was left wanting more when I was finished.” Fontbonne University President emeritus Dr. Dennis C. Golden has written, “In 1961...legendary head football coach Mr. Joe Thomas, his staff and players committed themselves to actualizing their once-in-a-lifetime core value of becoming the first untied and undefeated team in Chaminade history.”




True Strength


Book Description

The star of TV's Hercules: The Legendary Journeys reveals how a series of debilitating strokes at the height of his career changed his life




True Stories of Teen Terrorist Hostages


Book Description

This thrilling volume tells the stories of young people who have faced some of the most extreme situations in modern times, making abstract stories of violence real for readers. From Bring Back Our Girls to less publicized instances, this book provides political context and gives a human face to victims of terrorism. The book helps readers connect with victims of violence on a personal level.




Courageous Edventures


Book Description

Chart a course to innovation using educational technology. Let’s go on an edventure! Do you want to innovate and take risks in your teaching? Looking for ways to troubleshoot common classroom challenges? Jennie Magiera charts a course for you to discover your own version of innovation, using the limitless possibilities of educational technology. Packed with lesson plans, examples, and solutions, Courageous Edventures will show you: How to create your own Teacher-IEP (Innovation Exploration Plan) Strategies and solutions for tackling common educational technology problems Methods for putting learning into the hands of students How to find innovation in everyday places




Unblinded


Book Description

The USA Today–bestselling biography of a man who lost his sight as an adult and regained it twenty years later without any medical intervention. Unblinded is the true story of New Yorker Kevin Coughlin, who became blind at age thirty-six due to a rare genetic disorder known as Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy. Twenty years later, without medical intervention, Kevin’s sight miraculously started to return. He is the only known person in the world who has experienced a spontaneous, non-medically assisted, regeneration of the optic nerve. Unblinded follows Kevin’s descent into darkness, and his unexplained reemergence to sight. Praise for Unblinded “A remarkable story of sudden blindness, new vision, and sight regained. It offers great insight into the nature of reality—that which we perceive and that which we create for ourselves.”—Isaac Lidsky, New York Times–bestselling author of Eyes Wide Open “Its pages take us, at once, on a remarkable true adventure and into the heart and mind of a most extraordinary individual. A beautifully written and inspiring tale, and a reminder to us all about what really matters.”—Robert Kurson, New York Times–bestselling author of Rocket Men “Unblinded provides honest, profound insight into the emotional trauma that occurs when vision is lost and the path forward in life cannot be seen.”—Lissa Poincenot, National Leber’s Hereditary Optic Neuropathy Advocate “A fascinating, behind-the-scenes tour of what went on during those years of darkness and how Kevin Coughlin, after battling alcoholism, loneliness, prejudice, and perhaps most of all himself, emerges as a man of wisdom and sight.”—Ann Campanella, award-winning and bestselling author of Motherhood: Lost and Found




The Cusp of Dreams


Book Description

The Cusp of Dreams is the dark saga of our time: men and women desperate to close penny-ante deals in order to pay next month's rent. To survive they will do almost anything. Yet despite their treachery toward others, they themselves are at risk of losing it all'their jobs, their relationships, and their families. For these men and women living on the cusp, there is no reprieve.