As a string of high-profile jewel thefts went unsolved during the Swinging Sixties, the press dubbed the elusive thief the King of Diamonds. Like Cary Grant in To Catch a Thief, the King was so bold that he tip-toed into the homes of millionaires while they were home, hiding in their closets and daring to smoke while they were sleeping. Rena Pederson, then a young reporter with UPI, started following the elusive thief while she managed the night desk. With gymnastic skill, he climbed trees...

In What’s Next?: Inspiration for Women Seeking Faith and Joy in Their Lives, Rena Pederson helped thousands of women discover their own "next step" by looking to the lives of successful women – famous and not-so-famous – who redefined themselves in midlife. Now, in What’s Missing?, she engages another group of women in a conversation on the nature of faith from various traditions – to help you rediscover its importance in your own life.From First L...

Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's "woman of destiny" and one of the most admired voices for freedom in the world today, comes alive through this brilliant rendering of Burma's tumultuous history.Award-winning journalist and former State Department speechwriter Rena Pederson brings to light fresh details about the charismatic Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi: the inspiration for Burma's (now Myanmar) first steps towards democracy. Suu Kyi's party will be a major contender in the 20...

Journalist and spiritual seeker Philip Yancey has always struggled with the most basic questions of the Christian faith. The question he tackles in What Good Is God? concerns the practical value of belief in God. His search for the answer to this question took him to some amazing settings around the world: Mumbai, India when the firing started during the terrorist attacks; at the motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated; on the Virginia Tech campus soon after the massac...

A spiritual guide to living life through love and connection rather than fear and isolation, by a respected pastor and a frequent guest on Oprah's Soul Series.Reverend Bacon believes that every person can live a full and creative life if they can learn to move through troubling emotions to find the beloved within themselves. Readers will learn how insecurity can keep us from connecting with others, our loving self, and finding our own peace, joy, and creative power...

What Would Jesus Do? or WWJD has become ubiquitous on T-shirts, coffee mugs, wristbands and church billboards. But when trying to define the Christian life Jesus intended his followers to live, a more valuable question is What Would Jesus Ask? Readers will find that, according to the Gospels, Jesus posed hundreds of questions that taken together lay a foundation for strong, vibrant, and lasting faith. As individuals or groups wrestle with Jesus' questions, they will find the answe...

From the #1 bestselling author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People, an illuminating book about fear—and what we can do to overcome it.An inescapable component of our lives, fear comes in many guises. In uncertain times, coping with these fears can be especially challenging, but in this indispensable book, Harold S. Kushner teaches us to confront, master, and even embrace fear for a more fulfilling life. Drawing on the teachings of religious and secula...

"Church is boring." "It's irrelevant." "It's full of hypocrites." You've heard the excuses—now learn the real reasons men and boys are fleeing churches of every kind, all over the world, and what we can do about it.Women comprise more than 60% of the adults in a typical worship service in America. Some overseas congregations report ten women for every man in attendance. Men are less likely to lead, volunteer, and give in the church. They pray less, share t...

"Lobdell's spiritual journey fascinates, not least on account of the irony of his trajectory from agnosticism to belief to atheism while covering religion." — Booklist (starred review)William Lobdell's journey of faith—and doubt—may be the most compelling spiritual memoir of our time. Lobdell became a born-again Christian in his late 20s when personal problems—including a failed marriage—drove him to his knees in prayer. As a newly minted evangelical, Lobde...

The phrase "I'm spiritual but not religious" has become a cliché. It's easy to find God amid the convenience of self-styled spirituality -- but is it possible (and more worthwhile) to search for God through religion?Minister and celebrated author Lillian Daniel gives a new spin on church with stories of what a life of faith can really be: weird, wondrous, and well worth trying. From a rock-and-roller sexton to a BB gun-toting grandma, a church service attended by animals to a group...

When you imagine what it would take for your life to be truly great—for you to become your best, most fulfilled self—do you dream of something more than what you have now? More money . . . more attention . . . more significance? What you may be missing is the one thing that actually gives your life ultimate value, meaning, and purpose.Your Best Destiny helps you find it through a highly insightful personal assessment tool that will reveal eight keys God has placed deep wit...

How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the movement variously called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or simply prosperity gospel come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Kate Bowler's Blessed is the first book to fully explore the origins, unifying themes, and major figures of a burgeoning movement that now claims millions of followers in Am...