What's New at Cross Reference Library? - "A Whole New World"

With Fresh Eyes - Too often we take for granted what we see everyday. We long for the extraordinary when we set aside time with God in a quiet room. But we don’t think to look for his hand in a traffic jam or while walking the dog. For Karen Wingate, sight itself is something extraordinary--and what our eyes can reveal is even more astounding. Karen lived most of her life with severely limited sight due to a genetic defect. But through the chance outcome of a surgery in her mid-fifties, she doubled her visual acuity. As she eagerly explored a more detailed world for the first time, she also began to see God in every new discovery--from the glory of sunsets to the prosaic numbers of a bathroom scale. You, too, can awaken to the wonder of what you observe--great and small--and how God is working in everyday moments. In each of her sixty meditations, Karen’s humor and whimsy draw a connection between physical sight and spiritual understanding that will leave you with a renewed delight in what is good and beautiful.

Every Knee Shall Bow - For the first time in history, the Roman emperor supports the church. But the fledgling faith’s future still hangs in the balance. Flavia, a Roman senator’s daughter, is sent from her convent by Bishop Sylvester to seek Emperor Constantine’s permission to determine the canon of scripture and build great churches where pagan temples once stood. But God’s enemies are on the move, and the path to the bishop’s goals is fraught with peril. Flavia’s beloved protector, Germanic barbarian Brandulf Rex, has fought his way out of exile. He and Flavia will cross the empire by land and sea on this epic quest to free the Roman people from the tyranny of the ancient gods. Will the early Christians receive the Word of God? Will beautiful churches rise in Rome where pagan temples once stood? Or will the world's greatest empire keep refusing to bow the knee to its true and rightful Lord?

Rest Girl - Are you bone-tired, girl? Does your soul feel fatigued? Jami Amerine gets it. She was there. Overcommitted, under-slept, stretched thin, continually trying yet constantly falling short as a woman, a mother, and a Christian. But there’s more to life than this:

• More Rest

• More to taste and see

• More tenderness, mercy, and guidance

• More abundance, peace, and joy

• More everything

In a climate steeped in stress and worries, this book offers a priceless opportunity to experience the refreshing freedom of true rest so you never slip into limiting belief or doubt again. Author Jami Amerine (Well, Girl) will guide you on a moving, humorous, engaging, and life-altering journey to experience the unconditional love of the Father as the girl He adores (that’s you!) and an opportunity to change your world! 

One of my most favorite Disney songs is “A Whole New World” from Aladdin. When I was reading these books this week, the subjects that the authors went over reminded me of that song. In, With Fresh Eyes, it was literally a “Whole New World” for Karen Wingate, because she had never been able to “see” it before. Just like how it is for new believers in Christ. Before you decide to trust in Jesus, you are blind to how beautiful the world truly is when God is known by you. Every Knee Shall Bow contains a whole other world entirely, bringing us into the Roman Empire during the rise of the Christian church. That is exactly what I love about historical fiction books. How an author can show us a perspective of a story that thousands of people have heard hundreds of times. The last book that I looked at was Rest Girl by Jami Amerine. Life is crazy, unpredictable, exhausting, and according to Jami just a little bit of rest is exactly what you need to say good-bye to the craziness of life and hello to a more focused relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and discover a whole new world in what you believe. 

“A whole new world, a new fantastic point of view” 

- A Whole New World from Aladdin

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Finding God Together

This Life We Share - Life overflows with the good and beautiful, the painful and unexpected--anxiety and peace, waiting and direction, loneliness and friendship, faith, hope, and love. Twists and turns mark our individual stories, but we need not wander those paths by ourselves. In This Life We Share, Maggie Wallem Rowe comes alongside as an empathetic friend and companion in the different seasons and struggles in life, offering hope, laughter, and wisdom for the uncertain terrain. Exploring the threads of our journeys--inner, intentional, relational, and God-led--Maggie provides winsome insights and practical guidance for caring for ourselves, loving others well, and holding the hand of God who is over it all.

Hurt Road - For Third Day guitarist Mark Lee, the road to success was not without missteps and surprises along the way. Hurt Road is the story of a young man who found in music a refuge from the uncertainties of life. Who set out to discover a better way to live than constantly struggling to make sure life turned out the way he planned. Who stopped substituting what’s next for what’s now. And who learned that through all the miles between birth and death come sweet mercies--and music for the journey.

Birds of Pray - They were the first No. 1 seed in NFL history to enter the playoffs as an underdog. Their star quarterback was out with a season-ending knee injury. The five-time Super Bowl champion New England Patriots towered over them. But public opinion didn’t matter to the Philadelphia Eagles. They believed in each other. The band of Christian brothers on the team believed in the God of the impossible, and they played for an audience of One. The most extensive book to explore the Christian faith shared by many of the team’s players, Birds of Pray details the incredible inside story behind the Eagles’ capture of the biggest prize in professional sports: the Vince Lombardi Trophy. Through exclusive interviews with the players, never-before-seen photos, and insider accounts of the miracle season’s most memorable moments, Philly native and Associated Press sports writer Rob Maaddi reveals a side of the team the world has yet to fully witness.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Marriage and Family

Love & Respect in the Family - Psychological studies affirm what the Bible has always said: children need the love that God tells us to give them [Titus 2:4]. And parents desire the respect that Scripture plainly says is our due [Exodus 20:12]. Love & Respect in the Family gives practical guidance to help break the Crazy Cycle of family conflict and replace it with a healthy, energizing rhythm. Based on what the Bible says to parents about parenting, this book focuses on achieving healthy family dynamics. Dr. Eggerichs offers unprecedented transparency by including input from his wife and three adult children, who share wisdom gained from the good, the bad, and the ugly of their family life. It’s all here in this eye-opening exploration of the biblical principles on parenting that can help make families function as God intended. 

Mother & Son - It is easy to relate to the need of all of us to feel a mother’s love, but is that the same thing as our need for respect? Based on the insight that a mother’s love is important but respect is the key to her son’s heart, this book will teach what every mom needs to know, what every son needs to hear. We all realize that little girls need their daddies love, but no one is promoting the truth that little boys (and adult ones) need their moms’ respect. No wonder mothers feel left in the dark on this topic. What makes this issue all the more urgent is that moms are coaching fathers to love their daughters, but no one has coached moms on specific ways to show respect to their sons, at least not in a way that is applicable and fully explained. Even for young boys, the Respect Effect is nothing short of astounding when applied properly.  

Sacred Marriage - Gary Thomas’s Sacred Marriage has attained the rank of a contemporary classic. Its unique and inspiring perspectives on marriage as a spiritual discipline have influenced well known church leaders, popular teachers, and thousands of readers worldwide. Sacred Marriage doesn’t tell how to build a better marriage--it shows how your marriage can help you deepen your relationship with God. From the practice of forgiveness, to the ecstasy of lovemaking, to the history you and your spouse create together, everything about your marriage is filled with the potential for discovering and revealing Christ’s character. Now with discussion questions for couples and small groups, this book may very well alter your marriage profoundly. It will most certainly change you. Because whether it is delightful or difficult, your marriage can become a doorway to a closer walk with God

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Just Be You!

Optimisfits - With passion, purpose, a large dose of humor, and a wild sense of wonder, Optimisfits offers a road map for a better way to live. It’s calling you to seize your status as an outsider and wage a fierce rebellion against the hopelessness of the world by living out an intensely optimistic approach to every day. Ben Courson and a band of misfits invite you to join them on an epic adventure with God and with the Squad. 

Finding Rest - In today’s unsettling times, even those who have never before struggled with mental health can find themselves reeling. And for Christians, especially those who’ve despaired of help from a church that has stigmatized mental health challenges as a lack of faith, the way forward can be difficult to see. Jon Seidl is the guide you need. Having fought his way through crippling anxiety, life-altering OCD, and suicidal thoughts, he knows the value of practical advice grounded in strong biblical truth. And that’s just what he offers in Finding Rest. Filled with compelling stories and humor from someone still on his own journey, this book also provides a lifeline for friends and family who long for concrete ways to help relieve the suffering of their loved ones. And it lays out thoughtful, needed paths for the body of Christ to become a refuge of hope for the anxious. 

(Un)Qualified - Many of us are overwhelmed by the gap between our weaknesses and our dreams, between who we are and who God says we are meant to be. We feel unqualified to do God’s work or to live out the possibilities we imagine. But God has a way of using our weaknesses for good. In fact, God loves unqualified people. This is a book about understanding your identity in light of who God is. It’s a book about coming to terms with the good, the bad, and the unmentionable in your life and learning to let God use you. It’s about charging into the gap between your present circumstances and your future dreams and meeting God there. After all, God can’t bless who you pretend to be. Fortunately for us God is in the business of using broken people to do big things.  

One of the mistakes that I constantly make in life is worrying about what other people think about me. Always triple checking to see if my look or my personality reaches the expectations of those around me. But like it says in (Un)qualified, “God is far less intimidated by your failures and limits than you are.” So don’t try to fit the mold that you believe everyone wants you to squeeze into. Instead, fix your eyes on the person God wants you to be. The book, (Un)qualified is filled with so many things like that, speaking to anyone who feels like they are unqualified in life. Probably one of the best metaphors I saw in this book was, “Sometimes our image and identity have been treated and retreated and bleached and buried so many times that the original color is beyond recognition.” I generally like this analogy for two reasons. One, because I know my sister has changed the color of her hair countless times, and once I get used to one color, she changes it again. And two, when I read it for the first time, I realized that I feel the exact same way about my personality. For a large part of my life, I have been changing my personality for those around me so much that the unique personality that I started out with has nearly disappeared. But when it comes to that line of thinking, another one of our inspiring books, Optimisfits, has this to say: Quit worrying about what other people think and decide to live your own adventure. If any of the great heroes of the Bible were worried about what society thought of them, their stories would have ended quite differently. The other book that I found a lot of encouraging information in, was Finding Rest. I knew right away that this book was going to be relatable, because the author used the first chapter to explain that he wasn’t a professional on the subject of anxiety or OCD. He is just a normal person like you and me, who has dealt with both anxiety and OCD on a personal basis. And he even said, “Pain and suffering are being used by God for our good and His glory.” So if we are going through a mental or physical pain, we just need to remember that the end result in God’s plan for us will be for our good and His glory. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these amazing books. Never forget to let your light shine in the darkest moments!

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. 

--Leonard Cohen

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Double Cousins and Double Friends

The Double Cousins Series - When double cousins Max Rawson and Carly Johnson with their siblings Dorie, Chad, and Molly, arrive at their grandparents’ ranch for an annual visit, they are delighted with a surprise request that changes everything. Grandpa asks them to uncover what happened to his grandfather’s twin brother Zachary, who left home to seek adventure and fortune in the West over 100 years before and was never heard from again. The only clue is a pocket watch Grandpa has that matches the one Zachary carried. Added to this real-life mystery is the sudden arrival of a new hired man, Slim, a quiet stranger with an unusual background. Will they be able to discover what happened to Zach and his watch? Who is Slim? Can he be trusted? What is he hiding? As the cousins seek answers to these questions they learn valuable lessons about forgiveness and acceptance. Over the course of seven books, the double cousins continue to solve the mystery of their long lost Great Grandfather. 

A Legacy for Life - Miriam Bradley likes to say her childhood was nearly perfect, marred only by the death of her mother. This book is a celebration of the gift the author received from God, wrapped up in her parents and grandparents. Through stories about the common sense wisdom of the adults in her life, the author shares how God gave her everything she needed, even in the face of such loss. These stories are also a challenge. Can you identify your own God-given legacy? What kind of legacy are you leaving? Will those who follow be able to say, like the author, all I have needed has been provided?

Smells Like Bacon - Tommy Woodard and Eddie James, the men who form the widely popular comedy duo The Skit Guys, have been best friends since high school. With encouragement and guidance from their youth pastor, the guys started to write and perform skits for their youth group. Since their high school days, they’ve been writing and performing hilarious and poignant skits live on stages around the world and on camera, leading to SkitGuys.com which provides content for thousands of churches and ministries. Now, this offbeat duo is coming together to present Smells Like Bacon: The Skit Guys Guide to Lifelong Friendships, about the power of having and being a good friend, one that lasts a lifetime. Written in the signature hilarity of a Skit Guys dialogue--with well-placed banter sprinkled in for good measure.

Recently, we received signed copies of Miriam Bradley’s autobiography, A Legacy for Life and her children’s book series, Double Cousins. Miriam Bradley writes heavily on the importance of family and how a family that works together, loves together. That is especially shown in Double Cousins when the cousins use teamwork to snuff out the clues of their mysterious heritage. And over the span of seven books, the cousins grow closer and gain bonds that can only be found in family. I know that when I was growing up, I was always looking forward to spending time with my cousins. Whether it was at a family reunion or at school, I was always excited to go on another adventure with them. For most of my life my “double cousins” also doubled as my best friends. This foundation for Miriam’s love for family is explained in her autobiography as she tells about the impact her grandmothers had made in her life. Another concept that was emphasized in this week’s books was friendship. This book was co-written by the Skit Guys, Tommy Woodard and Eddie James who have been friends since high school. The wisdom that they placed in this book seemed to hit some pretty good points. One of my favorite quotes that were placed there was, “Before we can be honest with others, we need to be honest with ourselves.” They even give us advice on how to be good friends and how to react when bad friends come around. Family and friends are very important in my life, and that is exactly why I enjoyed these books so much. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library, and discover these fun new books.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Reading People - If the viral personality quizzes strewn about our social media accounts are any indication, we are collectively obsessed with the idea of defining and knowing ourselves and our unique places in the world. But what we’re finding is this: knowing which famous movie character you are is easy, but actually knowing yourself isn’t as simple as just checking a few boxes on an online quiz. Backed by extensive research and illustrated with engaging stories. Reading People explains what makes you uniquely you, what makes the people in your life uniquely them, and why it all matters. Popular blogger Anne Bogel makes it easy. In this fascinating book, she collects, explores, and explains the most popular personality frameworks, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, StrengthsFinder, Enneagram, and others. She shares the life-changing insights that can be gained from each, along with practical applications across all facets of life, including love and marriage, productivity, parenting, the workplace, and spiritual life. 

No More Dragons - Becoming a dragon is a dangerously subtle process. It never happens all at once. You make a long chain of bad choices. The chain gradually wraps around you. Layer by layer, it begins to take on the aspect of scales. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror and a monster is staring back at you. You aren’t who you used to be. Instead, you’re a dragon. Jim Burgen was raised believing in Jesus, but by the time he was a college student he was very disappointed and disillusioned by “church.” As Pastor Jim Burgen narrates the remarkable process of Jesus reaching into his life and reclaiming him from himself, he implores modern church folks to shake off the trivial, sometimes weirdness, of religious churchiness in favor of the more important questions that make spiritual transformation and “undragoning” even possible to those who are looking for truth and grace. 

Half the Battle - Do you ever feel the pressure to hide your struggles in order to look like a “good Christian”? The truth is, we all face battles and hurts in our lives. Scripture is full of God-fearing men and women who tried to cover up their problems. For Mary and Martha, the death of their brother, Lazarus, was the ultimate devastation. They put his body in a dark place and rolled a stone in front of it. But God knew where they buried their pain, and He knows where you bury yours too. Jon Chasteen explores Old and New Testament examples of people whom God invited to begin the healing process by confronting their secret pain.

In the three books that I chose to write about this week, the authors all seemed to be wrestling with the same questions at one point in their lives. Is God truly there when I fight my battles? Who does God want me to be? Honestly, I can think of a few times in years past that I even asked myself those exact questions. Wondering if and when the struggles would end? And trying to figure out if who I was, was ever going to be enough. That is exactly why I found these books so interesting. In Reading People, Anne Bogel breaks down all the different personality indicators and what insights they can give you on who you truly are. But also, she reminds us that, no matter the personality type you may have, God still loves you. Next, in No More Dragons, Pastor Jim Burgen starts out by explaining how he became a “dragon” and how he slipped out of his monstrous form. But then he goes on to tell how to avoid becoming a dragon like he did. What I loved the most about his testimony was the example the pastor used when Jim came back to Christ. He recalled the story from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Eustace was turned into a dragon after discovering the cave of dragon’s treasure. As the story went on, Aslan the Lion helped Eustace remove the dragon scales, and he was transformed back into a boy. When we find ourselves covered in dragon scales and doing the destructive things that dragons do, we can only shed that all away with the help of Jesus Christ. The final book that I chose from our selection of new items, was Half the Battle. This book was filled with so many amazing quotes. One of my favorites was, “You can never tear down the walls of Jericho unless you first let God tear down the walls of your heart.” In the beginning of Jon Chasteen’s book, he uses the example of the Battle of Jericho when we think about battles that occur in the Bible. And that quote is the perfect representation of what must’ve been going through the Israelites’ heads as they were walking around the wall. Come on down to the Cross Reference Library, where advice on personality and spiritual battles can be found in these three remarkable books.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Hope in the Dark - Have you ever found yourself in a difficult time and felt like you had no one to turn to, no answers, no help? You may even start to wonder if the God you’ve always trusted is even there. And if he is, does he care about you, about what you are enduring? With real-life compassion, Pastor Craig Groeschel offers you Hope in the Dark, a book that reveals experiences of everyday people who have felt alone, as well as the little-known biblical story of Habakkuk and how he struggled with trust and doubt. Through these stories and insights, you’ll discover how God can meet you even in life’s most difficult moments. You’ll find how you really can know and discover a good and loving God, but the key is in wrestling with the pain, struggling through doubts, and even living with unanswered questions. Hope in the Dark is for those who are hurting and for those who are afraid that their faith may be failing. It offers the great and glorious knowledge that God is right there with you, especially when you need him most. 

Before Amen - We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. When the marriage is falling apart. We pray. But wouldn’t we like to pray...More? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency? Yet we have kids to feed, bills to pay, deadlines to meet. The calendar pounces on our good intentions like a tiger on a rabbit. And what about our checkered history with prayer? Uncertain words. Unmet expectations. Unanswered requests. We aren’t the first to struggle with prayer. The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance too. In fact, prayer is the only tutorial they ever requested. Jesus gave them a prayer. Not a lecture on prayer. He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Couldn’t we use the same? Join Max Lucado on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer and the power unleashed with six simple lines: Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Overload - Stress is a universal issue and must be faced on a daily basis, whether it’s from work, family challenges, relationship conflicts, or keeping up with the constant stream of information in a social media society. The demands of modern life can be all-consuming, making it hard to mute the distractions around you and receive God’s peace. Joyce Meyer calls the problem Overload--when the burdens of everyday life are overwhelming. She has experienced overload and overcome it herself. And with this book she’ll help you identify the catalysts of worry in your life, as well as offer you the practical, effective advice and scriptural wisdom you need to manage stress. Nobody is immune to stress. But through exploring the inspiring insights of the Bible, and calling on God’s strength to help you triumph over stress, you can achieve the joyful, peaceful life that is intended for you.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Fighting those Battles

Hope For Healing From Domestic Abuse - When someone leaves an abusive marriage, life isn’t instantly fixed. In fact, the road to healing after domestic abuse is exhausting. But that exit is the first powerful step toward a future of strength and bravery. Karen DeArmond Gardner personally understands the difficulties and realities of this journey. She tackled heavy struggles when she left her own abusive marriage. Now she knows the liberating truth: domestic abuse doesn’t have to be a life sentence. This isn’t a how-to book with a few easy steps. Instead, it’s a biblically based map for your journey to healing. Karen’s vulnerable inside perspective, sure voice, and incredible story of deliverance from the bonds of abuse shows the faithfulness of God, as she walks beside you through the grueling times and into the wholeness and freedom that awaits. 

At Love’s Command - Haunted by the horrors of war, ex-cavalry officer Matthew Hanger leads a band of mercenaries known as Hanger’s Horsemen who have become legends in 1890s Texas. They defend the innocent and obtain justice for the oppressed. But when a rustler’s bullet leaves one of them at death’s door, they’re the ones in need of saving. Dr. Josephine Burkett is used to men taking one at her skirts and discounting her medical skills. What she’s not used to is having a man change his mind in a heartbeat and offer to assist her in surgery. Matthew’s dedication to his friend during recovery earns Josephine’s respect, and when her brother is abducted, he becomes her only hope for rescue. When plans go awry and Josephine is caught in the crossfire, Matthew may have to sacrifice everything--even his team--to save her. 

The Heart’s Charge - Members of the legendary Hanger’s Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they’d help deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where encounters the woman he nearly married a decade ago. After failing at love, Katherine Palmer has dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society’s mold, being illegitimate and of mixed ancestry. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her by defying all her stereotypes of men, but there are secrets behind his eyes--ghosts from wars past and others still being waged. When the Horsemen hear rumors of missing children, they stay to investigate, sticking close to Harmony House and its beautiful owners. As they work together to uncover the truth, love and danger grow hand in hand until a final sinister scheme threatens to destroy them all. 

In a war, there are always so many things to be considered. How you're going to fight it, who your allies are, and who the enemy is. As you march onto the battlefield, the answers gradually become more clear over time. God will help you and he is your ally in any war you go through and Satan is and will always be your enemy. In these three stories, these people and characters face physical and emotional wars of their own. In Hope For Healing From Domestic Abuse Karen describes her physical and emotional battles and how she eventually got out and won. But her road to recovery started to look more like a cross country trip, as it does for thousands of women who undergo domestic abuse. Karen left a reminder for those women towards the end of Chapter 3, “God tells us not to be shocked or afraid, that He goes ahead of us, will fight for us, and cares for us as a father cares for His children.” In the Hanger’s Horsemen series we are introduced to a group of men who are ex-cavalry officers. And instead of leaving the battlefield completely, they decided to be a western version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. They defend the innocent and obtain justice for the oppressed. If that doesn’t sound like Robin Hood, I don’t know what does. But by living with this responsibility, they find themselves running into a lot of outlaws. Of course Matthew and a couple of the other horsemen find romance on an unexpected journey through the old west. And an old western story comes with their fair share of damsels in distress. These damsels in particular try to make their mark on society, and for any woman of the 1890s time period, that was a battle within itself. Are you going through any tough battles right now? Come on into the Cross Reference Library check these books out. Discover how they fought their battles and won.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Facing Our Fears

Afraid of the Light - Clinical psychologist Camille Brooks isn’t put off by the lifestyle of her hoarder clients and the distress of their families. She lost her mother to the crippling anxiety disorder--so she’ll go a long way to help others avoid the same pain. Despite Camille’s expertise, her growing audience for her Let In the Light podcast, and the recognition she’s gaining for her creative coaching methods, she’s not prepared for the pushback. A client who looks uncannily like her mom catches her off guard and raises long-dormant issues. And the revelation that Camille has her own hoarding problem sends her spinning. With the help of a cadre of unexpected friends, an enigma of a man who refuses to be discouraged, and the God who created and loves her, can she face her fears, pull back the curtains, and let the light into her own life?

The People Pleaser’s Guide to Loving Others Without Losing Yourself - We all want other people to like us and think well of us. But when we depend on the praise, admiration, or appreciation of others for our sense of self-worth, we become trapped in an exhausting and debilitating cycle of people pleasing relationships where we always give and rarely receive. Thankfully, the solution to the people pleaser’s “problem” isn’t to fundamentally change who you are--it’s to fundamentally change where you find your worth In this freeing book, Dr. Mike Bechtle shows you how to stop letting your fears of rejection, criticism, invisibility, or inadequacy drive your actions and start rebuilding your sense of self--worth from the inside out. When you do, you’ll discover that what you once thought of as a struggle is one of your greatest strengths.

The Way it Should Be - After years of estrangement, the lives of Zara Mahoney and her twin sister Eve, are suddenly intertwined again. When Eve’s troubled lifestyle causes the state to contact Zara about taking custody of Eve’s two children, Zara feels wholly unprepared. Besides never knowing she was an aunt, her new house, new husband, and plans for the future were meant to give her a fresh start. Meanwhile, Eve may have a real chance at a new beginning with the help of Tiff Bradley, who, after facing a heartbreaking tragedy in her own family, is dedicated to helping women everyone else has given up on. Over the course of the summer, all three women’s hearts and lives hang in the balance as Eve desperately works toward a new life. Can they redefine their expectations of how life should be to find the hope they--and those they love--so desperately need?

One of the songs that can be played here on Hope Radio is, Fear is a Liar by Zach Williams. The first and second verses of this thought provoking song gives examples of what the devil may tell you on a daily basis. But then the chorus upbeats and reassures the listener that Fear isn’t telling the truth. When your Fear causes you to think that you’re weak or stupid, remember that God is Love and that is so much stronger than the power of Fear. Unfortunately, for the people and characters in this weeks’ books, the devil takes the role of Fear in many different forms. In Afraid of the Light every single one of Camille’s clients suffer from the hoarder’s fear of letting things go. The first client we are introduced to even admits to having four or five storage units. To the hoarders, and eventually Camille, keeping all these things will somehow keep this fear of getting rid of all these things at bay. The People Pleaser’s Guide comes with a more relatable fear on my part. That is the fear of disappointing others. For most of my life I have let myself listen to the devil whenever he is behind his alias, Fear. Always believing that I am ugly or a screwup never has helped me in the slightest. So when I find Fear dictating my life I pray to God for comfort and I remember the end of the chorus from the song, “Cast your fear in the fire, cause Fear is a liar. ”When I found myself searching for a possible fear that was present in The Way it Should be, it made me sad as I found two or three. Reading through half of the book, I found that Eve held most of those fears. She was scared of her abusive boyfriend, but she was also afraid of disappointing him. Afraid of losing her kids to the state, while struggling to stop using heroin. Out of all the main characters in this book, Fear seems to lie to Eve most of all. Which is pretty ironic, because the devil lied to Eve first in the garden. That is exactly where and when he gained the alias, Fear. Don’t forget what Jesus did for us the day he stepped on Fear’s head and died for every single one of us. Stop by the Cross Reference Library and check out these three fearsome stories.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Finding the Patience of Job

Views from the Spectrum - Raising a child with autism is both a challenge and an adventure--and there can also be wonderful potential for blessings, no matter where he or she is on the spectrum. Views from the Spectrum shares the inspiring stories of twenty neurodivergent young adults and how their family’s unwavering support and faith in God helped them accomplish what was thought impossible. As a thriving adult with autism himself, Ron Sandison is determined to help the world understand the gifts that can emerge from autism--even when they differ from the expectations of typical success. Sandison weaves narrative with Scripture, sharing his journey throughout the book. Full of anecdotes, scientific research, perspectives from top experts in the field, parenting tips, prayers, devotions, and more. Views from the Spectrum is a celebration of neurodivergence, faith, and the possibilities at their intersection. 

A Promise To Protect - Acting Sheriff Ben Logan hasn’t heard from Leigh Somerall in a very long time, but it doesn’t mean he can get her--or their whirlwind romance of ten years ago--out of his head. When she calls out of the blue, it is with a strange request to protect her brother, Tony. But all too soon, Ben is charged with a different task--protecting Leigh from the people after her brother. With Leigh doing everything in her power to avoid Ben, it’s no easy task. And the secret she is keeping just may change their lives forever. 

Footsteps of Hope - The unexpected loss of her only child and much-loved daughter launched Sara Nelson on an unwanted journey into the darkness of grief. She discovered how easily the pain, purposelessness, and loss of a way of life that could never be recovered can pull a person into a quagmire of despair. Her path to recovery began with recognizing the importance of perspective, the power of positive choices, and finding personalized therapeutic strategies for difficult days. Sara tells her story with honesty and raw vulnerability as she worked through the emotional, physical, and spiritual perplexities of grief. She reveals footsteps to guide readers through the dark maze of their own grief journey to renewed light, life, and hope. 

What I have found when looking through these books, is how amazing these people must be to conquer the challenges presented to them. The kind of patience and strength they must have to make it to the end of the day seems extraordinary. So, what does it mean to be patient? According to The New Compact Bible Dictionary, the definition of patience is the quality of endurance under trials. These three selections show how crazy our trials in life can be and how easy it can be to walk away from those trials. In Views from the Spectrum Ron Sandison goes through his personal experiences with autism and other inspiring stories from many others who live in the Spectrum. Even though it is a fictional book, Sheriff Ben Logan in A Promise To Protect finds that he needs quite a bit of patience of his own. Trying to protect the woman who trusted him to keep her brother safe, proves to be quite difficult when she seems to avoid him like the plague. Finally, in Footsteps of Hope Sara isn’t telling us how to have patience and strength for others, but for ourselves. When we lose someone who is important to us, a piece of ourselves seems to go away for a while. But through an extremely long journey to recovery, Sara Nelson discovered that the best way to keep the memory of her daughter alive is to stay strong and to keep moving toward the light. The true light of Jesus Christ, as the Lamp at our feet guiding our paths. So maybe there is such a thing as having the patience of Job, which is proven by the people and characters in these books. Learn how you can too by stopping by the Cross Reference Library and checking out these unforgettable page-turners.