Bøger af Paula Wiseman

Identity comes from understanding your place and how you fit in. Son, brother, that kind of thing. Sometimes, though, we take on an identity based on what we do. My older brother died a war hero. I was the quiet one. The college boy. I thought if I got good grades and kept from getting drafted, I was home free. I was wrong. But Jesus didn't save me to make my life easier or to give me what I wanted. He didn't even save me to help me feel good about myself. He saved me because He loved me. I never understood the depth and wonder of that love until I saw my own incurable brokenness. Seeing that brokenness was only the beginning. Restoration comes but not without testing. I knew the tests weren't over. Far from it.

Identity comes from understanding your place and how you fit in. Son, brother, that kind of thing. Sometimes, though, we take on an identity based on what we do.My older brother died a war hero. I was the quiet one. The college boy. I thought if I got good grades and kept from getting drafted I was home free.I was wrong.But Jesus didn't save me to make my life easier or to give me what I wanted. He didn't even save me to help me feel good about myself. He saved me because He loved me. I never understood the depth and wonder of that love until I saw my own incurable brokenness.Seeing that brokenness was only the beginning. Restoration comes but not without testing. I knew the tests weren't over. Far from it.

We know King David. And Solomon. Maybe even Hezekiah and Josiah. But there were many other kings in Judah, and admittedly, some were terrible. However, there were some good kings, not perfect kings, but good kings. These good kings can serve as examples of things we can do even in our culture, in our lives to honor God. And because they weren't perfect, they also serve as warnings to us. All of these guys-Asa, Jehoshaphat, Joash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham-should encourage us and bring us hope. That's why we have their stories. This study is for you if. . . - You ever wanted to do right but wavered.- You ever looked to the wrong people for help.- You ever walked away from God.- You ever felt pressure to conform to the culture.- You ever suffered great failures after great victories.- You ever wondered if a godly life is worth it.

DECEPTION LEFT THEM BROKEN. ENCOUNTERING GOD LEFT THEM UNDONE.Idols are rarely ever the little statues we imagine. Sometimes they pass themselves off as a genuine, legitimate need--a need to be seen, to be valued, to be loved. When my hidden idol was exposed, it became David's shame, too, except his came mingled with betrayal. I believed the damage to him and to our marriage was irreparable.I was wrong.My father taught me that I was insignificant. That lesson was difficult to unlearn. I was certain that my husband and even God Himself felt the same way. However, when the idols and the masks and the lies were stripped away, only the truth was left. The searing, relentless truth. About myself, about David, about God.And the truth set me free.

An encounter with her changed his future. An encounter with God changed him. People don't set out to fail. Sometimes failure happens spectacularly with plenty of notorious attention. Other times, it comes quietly, almost with a sigh of relief. When my wife asked me for a divorce hours after my father's funeral, only the timing was a surprise. I believed the failure of my marriage from beginning to end, along with heartache it caused, especially to my father, was unredeemable. I was wrong. My father was one of the finest men I ever knew. He left me a great example and a cherished legacy, one I couldn't run from, no matter how ashamed I was to face it. Every step I took brought more trouble, though. In those months after my father died, my uncle Nolan helped me discover I needed to make peace with a lot more than Phil Shannon's memory. So I did what any prodigal would do. I decided to go home. Deciding to go is one thing. Getting there is another matter.

Secrets come in all sorts and sizes. Sometimes, they are as sweet as an engagement ring in a nervous boy's pocket. Other times ... they threaten to shatter your very self. With those kinds of secrets, it's difficult to judge if keeping it or telling it is more damaging. For years, I believed telling my secret was far more dangerous than anything imaginable. I was wrong. My daddy was one of the finest men Allen County, Tennessee ever produced. His brother, Hollis, was a devil from hell. I could never bring myself to tell Daddy or Mama the truth about what Hollis had done, and I was sure God counted me just as guilty. So I carried it inside and never told another living soul. Except for David Lee. Until that summer Phil's daddy died. Then everything unraveled.

Doug Bolling has never walked away from a fight in his life, but when the doctor confirms he has Alzheimer's disease, he knows this battle will be unlike any he's ever faced. His greatest fear is not losing his memories -- it's losing control of them. There are things he's never confessed to anyone, not to Mark, not to his first wife, not even to Cass. What will happen when his mind loses the ability to guard those secrets? For Cass, her storybook romance crumbles in the face of hard reality as she takes on the daunting task of raising their young sons and shouldering the ever-increasing burden of caring for Doug. She soon discovers that will mean untangling Doug's past and helping him find peace before time runs out. For Mark, there was no question that leaving the mission field after hearing his father's diagnosis was the right thing to do, but clashes with Cass cause him to question how he fits in. As the disease takes its toll on Doug and his family, he wonders if the diagnosis is the final word from the God he dismissed and defied for so many years. What if God isn't pronouncing judgment, though? What if He's asking Doug to surrender, to let go of everything he has built ... even his legacy."

Just months after Shannon's homecoming, she finds readjusting to life at home is not as easy as she anticipated. A new wave of guilt crashes over her as her family learns that her encounter with Dylan Snider was anything but consensual. Complicating matters is Matt Bolling. The former missionary kid turned preacher is more than interested in her, but she is certain after her months as a prodigal, Matt is out of her league. With her cancer gone and retired from teaching, Bobbi struggles to find purpose beyond caring for her family. When she proposes taking over Brad's mission, that touches off an unforeseen conflict with her husband. Chuck's quest for justice unexpectedly forces him to reexamine his definitions of forgiveness and grace when events demand that he seek it from and offer it to the unlikeliest people.

Doug Bolling lost his wife of twenty years just as their stormy marriage was beginning to thrive, and he bitterly blames God. He tries to reconnect with his son, but it seems Mark is only interested if the relationship comes wrapped in religion. Mark claims he's just following God when he moves his family, including Doug's grandsons, further away, first to pastor, then to attend seminary. With frustrated resignation, Doug turns his attention to building a new life and a new home for himself and interior designer, Cassandra Grayson. The conflict erupts as Mark is preparing to leave for the mission field in Kenya. He delivers an ultimatum, cutting off all contact between his kids and their grandfather. God may have ripped away his wife and his son, but Doug draws the line at his grandchildren. Mark's attempt to force him to choose between the woman he loves and the grandkids he adores, drives Doug to one fateful desperate act, even if it means destroying his relationship with his son.

When Brad Molinsky's life is cut short by a stray bullet... Jack loses more than a brother, and slips into directionless despondency. Shannon's grief finds its outlet in angry rebellion, but with devastating consequences. Chuck struggles with a sense of powerlessness and with the fear he's brought a far-reaching curse on his family with his affair. Bobbi teeters on the edge of emotional collapse, but a cancer diagnosis seems to offer her a way out. Yet, in their darkest moments, God sends hope and answers from the most unexpected places.

After years of believing Chuck's affair is behind them, Bobbi's marriage is tested again when Tracy Ravenna resurfaces. Tracy's not alone, though. Jackson Charles Ravenna is the newest student in Bobbi's first grade class and the spitting image of her husband. When Chuck decides to pursue joint custody, they discover Jack isn't the only secret Tracy's been hiding. As Tracy's past begins to threaten their future with Jack, Bobbi is forced to face the unsettling truth about God's grace. But this time, what will it cost to forgive the unforgivable?

Where was God? Bobbi Molinsky's comfortable life is shattered when a forwarded email from her husband's account lands in her inbox. The email teases, "My whole evening is free again." After an angry confrontation with Chuck, she is left with the broken remains of an eighteen year marriage. Where is God? Bobbi agrees forgiving Chuck is the right thing, the God-honoring thing to do, but it leaves her empty and isolated. Teaching her second-graders is a burden. Taking care of her boys saps all her energy. It seems God Himself has walked away, leaving her to struggle alone. Is God faithful? Bobbi can't deny the transformation in Chuck, but genuine forgiveness requires trust, and trust is a risk she's not willing to take. Can she let go of her deepest, most primal fears and save her marriage?

When Doug Bolling sues for custody of his grandchildren, he sincerely believes he's rescuing them from a life of religious fanaticism, but it is also the latest battle in his long war with God. Mark Bolling finally found the acclaim and respect he so desperately craved as a missionary in Kenya, but it meant abandoning a promise he had made to his dying mother years earlier. Now, this father and son, locked in the legal battle of lifetime, are forced to face their own fears and failures. As each man is stripped of what he holds most dear, Doug and Mark discover victory will require nothing less than complete surrender.