Hope during trying times ... Refuse to participate in the recession ... Find out how to: make a budget that you will understand and actually use, get out of debt and stay that way, communicate with your spouse about finances, invest with confidence, and change your financial future. Led by Rob and Laura Urbanski the next group starts April 12, 2010. 

This challenging and provocative book strips the veneer from the financial advice of some popular evangelical media celebrities and advocates a reintegrating of faith and finances. Faithful Finances 101 is a first-person narrative by an outspoken advocate of faith-based investing.

A senior vice president of investments at Paine Webber before founding his own investment firm as "counsel to ethical and spiritual investors," Gary Moore warns that much of the economic advice emanating from some popular and influential evangelical authors and speakers is based on scare tactics and distortions of what the Bible has to say about finances. He draws on fifty years of studying the Bible, politics, and economics, and presents insights for those who want to be faithful in their finances--to use one hundred percent of the time, talent, and treasure with which they have been entrusted for the glory of God as well as for the benefit of others and themselves, and not just give ten percent of their incomes, to the church.

More at Google Books.

Here's a thoughtful, probing exploration of why Christians get stuck in the place of complacency, dryness, and tedium -- and how to move on to new levels of spiritual passion! Buchanan shows how the majority of Christians begin their spiritual journey with excitement and enthusiasm -- only to get bogged down in a "borderland" -- an in-between space beyond the "old life" but short of the abundant, adventurous existence promised by Jesus.

Citing Jonah, he examines the problem of "borderland living" -- where doubt, disappointment, guilt, and wonderlessness keep people in a quagmire of mediocrity -- then offers solutions ... effective ways to get unstuck and move into a bold, unpredictable, exhilarating walk with Christ. Inspired writing!

With his characteristic warmth and humor, Dr. Kevin Leman offers a practical guide to sex according to God's plan in his book, Sheet Music. This frank and practical book is a perfect resource for married and soon-to-be-married couples.

You can make beautiful sexual music. In Sheet Music, psychologist and family expert Dr. Kevin Leman makes it clear: If you and your spouse work in tandem, you'll create some of the most stunning sounds ever heard! All it takes is practice...and the right attitude, says Dr. Leman. Sex is about the quality of your entire love life, not just the alignment of your bodies. So if you're willing to forge ahead for the sake of the best marriage you can imagine, this book is for you. It will expand and challenge your thinking, help you start your marriage off right, or go from humdrum to exciting if you're already married.

Intimate Allies: Counselor Dan Allender and theologian Tremper Longman III merge their minds and skills to strip away cultural expectations and takes a fresh look at God's design for the marriage relationship. The authors focus on five foundations taken from Genesis 1-3 and include an extensive review of other biblical passages on marriage. Each section begins with a real-life story concerning an unresolved marriage issue and concludes with the same story built on the "foundation" of a godly marriage. With eloquence and wisdom, Intimate Allies will challenge readers to move their marriages out of the mundane and into the fulfilling and enriching experiences God intended.

Preview the book and find resources at Google Books.

A superb book on marriage's unique challenges and the critical ingredients for a healthy marriage - the husband's love of his wife, and the wife's respect for her husband, based on the teaching of Ephesians 5:33.

Love & Respect: The Love She Most Desires, The Respect He Desperately Needs by Emerson Eggerichs

Building upon the Four Pillars of Manhood model set forth in his bestseller Tender Warrior, author Stu Weber leads readers in an expanded, in-depth biblical exploration of what it means to be a king, warrior, mentor, and friend.

Addressing key circumstances faced by men of all ages and backgrounds, Four Pillars of a Man's Heart focuses on areas of struggle and opportunity faced by husbands, fathers, and single men of all ages and backgrounds.

Author: Stu Weber  Publisher MULTNOMAH PR, 1999 ISBN 1576734501, 9781576734506  ... More at Google Books

More References from 10/25:

• Visit the International Council for Gender Studies, publishers of the Five Aspects of Man and Five Aspects of Woman courses on Biblical manhood and womanhood at: www.FiveAspects.com.
• The mission of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is to set forth the teachings of the Bible about the complementary differences between men and women, created equally in the image of God ... visit their sit at: www.cbmw.org.
• The Council on Biblical Equality, www.CBEInternational.org, is an organization of Christian men and women who believe that the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of men and women of all ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups . . .

A Tale of Two Trees

Mark (X) where you think you are within each set of the statements.