We tend to think being "stressed out" is a normal state of affairs, and that contentment means sitting back and just bottling things up. For the Christian, however, contentment is something we must apply, work at, and make our own in every circumstance, because anxiety and frustration are not neutral behaviors.

How does a woman build her house? Nancy Wilson begins with the kitchen table, remembering how each scratch and stain in the wood chronicles "hours of stories and jokes, questions and concerns (through courtships and pregnancies), prayers and discussions." She continues, each essay full of stories and encouragement—the beauty of imperfection, the comfort of Velveeta, the strengths of mothers- and daughters-in-law, the honesty that is submission, the laughter of reading aloud.

Modern women - who use psychotherapeutic antidepressants at a rate never before seen in history - need liberating now more than ever. The truth is, feminists don't know what liberation is. They have led us into a very boring dead end. Once those fictionalized stereotypes are out of the way - whether they're things that make you gag or things you think look pretty fun - Christians can focus on real women. What did God make real women for?

This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.

Where can you turn when you long for a quiet refuge when life gets too busy, too impersonal, or too much to handle? To the comforting arms of our omnipotent and infinitely loving heavenly Father. In Keep a Quiet Heart, beloved author Elisabeth Elliot shares more than 100 short passages that help you learn to know, trust, and walk with God in a world that does everything in its power to distract us. If you long for a bit of relief and rest, let Elisabeth Elliot be your compassionate guide.