Do you walk out of Church on Sunday wondering, "Is that all there is?" Do you find after a spiritual meal a residual craving, as if there was a missing course ... and what about dessert? We are the Bride of Christ, His Church, not the edifice on the corner of Doctrine Boulevard and Religion Avenue; each one of us, members one of another, bound together with our believing neighbors both near and far, known to us and unknown by us; united into one body by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are at crossroads today; pressure is on; Father God is instructing: The Bride will be driven out of the 'church' into her integrity, into her chastity, into her purity, into her community. The call today is a call to unity: humility and self-sacrifice, service to others in Christ, bearing one another's burdens, submitting ...strengths serving weakness, surplus supplying lack, all serving the Lord through serving one another in love. Come with me again to the beginning, learning foundational steps for walking together peaceably with our Lord upon and above the waters of this life as we head towards home with God.

Though their names are never mentioned, the Gospels are filled with characters that left a footprint. Courage. Friendship. Worship. Explore the lives of the unnamed characters and be challenged to think about the footprint you are leaving behind.

First published in 1916 ‘The Bride of a Moment’ is the first of two works by author Carolyn Wells which follow the exploits of gentleman detective Alan Ford. In the town of Bascombe Fells, a beautiful young bride has just said her vows at the altar. Moments later, she has been struck dead by an unknown killer. With a host of possible suspects and motives, private investigator Alan Ford has his work cut out as he tries to get to the bottom of the case. Carolyn Wells (1862-1942) was a prolific American novelist and poet, best known for her children’s literature, mystery novels and humorous verse. Born in New Jersey, following school Wells worked as a librarian where she developed her love of reading, and her first book ‘At the Sign of the Sphinx’ was published in 1896. From 1900 Wells dedicated herself to her literary career, writing over 170 novels in total across a range of genres. Some of her most loved works include the ‘Patty Fairfield’ and ‘Marjorie Maynard’ series for girls, as well as the ‘Fleming Stone’ mystery series for adults. Wells is also well-known for her humorous nonsense verse, and was a frequent contributor of verse to magazines. She published an autobiography ‘The Rest of my Life’ in 1937. Wells died in New York City in 1942.

It all happened in mid-June, 2013. The nature’s fury had broken loose in Kedarnath valley………….. Excerpts from the book:- …….It didn’t take long for nature to reveal its frightening designs. It was indeed a natural calamity, but, a manmade disaster too. The sudden blackening of the blue sky, which Inder had witnessed, was caused by a cloud burst over the Chorabali Tal, situated at the height of 14,000ft, four km. from the Kedarnath temple…… It remains blanketed throughout the year with snow white flakes. The clouds poured – god knows how many thousand cusecs of water- into the lake. Consequently the walls of the lake could no longer withstand the water pressure and were breached at several points, releasing a huge water jinn which tore apart whatever tried to block it. And then …when no shackle was left to constrain it, the jinn was free to wreak havoc upon the lives of the people…. …….Chetak again raised its two bleeding forelimbs to hit the attacker. But by that fraction of a second the war was lost and won. The poor dog tried to bark. But its neck was stifled between the leopard’s two sets of teeth. The hapless creature could not make even a final cry. Blood was oozing from its throat. The black brown hairs of the neck gradually became crimson. ……..The birds had returned to their nests. They were chirping all around. The leaves of the kafol tree were fluttering in the evening breeze and emanating the sound like ankle-bells. The temple bells were ringing. Standing on the ramparts of heaven, with silver peak railings on the sides, the not so bright moon was smiling and peeking through the fluttering leaves of the peepal tree in front of their house. The heaven and earth extended a warm welcome to the long lost son of the family. The sky above Himalaya was bathed in a crimson red hue.

The newborn baby cry announced that he was alive, heaven applauded, but the world slapped a label on his forehead. There began Ron's life story of jeers, rejection, ridicule, unwelcome comments, strange looks, laughter and abandonment. How can one tame emotions not to run away with every experience of life's troubles? This is a book that reveals the resilience of a human spirit in the face of life's troubles. In reading this book, you will be challenged, encouraged, motivated, and hopefully will lead you to search your own heart and find your purpose in life. For this reason I was born, to be a conduit of God's love. —Ron Willson

Traces the adventure of marriage and the many diverse ways it is celebrated throughout the world.

In this compelling look at the footprints engraved forever in the sands of time, Dr. Jerry Goff reveals the identifying marks of the feet of "the Bride." This candid history is the exciting biography of the Bride, not a dusty and dry story but the thrilling truth behind the saga of the Church.In this book, we find the heritage of the Church and study the people and events which have shaped her. Here we find the history we must all learn and remember if the Church is to progress and if the truth is to continue without deviation. The Bride of today must first learn where her beginning lays before she can look ahead to where her future leads.

Although in Hinduism it is mainly used to refer to widow immolation, the term 'sati' means 'true woman' - a female hero. Whitney Kelting has learned that in Jainism satis appear as subjects of devotional hymns. This seems paradoxical, given that Jain spirituality is to disengage oneself from worldly existence and Jain devotionalism is usually directed toward those souls who have reached perfect detachment. In fact, however, there is a vast corpus of popular texts, many of them written by prominent scholar-monks between the 16th and 18th centuries, illustrating the distinctly worldly virtues of devoted Jain wives. In this fieldwork-based study, Kelting explores the ways in which Jain women use sati narratives and rituals to understand wifehood as a choice, which these women's ongoing ritual practices continually shape. She focuses on eight well-known Jain sati narratives, recorded in both formal ritual contexts and in informal retellings, and also as read aloud from printed versions. She finds that one of the principal functions of Jain sati narratives is to contribute to a discourse of wifehood, which addresses the concerns of Jain laywomen within the Jain value system and provides a fertile context in which Jain women can explore their questions of virtue and piety.