But be forewarned, once you start, you may not be able to stop! Help, I Can’t Stop Laughing! offers a collection of nonstop fun, foibles, and rib-tickling humor for those who know that laughter is the best medicine. Contributors like Barbara Johnson, Martha Bolton, Mark Lowry, Patsy Clairmont, Becky Freeman, and Chonda Pierce share their most hilarious and embarrassing moments to remind you that God’s love and a little laughter will keep you smiling no matter what curves life throws you. This cheerful collection of quips, stories, anecdotes, and quotes offers a continual source of refreshment in the midst of life’s struggles and stresses. Let the laughter begin!

Ann Spangler believes it’s possible to transform the crazy, wonderful, stressful season we call Christmas into one of greater peace and deeper joy by recovering the gift of Advent.For hundreds of years, Christians have prepared for Christmas by carefully observing the four-week season leading up to it. What’s more, when Christmas did arrive, they celebrated not just for one day but for twelve! So four weeks for Advent and nearly two weeks for Christmas makes six weeks, which is why Ann Spangler has prepared this six-week Christmas devotional.Drawing from her bestselling books Praying the Names of God and Praying the Names of Jesus, Spangler selected six names or titles—including Immanuel, Yeshua, and Bright Morning Star. Each name offers a week’s worth of devotions focusing on God, the miraculous birth of his son, and the promise of his return. In Immanuel, you’ll discover a perfect balance of prayer, reflection, and study to help you open your heart fully to the birth of Jesus and all that it means.

What can the Bible’s most flawed men and women reveal about who God is and how he reaches out to less-than-perfect people? In Less Than Perfect, bestselling author Ann Spangler takes us beyond cardboard cutouts of 38 biblical characters to show us how these were real individuals who had dreams, temptations, and weaknesses just like us.

Whether considering the murderous Herodias, the scheming Jacob, or the doubting Sarah, Spangler approaches both familiar and lesser known characters with fresh eyes. We meet each of these individuals again as if for the first time as Spangler offers a dramatic retelling of their lives, insight into the historical and cultural context of their time, and key takeaway points for our lives today. The audiobook companion PDF download includes questions for discussion or reflection that correspond to each chapter, making Less Than Perfect ideal for individual or group Bible study.

Entertaining, informative, and inspirational, Less Than Perfect gives you a big picture view of the Bible even as it takes you into the hearts and minds of people with struggles just like yours. As you learn more about the individuals who are part of your spiritual family tree, you’ll discover why God loves to use imperfect people to tell his perfect story of redemption.

Men of the Bible offers both men and women a fresh way to read and understand the Bible–through the eyes and hearts of the men whose stories unfold in its pages.

This unique book takes a close-up look at fifty-two men in Scripture–complex flesh-and-blood characters whose strengths and weaknesses will seem strangely similar to your own. Heroes and villains, sinners and prophets, commoners and kings–their dramatic life stories provide you with a fresh perspective on the unfolding story of redemption.

Though our culture differs vastly from theirs, the fundamental issues we face in relation to God and the world remain the same. We still reach for great dreams and selfish ambitions. We wrestle with fear and indecision, struggle with sexual temptation, and experience the ache of loneliness and the devastation of betrayal. And, like many of these men, we long to walk more closely with the God who calls us into an intimate relationship with himself and who enables us to fulfill his purpose for our lives.

Men of the Bible offers men and women today a unique devotional experience that combines five elements. Each week becomes a personal retreat focused on the life of a particular man:

• Monday: His Story–a narrative retelling of the biblical story
• Tuesday: A Look at the Man–focusing on the heart of the man and how his story connects with your own life
• Wednesday: His Legacy in Scripture–a Bible study on principles revealed through the life of the man
• Thursday: His Legacy of Promise–Bible promises that apply to his life and yours
• Friday: His Legacy of Prayer–praying in light of his story

Designed for personal prayer and study or for use in small groups, Men of the Bible will help you make Bible reading a daily habit. Whether you dip into portions or read every page, this book will help you grow in character, wisdom, and obedience as a person after God’s own heart.

Children need the love, wisdom, and nurture that mothers are uniquely capable of giving. Mothers of the Biblecan help you fulfill your own calling as a mother by offering insights from God’s Word. Exploring the lives of women in the Bible can help strengthen your faith and your effectiveness as a mother. Like you, these mothers wanted the best for their children. And like you, they sometimes faced difficulties that challenged their faith. Looking to them can help deepen your understanding of Scripture, enabling you to experiencemore of God’s love so you can reflect that love to your children.Adapted from Women of the Bible, Mothers of the Bible furnishes a unique twelve-week devotional experience. Each week becomes a personal retreatfocused on the life of a particular biblical mother.Designed for personal prayer and study or for use in small groups, Mothers of the Biblewill help you groundyour relationship with your children on God’s Word.

The Bible tells us that those who place their trust in Jesus and pray in one of His many names will be rewarded with gifts of joy, peace, and power. Join Ann Spangler, bestselling author of Praying the Names of God, as she guides you into a richer and more rewarding relationship with Christ by helping you to understand and pray His names on a daily basis.

His many titles, including “Good Shepherd,” “Bread of Life,” “Light of the World,” “Prince of Peace,” and “Bright Morning Star,” reveal who Jesus is and why he came into this world. But how much do you know about Jesus’ names?

Praying the Names of Jesus is a twenty-six-week devotional study that explores the most prominent names of Jesus throughout the New Testament. Each name or title is broken down into three sections each week:

• Monday: Study a portion of Scripture that reveals a specific name of Jesus
• Tuesday through Thursday: Pray specific Scripture passages related to the name
• Friday: Pray Scripture promises connected to the name

 

As you learn more about the many names of Jesus, you’ll gain a more intimate knowledge of Jesus and his plan for your life, move toward a deeper experience of his love and mercy, and see how each of his names holds within it a promise: Teacher, Healer, Friend, Lord–and God with Us, no matter what we’re facing.

Study questions are available in the audiobook companion PDF download.

The best of the best–stories, one-liners, and jokes from some of today’s funniest Christian speakers and best-selling writers This new book, like its best-selling predecessors, is packed with the kind of smiles and smirks, chuckles and giggles that thousands of readers have come to love and expect. It includes some of the funniest stories from today’s Christian writers like Barbara Johnson, John Ortberg, Mark Buchanan, Patsy Clairmont, Becky Freeman, Chonda Pierce, and more. Whether the topic is kids, marriage, pets, church, parenting, aging, or life’s most embarrassing moments, the writers will help you keep life in perspective by revealing their own foibles, follies, and failings. Realizing that laughter and faith can go hand in hand, they offer real-life anecdotes that will keep your world in balance even–and especially–when life gets tough.

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to journey back to the first century and sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus as one of his Jewish disciples? Join Ann Spangler and Lois Tverberg as they share a rare opportunity to know Jesus as his first disciples did.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus¬†takes you on a fascinating tour of the Jewish world of Jesus, offering inspirational insights that can transform your faith. Spangler and Tverberg paint powerful scenes from Jesus’ ministry, immersing you in the prayers, feasts, history, culture, and customs that shaped Jesus and those who followed him.

Within the pages of Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus, you’ll:

• Hear the parables as they must have sounded to first-century Jews
• See the events of Jesus’ life in a brand new light
• Experience new excitement about the roots of your Christian faith
• Learn how the customs, beliefs, and traditions of the Jewish culture can shift the way you view the gospel

 

This expanded edition also includes a discussion guide for both individuals and groups, and instructions for a simple home Passover Seder celebration.

Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus will change the way you read Scripture and deepen your understanding of the life of Jesus, helping you to adapt the rich prayers and customs and integrate them into your daily life.

Praise for Sitting at the Feet of Rabbi Jesus:

“Drawing upon personal experiences as well as the latest Jewish and Christian scholarship in Israel, the authors skillfully guide you on a wonderful journey into Jesus’ first-century Jewish world–exploring his culture, his lifestyle as an itinerant sage, and his well-honed rabbinic teaching methods and subtle but startling messianic claims. This book makes you really eager to sit at the feet of Rabbi Jesus and learn from the One we joyously serve as both Messiah and Lord. I commend it to every follower of Jesus of Nazareth.”

–Dwight A. Pryor, Center for Judaic-Christian Studies

If God has promised to give us the “peace that passes understanding,” why do we sometimes feel so anxious? What are we so afraid of? Are there ways of living that lead to peace? Conversely, are there ways of thinking and acting that lead to anxiety and a conflicted life? How does Jesus embody peace and where did his peace come from? The Peace God Promises sets our longings for peace beside God’s promise to provide it. In her desire to experience greater peace, bestselling author Ann Spangler probes these and other questions. Exploring the stories that shape us, the memories that define us, and the relationships that connect us, she looks for ways to help us become more peaceful. What can we learn from Scripture, from Jewish tradition, from the Amish and others about rest, simplicity, healing, and peace? The stories she shares and the answers she discovers may surprise you. If you put them into practice, they may even transform you, enabling you to experience the peace God wants you to have.

Names have power–and knowing God’s name is to enjoy a kind of privileged access to him. Join bestselling author Ann Spangler as she invites you to experience God’s love and power by exploring the Hebrew names of God.

Names in the ancient world did more than simply distinguish one person from another. In fact, they often conveyed the essential nature and character of a person. This is especially true when it comes to the names of God recorded in the Bible: El Shaddai, Elohim, Adonai, Abba, El Elyon.

Praying the Names of God is a twenty-six-week devotional study that explores the most prominent names of God in the Old Testament to reveal the deeper meanings behind them and to teach you how to pray through them. Each name or title is broken down into three sections each week:

• Monday: Study a portion of Scripture that reveals a specific name of God
• Tuesday through Thursday: Pray specific Scripture passages related to the name
• Friday: Pray Scripture promises connected to the name

As you journey through this devotional, you’ll gain a more intimate understanding of who God is and how he can be relied upon in every circumstance of your life, enabling you to echo the psalmist’s prayer: “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.”

Over the years, Ann Spangler has read through the Bible several times, plowing straight through from Genesis to Revelation. But like many people who tend to be self-critical, Ann found it easier to absorb the harsher-sounding passages in the Bible than those that speak of God’s love and compassion. Then one day, Ann listened as her friend Joan talked about a time in her life when she became convinced of God’s love. Ann expected her friend to reveal something complicated and difficult, a tragedy perhaps that God had brought her through. But Joan had simply decided to set aside one month in which she would act as though God loved her. And that settled it for her–for good.In the months that followed, Ann decided to develop a remedial course in which she could reflect morning and evening on the most tender words of God in the Bible. She prayed that God’s penetrating Word would transform her as she hunted through Scripture for words of mercy, compassion, peace, and protection. The Tender Words of God is the result of this process, offering ninety days of devotional readings on some of Scripture’s most encouraging words. While the core of the book is Scripture, each week contains reflections and daily prayers that chronicle Ann’s struggle to know God better. These are included not because she believes her quest is all that remarkable, but precisely because she knows it is ordinary, expressing as it does our common longing to love and be loved, especially by the One who made us. Ann invites you to join her on this journey to know God better, to let his tender words become like guardians at the beginning and at the end of each day, convincing you once and for all of his faithful, committed love.

Year after year, Ann Spangler has provided readers with uniquely appealing devotional books. When You Need a Miracle continues the tradition by selecting the best stories from her first two books, An Angel a Day and A Miracle a Day, to offer readers a picture of a God who is far bigger and better than most people think. By combining stories from the Bible with stories of contemporary men and women who have experienced miracles or angels, Ann helps readers recognize the hand of a loving, all-powerful God at work in this world of anxiety and uncertainty.Anyone who has longed for a miracle will take heart from the remarkable stories in this book. They remind us that, even in the midst of trouble and trial, one thing remains true: We belong to a God who is eager and able to care for us through his wisdom, kindness, and unfailing mercy.Each of these ninety devotions opens with a key Scripture and closes with a prayer.

Women of the Bible¬†is a bestselling devotional study focused on fifty-two remarkable women in Scripture. As you learn more about these incredible women, their everyday joys, and their struggles to live with faith and courage, you’ll see that their stories aren’t far from our own.

This updated and expanded year-long devotional, now with over one million copies sold, invites you to take a closer look at the lives of fifty-two prominent–and not-so-prominent–women of Scripture, offering a fresh perspective on the story of salvation. From Eve to the Proverbs 31 woman, you’ll have a chance to see the women of the Bible in a brand new light.

Authors Ann Spangler and Jean E. Syswerda dive into the lives of fifty-two women of the Bible, spending one week getting to know each of them better through an interactive devotional. Each week, you’ll learn:

• Her story–an inspirational portrait of this character’s life
• Her life and times–background information about the culture of her day
• Her legacy in Scripture–a short Bible study on her life with application to your own
• Her promise–the Bible’s promises that apply to her life and yours
• Her legacy of prayer–praying in light of her story

Other special features in Women of the Bible include:

• A theme index
• A list and timeline of all the women of the Bible
• A list of women in Jesus’s family tree
• A list of women in Jesus’s life and ministry

Perfect for personal prayer and Bible study or for use in small groups, Women of the Bible offers a new perspective that will strengthen your personal relationship with God and will give you a deeper appreciation for the women of faith who have come before us.