From Terror and Scars to Beauty and Redemption

A noted musician wrestles with God to find meaning, hope, and His glory

in the aftermath of family tragedy.

Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—As her older brother battled for his life in the ICU, Candi Pearson-Shelton sat waiting and praying with her family for a miracle. The Scriptures were more precious to them in those hours than ever. As Candi poured over the words from Isaiah chapter 40, a song was born. A voice cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord. Make straight in the desert a highway for our God…. Then every eye will see the glory of the Lord revealed. The days and months and years that would follow would be painful, but Candi and her family found in the words of this biblical song a sort of mission—a call to find the glory of the Lord shining through the sorrow and to reflect that glory to all those around them.

And when death finally came, by the grace of God, they were able to find purpose through the pain. In fact, they found a depth of beauty in the abyss of the loss that they never could have imagined. Candi discovered that her vision was too narrow, that her lens was too tainted by her own perceptions of fairness and justice and her own desire to control the outcome.

In the fiercely honest yet faithful book, Desperate Hope: When Faith in God Overcame My Despair, Candi shares the lessons that came to them along their journey, offering a song of praise to One who, in the midst of tragedy, pain and confusion, revealed not only His glory but also beauty, unexpected graces, a hope more grounded in faith and a shifted perspective that changed nothing but somehow made all the difference.

“I write these thoughts out of necessity,” the author reflects. “There is value in recording the gentle whispers and hard-learned faith lessons that make up the aftermath, springing up like tender shoots of vivid green grass through the contrasting blackened dry soot. These are my blades of grass, the lessons in the aftermath, told with the heart of an adventurer fresh from the adventure, brimming with tales of terror and scars, of beauty and redemption.”

All of the profits from the sale of Desperate Hope will go to the Rick Pearson Memorial Fund, a non-profit that exists to extend the hope of Christ to others by championing the interests and organizations that Rick passionately supported. Monies that are donated to the Rick Pearson Memorial Fund are used to help support organizations like Compassion International, Bigstuf Camps, The 410 Bridge, Passion Conferences and most recently, a scholarship fund for students who want to pursue a ministry of music with an emphasis on missions.

There is a song entitled “One Breath, Then Another,” that will accompany the book. There will be a code inside each book to redeem online for a free download of the song.

About the author: Candi Pearson-Shelton is a worship leader, songwriter and independent artist. Known for her involvement with the Passion worship movement, she also wrote and performed the title track on the Dove-award-winning album, Glory Revealed. She and her husband Jonathan live in Southern California with their son, Elias.

Desperate Hope by Candi Pearson-Shelton

David C Cook/February 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1-4347-6614-4/224 pages/softcover/$12.99

www.davidccook.com

What does Jesus have to say to you?

Ever wonder what Jesus might say to you if you met him on the street? Chances are his message to you wouldn’t be all that different from what it was two thousand years ago, even though you live in a totally different world. You can discover what he said–and what it means for you–by reading his words preserved in the Bible.

Life offers you 90 short devotions that help you encounter Jesus’ words for yourself. Popular author Melody Carlson unpacks the message that Jesus wanted his followers to understand. Then she shows you how it applies to your life during the highs and lows of school, family life, relationships, and more.

If you want to read the Bible for all it’s worth, check out this second book in the Words from the Rock series.

Operation Kid-to-Kid^™ Blankets a Hurting World with God’s Love

Tonight in countries around the world, children will go to sleep hungry and cold, without parents, without homes…without hope. Now your ministry group can send a simple, tangible expression of God’s love to those in need.

Group Publishing, the premier publisher of children’s Bible curricula, including Sunday school and VBS, believes that some of the best ministers to children who are experiencing disaster and hardship are other children. Through the Operation Kid-to-Kid (OK2K) program, Group partners with nondenominational Christian ministries like Biblica (formerly International Bible Society) and World Vision to provide opportunities for children in North America to share God’s love with other children in difficult or disastrous situations. In 2009 alone, Operation Kid-to-Kid reached almost one million children. Since its inception 12 years ago, Operation Kid-to-Kid projects have impacted over 4.5 million kids and their communities all over the world. Highlights include:

·        Over 100,000 care kits distributed to countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Albania

·        More than 380,000 gift boxes sent to needy children worldwide

·        Over 310,000 pairs of shoes and 200,000 pairs of socks given to orphans across the globe

·        Over 1.5 million Spanish Bible books delivered worldwide

·        More than a million cuddly prayer bears and copies of The Survivor’s Bible provided free of charge to underprivileged children all over the world

“Operation Kid-to-Kid is a great way to teach kids compassion and service,” says Joani Schultz, cofounder of Group and OK2K. “Children learn by doing. It’s one thing to drop a nickel in the offering plate, but when kids make a gift with their own hands, when they can be creative and personal, this leaves a real impression on both the givers and the receivers.”

This year’s OK2K project is a simple no-sew fleece blanket that proclaims “God Loves Me!” right in the fabric. Each 56” by 42” blanket will also include a hidden surprise—a little white heart concealed between the fleece layers. The heart is a sweet secret kept by those who create the blankets, one that symbolizes God’s love for the world and our love for others. Project participants are encouraged to pray specifically for the unknown person who will receive the blanket as they tuck the heart inside.

The OK2K blanket can easily be incorporated into any Sunday school or VBS curriculum. This year, the “God Loves Me” blanket is included as a special activity in Group’s two new 2011 VBS programs, Egypt: Joseph’s Journey from Prison to Palace and High Seas Expedition. The multi-generational participants will learn about the 40 million children around the world who are desperately vulnerable because of the AIDS pandemic and the effects of extreme poverty. Through Group’s partnership with World Vision, blankets created this year will reach children in Africa coping with the pandemic’s effects on their communities or families, including those who have been orphaned. Instructions for delivering the blankets to World Vision for distribution are included with each blanket kit. To make the gift extra special, churches can send a personalized “God Loves Me” coloring book with each blanket.

Over the years, OK2K has become one of the largest forces mobilizing children in serving other children around the world through gifts of school supplies, Bibles, hygiene kits, Christmas gifts, Bible coloring books, and socks and shoes. But the ministry opportunities are not just for kids. Between recent natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti and the lingering effects of the global economic crisis, there are more opportunities than ever for Christians to show the love of Christ to others in need—and not just for a VBS event. Operation Kid-to-Kid can mobilize service projects any time of the year. Because the “God Loves Me” blanket project is so simple and practical, it is a perfect fit for a variety of ministry opportunities, from youth or women’s groups and short-term mission trips to neighborhood outreach initiatives and ministry to the homeless. With a little imagination, a ministry group of any size and age can customize the project to support its own ministry vision.

“For many of us, a mission-focused heart is something that develops over time. Like any aspect of Christ’s character in us, loving others like Christ loves them takes practice. This is a lesson for adults as well as children,” says Schultz. “Hopefully, OK2K service projects like the ‘God Loves Me’ blanket will encourage Christians of all ages to commit greater time and resources to missions.”

To find out how you can get involved, visit www.ok2k.org!

Lay Down your rakes.

Pick up your shovels.

Dig Deep.

“Our faith has been fossilized too long. We need to go deeper. We’re on the verge of an awakening, trading a kiddy pool Christianity for the deep things of God…In a world created by God, sustained by God, and renewed by God, nothing is more important than knowing God.”

Purpose,despair, triumph, and tragedy can all lead to a greater knowledge of who God is and what He would have us do. God.ol.o.gy dives into these mysteries of God. Each chapter explores a facet of God, a spiritual discipline, and a practical expression of that truth. As you read this book, hold it up to the light of the Bible and see if God is as great as you think He might be. Join the discovery of:

• God’s power
• God’s unity
• God’s jealousy
• God’s vulnerability
• And more…

The deeper we dig in ton God’s attributes, the shallower we find ourselves. And the harder we shovel, the more difficult it gets. But God’s not done with us just yet…

Pam Farrel author of Woman of Confidence shared with us that 90% of women have negative thoughts of themselves. Whoa! Those statistics are startling, which is why she felt compelled to write this book.

It’s surprising to know that women suffer from some of the same fears no matter what the economic status.

Listen in as Pam gives us tips on confidence builders and confidence busters…