The idea that we are each made for a purpose is not new, nor are books offering to help us find that purpose. But Max Lucado’s take on the common question what do I do with my life? is uniquely refreshing and thought-provoking. A San Antonio pastor and best-selling Christian author, Lucado believes that we each have specific gifts and that the truest worship of our creator comes only when we pursue those gifts. To that end, Lucado’s book is more than just a way to find a career, but rather a way to build a life.

Using life stories and everyday parables, Lucado offers encouragement and hope, as well as practical, concrete ways for readers to examine their talents and passions to discover the direction God intends for their lives. The latter half of the book includes exercisesto help readers to discover their sweet spot, that unique melding of talent, passion and purpose that makes a life unique.

Lucado avoids familiar tools such as personality measurements and lists of spiritual gifts. Instead, he concentrates on finding the little clues and sometimes the big, overlooked ones each person has from birth. What has always drawn you? What do you lose track of time doing? These and other questions focusing on who you are, not on who others say you should be are the key aspects of the book. Lucado combines this approach with scriptural references and illustrations, examining how Biblical characters from Moses to Jesus revealed clues and details throughout their lives that pointed to their own sweet spots. Along the way, Lucado also offers gentle, welcome advice, from helping children follow their own bent (and not a parent’s will), to remembering to rest and recharge to keep your sweet spot hitting true.

As we begin the new year, resolutions to change your life are common. Cure for the Common Life can help you make your own resolution to find a new direction an uncommon success. Howard Shirley is a writer in Franklin, Tennessee.

Budding with new life, spring marks a time of beginnings and growth. For Christians who want to reflect on their own spiritual development, the spring publishing season offers several new books to provide inspiration and enlightenment.

Unexpected Wisdom: Major Insight from the Minor Prophets (Baker Book House, $12.99, 174 pages, ISBN 0801063795) by Dan Schmidt uncovers truths from the 12 “little guys” tucked into the back of the Old Testament. Their names including Habakkuk, Malachi and Nahum don’t receive the billboard coverage of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but hidden within their brief testimonies are nuggets of wisdom and insight that still carry weight thousands of years later.

Using easy-to-read prose, Schmidt mines the writings of these often overlooked fellows to uncover spiritually time-tested truths. The message of grace both extended and received is found in the life of Jonah and his encounter with a large fish on the way to Ninevah. The dangers of pride are unearthed in the short writing of Obadiah. A reminder of the appropriate use of power is drawn from Micah. Throughout the book, Schmidt reflects on themes, including fear, wisdom, courage, integrity and hope. After finishing this book, you’ll be reminded that good things still come in small packages. Another wonderful surprise is The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus: Encountering the Gospels All Over Again (Jossey-Bass, $18.95, 256 pages, ISBN 0787959839) by John Coleman. Like Schmidt, Coleman has an eye for detail and a talent for uncovering that which seemed already naked. Mining the Gospels, Coleman’s work reads more like a devotional than an in-depth study. Each small section begins with Scripture, then follows with a reflection on the passage. A short list of probing questions follow.

Sometimes the author reflects on the overall portrait of Christ’s actions or words while at other times he relies on a mere phrase from the reading. In the process, Coleman reveals that the teachings of Christ are sometimes very different than what we thought or understood. They usually go against our natural instincts or desires. The book is both challenging and fresh. The humanity of Christ, including the fact that He was a criminal, is placed before readers to consider and reflect upon. Whether you believe Christ was a man or a savior, there’s much to learn from The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus. Digging a bit deeper, Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life (Zondervan, $18.99, 272 pages, ISBN 0310236924) by Gary L. Thomas explores spiritual disciplines that many Christians don’t want to talk about. They’re the ones that make us a bit uncomfortable, but also those which deserve a deeper examination. Chapter by chapter, the book explores the disciplines of selflessness, waiting, suffering, persecution, social mercy, forgiveness, mourning, contentment, sacrifice, fear and hope. Like an oyster developing a pearl, Thomas shows how the things in life that make us the most uncomfortable can produce the most beautiful character in our lives. The book is loaded with fascinating and revealing stories from Thomas’ own life, but what makes the book truly unique are Thomas’ references to classic Christian writers including Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Jeanne Guyon, John Calvin and John Wesley. From these and others, he shows the timelessness of faith principles and sets a benchmark for how lives can be lived with reckless abandon to faith. This is a standout title. The newly redesigned edition of The Cross by Max Lucado is an excellent gift selection. This small-sized hardback is filled with dramatic color photos of crosses. Whether it’s a cross found atop a church steeple or one naturally etched in nature by the junction of two branches, this book celebrates the ancient symbol. The artwork is accompanied by inspirational thoughts drawn from Lucado’s best-selling books, including And the Angels Were Silent, God Came Near, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and Six Hours One Friday. Margaret Feinberg is a freelance writer based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is the co-author, with S.J. Hill, of Enjoying God: Experiencing Intimacy With the Heavenly Father (Relevant Books).

Budding with new life, spring marks a time of beginnings and growth. For Christians who want to reflect on their own spiritual development, the spring publishing season offers several new books to provide inspiration and enlightenment.

Unexpected Wisdom: Major Insight from the Minor Prophets (Baker Book House, $12.99, 174 pages, ISBN 0801063795) by Dan Schmidt uncovers truths from the 12 “little guys” tucked into the back of the Old Testament. Their names including Habakkuk, Malachi and Nahum don’t receive the billboard coverage of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but hidden within their brief testimonies are nuggets of wisdom and insight that still carry weight thousands of years later.

Using easy-to-read prose, Schmidt mines the writings of these often overlooked fellows to uncover spiritually time-tested truths. The message of grace both extended and received is found in the life of Jonah and his encounter with a large fish on the way to Ninevah. The dangers of pride are unearthed in the short writing of Obadiah. A reminder of the appropriate use of power is drawn from Micah. Throughout the book, Schmidt reflects on themes, including fear, wisdom, courage, integrity and hope. After finishing this book, you’ll be reminded that good things still come in small packages. Another wonderful surprise is The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus: Encountering the Gospels All Over Again (Jossey-Bass, $18.95, 256 pages, ISBN 0787959839) by John Coleman. Like Schmidt, Coleman has an eye for detail and a talent for uncovering that which seemed already naked. Mining the Gospels, Coleman’s work reads more like a devotional than an in-depth study. Each small section begins with Scripture, then follows with a reflection on the passage. A short list of probing questions follow.

Sometimes the author reflects on the overall portrait of Christ’s actions or words while at other times he relies on a mere phrase from the reading. In the process, Coleman reveals that the teachings of Christ are sometimes very different than what we thought or understood. They usually go against our natural instincts or desires. The book is both challenging and fresh. The humanity of Christ, including the fact that He was a criminal, is placed before readers to consider and reflect upon. Whether you believe Christ was a man or a savior, there’s much to learn from The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus. Digging a bit deeper, Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life by Gary L. Thomas explores spiritual disciplines that many Christians don’t want to talk about. They’re the ones that make us a bit uncomfortable, but also those which deserve a deeper examination. Chapter by chapter, the book explores the disciplines of selflessness, waiting, suffering, persecution, social mercy, forgiveness, mourning, contentment, sacrifice, fear and hope. Like an oyster developing a pearl, Thomas shows how the things in life that make us the most uncomfortable can produce the most beautiful character in our lives. The book is loaded with fascinating and revealing stories from Thomas’ own life, but what makes the book truly unique are Thomas’ references to classic Christian writers including Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Jeanne Guyon, John Calvin and John Wesley. From these and others, he shows the timelessness of faith principles and sets a benchmark for how lives can be lived with reckless abandon to faith. This is a standout title. The newly redesigned edition of The Cross (Multnomah, $12.99, 64 pages, ISBN 1576739201) by Max Lucado is an excellent gift selection. This small-sized hardback is filled with dramatic color photos of crosses. Whether it’s a cross found atop a church steeple or one naturally etched in nature by the junction of two branches, this book celebrates the ancient symbol. The artwork is accompanied by inspirational thoughts drawn from Lucado’s best-selling books, including And the Angels Were Silent, God Came Near, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and Six Hours One Friday. Margaret Feinberg is a freelance writer based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is the co-author, with S.J. Hill, of Enjoying God: Experiencing Intimacy With the Heavenly Father (Relevant Books).

As a young woman growing up in England, Karen Armstrong had such a strong religious faith that she joined a convent in 1962, when she was only 17, and stayed there until doubts about her own worthiness led her to leave seven years later. Now an acclaimed scholar of comparative religion, Armstrong explores the implications of her personal experience in The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness.

Armstrong’s interest in the world’s religions has yielded a series of widely read books, among them The Gospel According To Woman, Holy War: The Crusades And Their Impact On Today’s World and A History Of God. While her connection to religion has changed radically over the years from Catholic orthodoxy to a sort of patchwork spirituality it remains tenacious.

After recounting the pleasures and absurdities of monastic life, Armstrong plunges into the next phase of her life: her colorful, bewildering years as a student at Oxford University. It was not, she stresses, an easy transition. She enjoys the intellectual ferment and quirky students and professors, but continues to measure herself against what she might be and consistently finds herself falling short. When the examiner for Oxford rejects her doctoral thesis, Armstrong abandons her plans for an academic career and turns to teaching at a private girls’ school in London. Later, while researching St. Paul for a television documentary, she resumes her sympathetic fascination with religious thought and soon broadens it to embrace Judaism and Islam.

Viewed as a diary of dreads and yearnings there are few instances of unalloyed joy The Spiral Staircase demonstrates that Armstrong has never veered sharply from her search for a larger meaning, even at her most secular moments.

Budding with new life, spring marks a time of beginnings and growth. For Christians who want to reflect on their own spiritual development, the spring publishing season offers several new books to provide inspiration and enlightenment.

Unexpected Wisdom: Major Insight from the Minor Prophets (Baker Book House, $12.99, 174 pages, ISBN 0801063795) by Dan Schmidt uncovers truths from the 12 “little guys” tucked into the back of the Old Testament. Their names including Habakkuk, Malachi and Nahum don’t receive the billboard coverage of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but hidden within their brief testimonies are nuggets of wisdom and insight that still carry weight thousands of years later.

Using easy-to-read prose, Schmidt mines the writings of these often overlooked fellows to uncover spiritually time-tested truths. The message of grace both extended and received is found in the life of Jonah and his encounter with a large fish on the way to Ninevah. The dangers of pride are unearthed in the short writing of Obadiah. A reminder of the appropriate use of power is drawn from Micah. Throughout the book, Schmidt reflects on themes, including fear, wisdom, courage, integrity and hope. After finishing this book, you’ll be reminded that good things still come in small packages. Another wonderful surprise is The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus: Encountering the Gospels All Over Again by John Coleman. Like Schmidt, Coleman has an eye for detail and a talent for uncovering that which seemed already naked. Mining the Gospels, Coleman’s work reads more like a devotional than an in-depth study. Each small section begins with Scripture, then follows with a reflection on the passage. A short list of probing questions follow.

Sometimes the author reflects on the overall portrait of Christ’s actions or words while at other times he relies on a mere phrase from the reading. In the process, Coleman reveals that the teachings of Christ are sometimes very different than what we thought or understood. They usually go against our natural instincts or desires. The book is both challenging and fresh. The humanity of Christ, including the fact that He was a criminal, is placed before readers to consider and reflect upon. Whether you believe Christ was a man or a savior, there’s much to learn from The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus. Digging a bit deeper, Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life (Zondervan, $18.99, 272 pages, ISBN 0310236924) by Gary L. Thomas explores spiritual disciplines that many Christians don’t want to talk about. They’re the ones that make us a bit uncomfortable, but also those which deserve a deeper examination. Chapter by chapter, the book explores the disciplines of selflessness, waiting, suffering, persecution, social mercy, forgiveness, mourning, contentment, sacrifice, fear and hope. Like an oyster developing a pearl, Thomas shows how the things in life that make us the most uncomfortable can produce the most beautiful character in our lives. The book is loaded with fascinating and revealing stories from Thomas’ own life, but what makes the book truly unique are Thomas’ references to classic Christian writers including Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Jeanne Guyon, John Calvin and John Wesley. From these and others, he shows the timelessness of faith principles and sets a benchmark for how lives can be lived with reckless abandon to faith. This is a standout title. The newly redesigned edition of The Cross (Multnomah, $12.99, 64 pages, ISBN 1576739201) by Max Lucado is an excellent gift selection. This small-sized hardback is filled with dramatic color photos of crosses. Whether it’s a cross found atop a church steeple or one naturally etched in nature by the junction of two branches, this book celebrates the ancient symbol. The artwork is accompanied by inspirational thoughts drawn from Lucado’s best-selling books, including And the Angels Were Silent, God Came Near, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and Six Hours One Friday. Margaret Feinberg is a freelance writer based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is the co-author, with S.J. Hill, of Enjoying God: Experiencing Intimacy With the Heavenly Father (Relevant Books).

Budding with new life, spring marks a time of beginnings and growth. For Christians who want to reflect on their own spiritual development, the spring publishing season offers several new books to provide inspiration and enlightenment.

Unexpected Wisdom: Major Insight from the Minor Prophets by Dan Schmidt uncovers truths from the 12 “little guys” tucked into the back of the Old Testament. Their names including Habakkuk, Malachi and Nahum don’t receive the billboard coverage of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John, but hidden within their brief testimonies are nuggets of wisdom and insight that still carry weight thousands of years later.

Using easy-to-read prose, Schmidt mines the writings of these often overlooked fellows to uncover spiritually time-tested truths. The message of grace both extended and received is found in the life of Jonah and his encounter with a large fish on the way to Ninevah. The dangers of pride are unearthed in the short writing of Obadiah. A reminder of the appropriate use of power is drawn from Micah. Throughout the book, Schmidt reflects on themes, including fear, wisdom, courage, integrity and hope. After finishing this book, you’ll be reminded that good things still come in small packages. Another wonderful surprise is The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus: Encountering the Gospels All Over Again (Jossey-Bass, $18.95, 256 pages, ISBN 0787959839) by John Coleman. Like Schmidt, Coleman has an eye for detail and a talent for uncovering that which seemed already naked. Mining the Gospels, Coleman’s work reads more like a devotional than an in-depth study. Each small section begins with Scripture, then follows with a reflection on the passage. A short list of probing questions follow.

Sometimes the author reflects on the overall portrait of Christ’s actions or words while at other times he relies on a mere phrase from the reading. In the process, Coleman reveals that the teachings of Christ are sometimes very different than what we thought or understood. They usually go against our natural instincts or desires. The book is both challenging and fresh. The humanity of Christ, including the fact that He was a criminal, is placed before readers to consider and reflect upon. Whether you believe Christ was a man or a savior, there’s much to learn from The Unexpected Teachings of Jesus. Digging a bit deeper, Authentic Faith: The Power of a Fire-Tested Life (Zondervan, $18.99, 272 pages, ISBN 0310236924) by Gary L. Thomas explores spiritual disciplines that many Christians don’t want to talk about. They’re the ones that make us a bit uncomfortable, but also those which deserve a deeper examination. Chapter by chapter, the book explores the disciplines of selflessness, waiting, suffering, persecution, social mercy, forgiveness, mourning, contentment, sacrifice, fear and hope. Like an oyster developing a pearl, Thomas shows how the things in life that make us the most uncomfortable can produce the most beautiful character in our lives. The book is loaded with fascinating and revealing stories from Thomas’ own life, but what makes the book truly unique are Thomas’ references to classic Christian writers including Augustine, Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Jeanne Guyon, John Calvin and John Wesley. From these and others, he shows the timelessness of faith principles and sets a benchmark for how lives can be lived with reckless abandon to faith. This is a standout title. The newly redesigned edition of The Cross (Multnomah, $12.99, 64 pages, ISBN 1576739201) by Max Lucado is an excellent gift selection. This small-sized hardback is filled with dramatic color photos of crosses. Whether it’s a cross found atop a church steeple or one naturally etched in nature by the junction of two branches, this book celebrates the ancient symbol. The artwork is accompanied by inspirational thoughts drawn from Lucado’s best-selling books, including And the Angels Were Silent, God Came Near, No Wonder They Call Him the Savior and Six Hours One Friday. Margaret Feinberg is a freelance writer based in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. She is the co-author, with S.J. Hill, of Enjoying God: Experiencing Intimacy With the Heavenly Father (Relevant Books).

Thomas Moore, author of the best-selling Care of the Soul, now presents a long-awaited companion book, The Soul’s Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life. In a time of heightened interest in spiritual themes, The Soul’s Religion offers a substantive and unique perspective on the subject. A psychotherapist, lecturer and former Catholic monk, Moore has a varied background with degrees in theology, musicology and philosophy. The culmination of life experience and ideas, as well as Moore’s own personal spiritual odyssey, provide the foundation for this extraordinary book. The content is rich and personal, and new insights and meaning are found with each reading. As Moore described in Care of the Soul, the soul is nourished by a vital spiritual experience. Without this connection a person cannot enjoy all that life has to offer. In his new book, he elaborates further on lessons involved in the cultivation of spirituality with a series of interesting and nontraditional meditations. His approach involves the acceptance of wonder and uncertainty, and a willingness to move through life without a plan or goal, recognizing mystery as the real substance of a spiritual and religious existence. He describes alchemy as a natural process of transformation and spiritual depth, beginning with a descent into the stuff of everyday life, but ending with the release of the winged spirit and an effective way towards a fullness of spirit.

According to Moore, the spirit is not always found in a positive quest for meaning sometimes it occurs only after we have been broken and torn apart by failure and sadness. As Moore sees it, God is to be found in the thick of life or not at all. Moore confesses that the religion he envisions in this book is difficult to spell out. Nevertheless, his meaningful presentation is masterful and powerful, in no small measure because the author is intimately acquainted with the lessons himself. In this provocative book, the reader is challenged to re-imagine how a rich and personal spiritual life can be within the grasp of every seeker. Karen Jenks is a nurse in Nashville.

Do you want to keep this year’s resolutions? Gain insight on what stopped you from pursuing the career of your fantasies? Just in time for the annual post-holiday self-inventory period, Caroline Myss offers guidance in her new book Sacred Contracts: Awakening Your Divine Potential.

In Sacred Contracts, Myss continues her quest to empower readers to imagine their lives as they were meant to be lived and shares practical tools to help them get there. A dynamic speaker and teacher, with many fans in the New Age community, Myss lectures on the chakra system through which each person manages his personal energy and the archetypes that influence the creation and response to one’s life situations. In this new book, she explains the basics of chakras and archetypes and explains how they are related to the sacred contracts that each person draws up prior to birth.

To enjoy Sacred Contracts to its fullest, purchase a journal and record your thoughts as you read. Myss has included many exercises designed to help readers understand the underlying forces that prompt their decisions. Although it doesn’t come with a guarantee, Sacred Contracts is certain to make at least one aspect of your life seem less mysterious.

<b>A pope’s legacy</b> Known largely for her work as a speechwriter for Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush during the late 1980s, Peggy Noonan is also a devout Catholic who regained her religious faith during those same years partially through watching the ministry of Pope John Paul II, the Great, as she and millions of others referred to him. Her new book, <b>John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father</b>, is not a political tome (though politics comes into it, as faith and politics often collide). Nor is it a biography of Karol Wojtyla, though his life story permeates the book. Instead it is a study of faith John Paul’s faith, Noonan’s own faith and the faith of the world and how one man’s love and conviction spurred the hearts of others. It was John Paul’s faith, says Noonan, that led her to embrace the Catholicism she had largely abandoned in her youth. It was John Paul’s faith that inspired the people of Poland to stand against their tyrannical leaders, that chiseled the crack that eventually crumbled the Iron Curtain, and that led people to see the Roman Catholic Church as a real and vibrant presence in the modern world. Noonan does not sugarcoat John Paul’s era. The pope and the church had (and still have) flaws, she says, and she deals with them forthrightly but always with a love for her faith and the pope she revered.

A few years ago, John Eldredge and the late Brent Curtis swept the Christian inspirational market with The Sacred Romance, a call to understand the Christian life as a story of adventure and romance, with ourselves as the objects of God’s desire and God as the true object of ours. After the death of Brent Curtis, Eldredge continued to explore this theme in subsequent books dealing with the nature of our hearts, the love of God and the beautiful yet fallen world in which we live. The Ransomed Heart: A Collection of Devotional Readings takes excerpts from all these works, presenting them as a year’s worth of daily devotional readings. While the words themselves are not new, the presentation offers an opportunity to consider key ideas in a fresh way. The result allows both fans of Eldredge and those new to his ideas to explore the deeper meanings of who we are and who God has made us to be. Uplifting, challenging and deeply refreshing, Eldredge’s words make a worthy gift.

It is your character, and your character alone, that will make your life happy or unhappy. . . . And you choose it, says Senator John McCain in the introduction to his latest book, Character Is Destiny: Inspiring Stories Every Young Person Should Know and Every Adult Should Remember, written with his administrative assistant, Mark Salter. This collection of short biographies of both the great and the barely known in some cases, just snapshots within a life highlights examples of personal character worth emulating. Here are presidents and prison guards, warriors and washerwomen, scholars and slaves all lives that demonstrate how we can make our world better, richer and fuller. From honor to love, from faith to humor, McCain offers stories that help us understand what the human character can and should be. Written in a style that is both accessible enough for younger readers and thoughtful enough for their parents, this book rises above the ordinary. The senator is correct: these are stories worth reading and remembering, and they transcend politics of any sort.

One cannot examine the development of either Jewish or Christian faith without considering the greatest hero of the Jewish nation, King David. The Life of David, by former U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, presents a philosophical and at times poetic journey through the life of David. In this entry from the new Jewish Encounters series, Pinsky explores both the historic David as well as the mythic and religious impact of his life. Using the Biblical account as his guide, Pinsky focuses not only on who David was, but what he meant to the Hebrew people, both during his own lifetime and today. Shepherd boy, kingmaker’s protŽgŽ, legendary hero, poet, musician, rebel, traitor, friend, tyrant, father, adulterer, murderer and a man after God’s own heart. All these descriptions can be applied to David, and Pinsky skillfully examines what they tell us about David, his world, his people and their mutual faith.