Mark Tabb

Peter Mutabazi

How a Street Kid Turned Foster Dad Found Acceptance and True Worth

Now I Am Known

On a Sunday in May 2008, an F-5 tornado struck the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people and destroying 250 homes and businesses within 34 seconds. The next day, Parkersburg’s beloved football coach, Ed Thomas, made a stunning prediction: “God willing, we will play our first home game here on this field this season.” One hundred days later, the home team scored a victory on the field they dubbed “The Sacred Acre,” serving as a galvanizing point for the town to band together and rebuild.But just as Parkersburg was recovering, another devastating tragedy struck. While working with a group of football and volleyball players early one morning, one of Ed’s former students walked in and gunned him down point blank. Ed Thomas was 58.The murder of this hometown hero spread across national news headlines. Ed’s community and family reeled from shock. Yet the story doesn’t end here.What happened next proves that even a double tragedy is no match for faith, love ... and the power of forgiveness.

The Ed Thomas Story

The Sacred Acre

Using the book of Job as a guide, author Mark Tabb explores the age-old questions about God, His goodness, and why bad things happen.

How Can a Good God Let Bad Things Happen?

Candid and insightful guidance for learning the discipline of simplicity.

The Upside of Downsizing Your Life

Living with Less

Ben Utecht

Football player "Ben Utecht has accumulated a vast treasure of memories: tossing a football in the yard with his father, meeting his wife, ... writing and performing music, catching touchdown passes from quarterback Peyton Manning, and playing a Super Bowl Championship watched by ninety-three million people. But the game he has built his living on, the game he fell in love with as a child, is taking its toll in a devastating way. After at least five major concussions--and an untold number of micro-concussions--Ben suffered multiple mild traumatic brain injuries that have erased important memories"--Provided by publisher.

A Love Letter to My Family

Counting the Days While My Mind Slips Away

Lopez Lomong

Running for My Life is not a story about Africa or track and field athletics. It is about outrunning the devil and achieving the impossible faith, diligence, and the desire to give back. It is the American dream come true and a stark reminder that saving one can help to save thousands more. Lopez Lomong chronicles his inspiring ascent from a barefoot lost boy of the Sudanese Civil War to a Nike sponsored athlete on the US Olympic Team. Though most of us fall somewhere between the catastrophic lows and dizzying highs of Lomong's incredible life, every reader will find in his story the human spark to pursue dreams that might seem unthinkable, even from circumstances that might appear hopeless. "Lopez Lomong's story is one of true inspiration. His life is a story of courage, hard work, never giving up, and having hope where there is hopelessness all around. Lopez is a true role model." ?MICHAEL JOHNSON, Olympic Gold Medalist "This true story of a Sudanese child refugee who became an Olympic star is powerful proof that God gives hope to the hopeless and shines a light in the darkest places. Don't be surprised if after reading this incredible tale, you find yourself mysteriously drawn to run alongside him." ?RICHARD STEARNS, president, World Vision US and author of THe Hole in Our Gospel

One Lost Boy's Journey from the Killing Fields of Sudan to the Olympic Games

Running for My Life

John Maclean

'If you look up mental toughness in the dictionary you'll find a picture of John Maclean' Steve Waugh AO Walking on the beach and holding hands with a loved one is a dream taken for granted by most. But when aspiring athlete John Maclean was struck down by a truck while training for a triathlon at the age of 22, this dream became impossible. John survived, but was left paraplegic – catastrophic for a life so full of promise. He insisted that he’d walk again, but it became clear John would need to shift his focus, and take his beloved father’s words to heart: ‘How far can you go?’ With fierce tenacity, determination, and the love of family and friends, John became one of the most accomplished wheelchair athletes in the world, the first wheelchair athlete to complete the Ironman World Championships and the first paraplegic to swim the English Channel. He also competed in the Sydney Olympics wheelchair demonstration race and in two Paralympic Games in two different disciplines, winning a silver medal for rowing in Beijing. But John still longed to walk, hand in hand, on the beach with his wife. It wasn’t until he discovered a radical therapy that John was able to reach his full potential by retraining his mind and body to unlock new neural responses . . . and stand, walk, and fulfill his dream. How Far Can You Go? is John Maclean’s amazing story, and his quest to walk again after 25 years in a wheelchair.

My 25-year quest to walk again

How Far Can You Go

On a Sunday in May 2008, an F-5 tornado struck the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, killing eight people and destroying 250 homes and businesses within 34 seconds. The next day, Parkersburg’s beloved football coach, Ed Thomas, made a stunning prediction: “God willing, we will play our first home game here on this field this season.” One hundred days later, the home team scored a victory on the field they dubbed “The Sacred Acre,” serving as a galvanizing point for the town to band together and rebuild. But just as Parkersburg was recovering, another devastating tragedy struck. While working with a group of football and volleyball players early one morning, one of Ed’s former students walked in and gunned him down point blank. Ed Thomas was 58. The murder of this hometown hero spread across national news headlines. Ed’s community and family reeled from shock. Yet the story doesn’t end here. What happened next proves that even a double tragedy is no match for faith, love ... and the power of forgiveness.

Andrew Collins

Jameel Zookie McGee

WINNER OF THE CHRISTOPHER BOOK AWARD • “A must-read for anyone who longs for the day when the dividing lines of race, class, and bigotry are finally overcome by the greater forces of love, forgiveness, and brotherhood.”—Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Racial tensions had long simmered in Benton Harbor, a small city on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, before the day a white narcotics officer—more focused on arrests than justice—set his sights on an innocent black man. But when officer Andrew Collins framed Jameel McGee for possession of crack cocaine, the surprising result was not a race riot but a transformative journey for both men. Falsely convicted, McGee spent three years in federal prison. Collins also went to prison a few years later for falsifying police reports. While behind bars, the faith of both men deepened. But the story took its most unexpected turn once they were released—when their lives collided again in a moment brimming with mistrust and anger. The two were on a collision course—not to violence—but forgiveness. As current as today’s headlines, this explosive true story reveals how these radically conflicted men chose to let go of fear and a thirst for revenge to pursue reconciliation for themselves, their community, and our racially divided nation.

Mark Tabb

Books

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