Books about Refusing from Amazon.com

More than a decade after Jack Gilbert’s The Great Fires, this highly anticipated new collection shows the continued development of a poet who has remained fierce in his avoidance of the beaten path. In Refusing Heaven, Gilbert writes compellingly about the commingled passion, loneliness, and sometimes surprising happiness of a life spent in luminous understanding of his own blessings and shortcomings: “The days and nights wasted . . . Long hot afternoons / watching ants while the cicadas railed / in the Chinese elm about the brevity of life.” Time slows down in these poems, as Gilbert creates an aura of curiosity and wonder at the fact of existence itself. Despite powerful intermittent griefs–over the women he has parted from or the one lost to cancer (an experience he captures with intimate precision)–Gilbert’s choice in this volume is to “refuse heaven.” He prefers this life, with its struggle and alienation and delight, to any paradise. His work is both a rebellious assertion of the call to clarity and a profound affirmation of the world in all its aspects. It braces the reader in its humanity and heart.


From the Hardcover edition..
Price: $9.42 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Divine Parenting Made Possible

Every parent wants to do his or her job well. But if you look to your family of origin, or try to follow a list of dos and don’ts, you will fail. Thankfully, God sets a model as Parent, and all you have to do is follow it! In Parenting the Way God Parents, Katherine Koonce shows how healthy parenting patterns will flow naturally when you parent from your godly heritage By way of thought-provoking study, discussion questions, and scriptural snapshots, you’ll begin addressing not just your children’s behavior, but the important heart issues that shape their character. When you adopt God the Father’s perfect understanding of His children and prayerfully obey His example, your children can’t help but become healthy, whole, and thriving!

The Perfect Parenting Plan

Kids will be kids, and parents will become…just like their own parents. Even with the best intentions, parents will default to raising their kids just as they were raised—unless they embrace a revolutionary approach to parenting.

Thank God, because He provides the better way. He has everything you need for parenting your children in the grace, discipline, and love with which He parents you. Child development and learning specialist Katherine Koonce comes alongside to offer you a fresh perspective that will redirect your parenting path. Parenting the Way God Parents will help you:

Discern valid rights from selfish wants in this age of entitlement

Be prepared for anger, and help your children prepare for it too

T ake an active, prayerful role in seeking God’s vision for your family

Focus on shaping your children’s hearts, not just their behavior

Set aside parenting how-to books full of dos and don’ts and embrace the One who parents you perfectly.

“Knowing Katherine as a gifted teacher at the school my children attend,

it’s evident that she has a great deal of wisdom and insight.”

Steven Curtis Chapman

Singer/songwriter

“Parenting the Way God Parents is refreshingly free of formulas,

and packed full of wisdom and valuable insight.

I will reread it for myself and recommend it again and again in my practice.”

David Thomas

Child and Adolescent Therapist

Coauthor of Becoming a Dad: A Spiritual, Emotional and Practical Guide

Story Behind the Book

“Like most parents, I was not prepared for the job. Again and again I found myself defaulting to the parenting tactics and family dynamics recycled from my childhood. God convinced me that there was a better way. Rather than parent the way I was as a child, I can choose to parent the way I am Parented today. God my Father parents me with excellence, and I want to continue that legacy with my children. In choosing this paradigm of childrearing, however, I’ve had to lay down my little bag of parenting tricks and embrace the One who parents me perfectly.”

—Katherine Koonce.
Price: $4.74 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Refusing the Favor tells the little-known story of the Spanish-Mexican women who saw their homeland become part of New Mexico. A corrective to traditional narratives of the period, it carefully and lucidly documents the effects of colonization, looking closely at how the women lived both before and after the United States took control of the region.

Focusing on Santa Fe, which was long one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi, Deena Gonzalez demonstrates that women's responses to the conquest were remarkably diverse and that their efforts to preserve their culture were complex and long-lasting. Drawing on a range of sources, from newspapers to wills, deeds, and court records, Gonzalez shows that the change to U.S. territorial status did little to enrich or empower the Spanish-Mexican inhabitants. The vast majority, in fact, found themselves quickly impoverished, and this trend toward low-paid labor, particularly for women, continues even today. Gonzalez both examines the long-term consequences of colonization and draws illuminating parallels with the experiences of other minorities.

Refusing the Favor also describes how and why Spanish-Mexican women have remained invisible in the histories of the region for so long. It avoids casting the story as simply "bad" Euro-American migrants and "good" local people by emphasizing the concrete details of how women lived. It covers every aspect of their experience, from their roles as businesswomen to the effects of intermarriage, and it provides an essential key to the history of New Mexico. Anyone with an interest in Western history, gender studies, Chicano/a studies, or the history of borderlands and colonization will find the book an invaluable resource and guide..
Price: $24.69 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Since its original publication in 1989, Refusing to be a Man has been acclaimed as a classic and widely cited in gender studies literature. In 13 eloquent essays, Stoltenberg articulate the first fully argued liberation theory for men that will also liberate women. He argues that male sexual identity is entirely a political and ethical construction whose advantages grow out of injustice. His thesis is, however, ultimately one of hope - that precisely because masculinity is so constructed, it is possible to refuse it, to act against it and to change. A new introduction by the author discusses the roots of his work in the American civil rights and radical feminist movements and distinguishes it from the anti feminist philosophies underlying the recent tide of reactionary mens movements..
Price: $39.87 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Children who miss substantial amounts of school pose one of the most vexing problems for school officials In many cases, school personnel must assess these students and successfully help them to return to the academic setting. This can be difficult considering most school-based professionals are pressed for time and do not have access to proper resources. The information in this book can help school officials combat absenteeism and reduce overall dropout rates.
Designed for guidance counselors, teachers, principals and deans, school psychologists, school-based social workers, and other school professionals, this book outlines various strategies for helping children get back to school with less distress that can easily be implemented in schools. The book describes four clinical interventions that can be used to effectively address moderate cases of absenteeism, as well as instructions for adapting these procedures for use within the school system. A chapter on assessment describes several methods for identifying school refusal behavior, including time-limited techniques for school officials who have little opportunity to conduct detailed evaluations. Worksheets for facilitating assessment are included and can easily be photocopied from the book. Other chapters provide advice for working collaboratively with parents, preventing relapse, and tackling special issues such as children with anxiety, children who take medication, and children who are victims of bullying. Topics such as poverty, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, violence, and school safety are also addressed..
Price: $16.32 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In a series of moving and provocative conversations, nine members of the Israeli Defense Force tell why they refused to serve in the West Bank and Gaza. The "Refuseniks" describe their risky moral decision against the background of what is perhaps the most volatile conflict in the world today: the Israeli-Palestine struggle. Their individual choices and their collective activism have generated intense debate in Israel and the international community, from the leading Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz to a segment on 60 Minutes.

In a sociocultural mosaic of the refusenik movement and the political context in which it arose, these men recount their individual family backgrounds and beliefs. Dedicated to the welfare of their country and its religious heritage, they outline their concerns for the future of Israel. As they tell their stories of personal struggle, they also raise the disturbing and highly controversial issue of human rights abuses in the occupied territories.

These searching personal accounts of existential choice offer new perspectives on some entrenched ideas about the situation in the Middle East. The testimony in Breaking Ranks is essential background for a full understanding of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The refuseniks illuminate the inner workings of Israeli society by challenging what it most reveres, offering a new moral framework that reinforces a sense of belonging to Israel. In this time of grave crisis in the Middle East, with no solution in sight to repair the utter collapse of the peace process, these voices offer a message of hope in their commitment to their society and nation.
Price: $3.44 [Notify me when price goes down.]

"You will be blessed as I was to hear openness and sincerity that Dr. Kim Logan-Nowlin uses in relating her personal struggle with the totality of stewardship." - Pastor T. Marshall Kelly, Huntsville, Alabama "...while the principles are not new, she has put 'work clothes' on them in a way that I have never seen before... the approaches she used at City Temple were extraordinary - the results speak for themselves. City Temple passed the million dollar mark in tithe for the first time in its history..." - Donald L. Bedney, II, Director of Stewardship, Trust Services & Religious Liberty Lake Region Conference, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Chicago, Illinois "...the changes made in your personal spending habits are phenomenal... people are usually uptight and private when it comes to finances ...but you, through the Holy Spirit, managed to bring down the walls..." - D. Eric Kemp, Creative Financial Advisor, Quest Capital Strategies, Lansing, Michigan "Dr. Kim Logan-Nowlin fosters deeper appreciation of a confidence in the joy of partnering with the God of Heaven who owns everything. Her journey through these pages may change your life." - Ron C. Smith, D.Min., Ph.D., Editor, Message Magazine Vice President, Review & Herald Publishing Association, Hagerstown, Maryland "...Dr. Nowlin ushers in the full joy of growing up in Jesus. This book generates the thinking of serious disciples to greater heights of faithfulness." - Ricardo Graham, D.Min., Executive Secretary of the Pacific Union Conference Seventh-day Adventist Church, Westlake Village, California Dr. Kim Logan-Nowlin holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Special Education, a Masters Degree in Guidance and Family Counseling and a Doctorate in Speech Communication and Family Counseling. She is a highly motivated, articulate and dynamic speaker on a passionate mission for God. Inspired and empowered to serve God's people, she is highly respected in her fields of study and among churches around the world. Two of her most passionate desires are evangelism and soul-winning for the building of God's kingdom, and to remain a humble servant in order to help finish God's work..
Price: $8.13 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Beth Duncan shares how she learned to reverse a medical condition that her doctors claimed had no cure. Beth discovered, first-hand, how powerful the human mind can be, and how we can harness this power to positively affect our health. Now she wants to share what she learned with others—helping others learn how to empower themselves and take back some of the control over their health. Beth believes that if you don’t like your choices, acquire more knowledge to increase your choices—then choose. What we perceive to be is everything!.
Price: $19.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]