Product Description
In our modern dislocated society many are searching for a church experience that offers true Christian sharing, nurturing, and discipleship, in addition to teaching and worship. For many such people the answer is found in the home church: a small, committed group of often diverse people who meet together in homes to pray, eat, sing, study, and share their lives.

The Church Comes Home is a handbook for those interested in home churches. It is both visionary and practical. It describes how home churches can be formed, how they should grow, and how networks of home churches can develop. It examines issues-for example, how to make decisions; how to determine doctrine; how to include children, singles, elders; and how to reach out to the community at large-and offers practical suggestions for their resolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

a practical, down to earth guide for house churches
The Church Comes Home is certainly worth the purchase given its practical down to earth guide to how to organize House Churches and address some of the diverse issues associated with this simple organic structure of the body of Christ

Good ideas, unnecessarily limited perspective
In general, I would credit the authors with doing a remarkable job of describing the need for committed relationships within the church for it to function as Christ intended.And the greatest strength of the book is the stories that they tell to share with us the successes and struggles that various house churches have experienced over many years.Those stories are very real and express the significant growth and value of house churches.

My problem with this book is the notion that house churches are the only place for real relationships to develop.The caricature that they portray of small groups in more traditional churches is full of generalizations and simplifications.They have chosen the worst of small groups and shown them to be the norm.If I were to choose between the small groups described in this book and a house church, I would also think that house churches are the only way to go.

However, small groups have the potential, when done well, to offer significant vitality in the life of a traditional church.Quality small groups, led by capable leaders, can retain many of the wonderful attributes that the authors describe from house churches.And there are many wonderful benefits from a traditional church that are totally lost within the framework of house churches.These attributes of contemporary church life are totally and inappropriately discarded as useless.

Ultimately, I think that the authors fall short by assuming the primacy of their approach.Though I am pleased to learn how God is working through house churches to minister to so many people, I do not appreciate (or agree with) the suggestion that this model needs to ultimately replace traditional church life.

I intend to utilize some key insights that I garnered from this book to implement them within the context of our small groups.And I will continue to thank the Lord for blessing me with an awesome church family, which allows me opportunities to connect and serve with people at our house within our small group but in so many other life-giving and transformational ways!!

Insights Into House Churches
I read this book along with Frank Viola's book "Rethinking The Wineskins" and I found this book to be a bit more easier to follow and more practical. While Viola's book seem to have an heir about it that said "I'm ticked off at the established church and here is why" this book simply offers the reader a candid look at the New Testament model of house churches and how the Bank's are seeking to follow the NT pattern. Bank's is a scholar. You will find in this book a man who loves God, loves people, and teaches the truth of Scripture clearly. If you have read books on house churches and have walked away with a bit of skepticism (as I have at times) than buy this book and you will find that Bank's is truly a brother in Christ who only desires to be like Jesus.

Critical questions about the nature of the church
A practical survey of the house church movement.Without bitternesstoward traditional models of church, Banks introduces a refreshing modelfor the household of faith which has its roots in the first century.It isa radical concept for many American Christians because it stands in suchstark contrast with the more individualistic, consumer driven model forchurch which has takencenter stage in Western Culture.

Great Basic Information About House Church
Robert and Julia shared from experience when they wrote this book.It is so refreshing to read a book that is about real life, rather than just thetheory and doctrine of how house church ought to be.The varioustestimonies are really insightful.

If you are contemplating leaving theinstitutionalized church, this book would be a good place to start yourjourney toward relational fellowship in the home setting. ... Read more

Product Description
Get your house in shape! Applying just an ounce of the advice in this practical guide saves you enough time and money to pay for itself. You will learn:

• The actual scientific law of nature that helps you get organized
• The cure for procrastination
• Ten types of High Calorie Clutter to avoid
• Where to start and how to tackle your projects
• How to successfully add new habits into your life

'What an exciting book! Getting organized has never been so easy. Lorie provides great real-life tips and advice that anyone can implement. You'll walk away with everything you need to know to get and stay organized.' --Jim Deitzel, Rubbermaid, eMarketing Manager ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

LOVE THIS BOOK
I really loved this book. I have to say that I think it's fantastic and I am applying stuff to my own life now.
I am sorting through a couple of junk drawers and throwing out papers and magazines. (recylcing).
I really love another kindle book I bought on Kindle because I am a shopaholic and it really helped me
to stop shopping so I don't bring ANY more into my house.That's why the clutter starts with me. I bring
more and more in, even though I don't need it!.Why? I am now figuring it out and seeing objects in a new way
with my new kindle book. The book is great it's called 101 Ways to Stop Shopping and Start Saving on Kindle store.
I didn't buy one
thing this past weekend and that is a huge improvement for someone like me.

Step by Step decluttering
I am still working through this book but finding it to be a great help, guiding me in a step by step decluttering process.This is more than just helping you realize why you have become a clutter bug and attitude changes that need to be made.It helps walk you through the rooms of your home learning what to get rid of and how to organize what is worth keeping.I strongly recommend downloading the free workbook that is available on their web site. It has some great charts to help through the process.There is also additional free information available at their site.I would highly recommend this book to those desiring to free themselves from a clutter mentality.

Very Disappointing
I purchased this book because it had good reviews and I needed help with all my clutter. What I found after reading half of the book were suggestions on how to throw out things and what I should buy to help with that process. The actual definition of clutter is not excess but rather things disorganized and scattered. I myself have a lot of room in my house but things are scattered everywhere. I don't feel I necessarily have excess, just disorganization. I don't fell like just throwing things out, as they suggest, will solve my problem. This book offered very little, if any, help on how to get the "clutter" organized and be able to function. It also has a section on meal planning which has nothing to do with what I would understand as clutter. I would not suggest this book to anyone unless you are prepared to throw out a lot of what you may want and not shop for things you'd like to have.

Nothing new, but pulls a bunch of stuff together...
Okay, here's the thing. There is absolutely nothing new in this book (except the binder clip idea - genius! - read the book to find out what I mean). There is no magic pill you can take and suddenly be one of those super organized people. I read a good number books, blogs, etc about organizing your home/office/email/life - flylady can totally kiss my butt, by the way. Nowadays, I pull one or two things from them and go on. It's like that with any self-help book, I suspect. But while reading it, it kind of crossed my mind. She's already done that. Taken the best of the ideas - most were variations of other advise I've heard over the year, tweaked to her own way of doing things - and put them in one book. For someone that doesn't read a lot, this is the perfect book because a lot of the work has been done for you.

Advertisement for her business....
While there is some extremely valuable information contained in this book, the constant references to "our paid clients", etc. are offensive and distracting for those who truly want to apply the ideas.Apparently if I am really smart, I will apply their "ruler" to my situation and just pay some one to fix my situation and add this book to the "give away" pile!

I have decided not to let the repetitive "commercials" prevent me from getting my money's worth out of the book I already paid for though. After eleven chapters of the propaganda, I just took a minute to get a piece of card stock and a marker and am "editing" out the references so I can use the information without the insinuations that i need to spend more money on the author's website subscriptions or services or cannot apparently apply the information without them! ... Read more

Product Description
The book may have numerous typos or missing text. It is not illustrated or indexed. However, purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original rare book from the publisher's website. You can also preview the book there.Purchasers are also entitled to a trial membership in the publisher's book club where they can select from more than a million books for free.Original Publisher: Edmonston and Douglas Publication date: 1861Subjects: Home economics; Universities and colleges; Scotland; Education / Higher; History / Europe / Great Britain; House ... Read more

Product Description
From parenting author Christina Baglivi Tinglof comes The Organized Parent, a collection of tips and advice on how you can create an organized and efficient home and family schedule. Three hundred sixty-five tips--divided into quick fixes and major tune-ups--focus on parent-specific organizational problems. You will find solutions for everything from budgeting to housecleaning to organizing messy closets, children's bedrooms, and family vacations to cooking and shopping to maintaining daily routines. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Nothing New
I was excited to read this book and learn some new tips for staying organized and managing my time with 2 kids under age 2, but this book was not the answer for me.I had seen 95% of the tips before, either in magazines or on organization shows, and I found many of the tips to be outdated (catalog shopping, dropping off film at the drugstore).This book felt like it was written a decade or so ago, then was revised to add some websites.

The author lives in an older house and has school-age children, and at times she seems to be writing only to the audience who has the same circumstances.Some of the tips (such as hanging a rope from your child's ceiling for storage) are dangerous, and others (building walls and knocking out niches) would require a hefty budget and/or great carpentry skills.

Finally, although it doesn't take an organization professional to write about organization, an amateur should NOT be giving financial advice.The author is obviously not a certified financial planner, yet makes suggestions on how the reader can get out of debt (cutting up credit cards, using an envelope system) and plan budgets.Please, if you are looking to tune your finances, consult a professional or at least read a book authored by an expert!

Overall, I was disappointed with the content and was looking for more specific strategies geared towards a "parent".

A MUST HAVE FOR BUSY FAMILIES!
As a busy mother of 8 children under the ages of 12--I'm always looking for new ideas to help keep us all on track.I definitely picked up some great "new" ideas from this book to add to my on-going collection of ways to be more organized and in control.She makes the read fun and quick!Very easy to follow when you are looking for specific topics.A great reference to come back to over and over again.As a writer myself, I appreciated her sense of humor and style!!

It helped me!
As a lifelong packrat and very unorganized person, this book is the first book that has ever actually motivated me to really become organized and I've actually read it all the way through and followed it's tips.A great thing about this book is that you don't have to read all the way through.Pick a chapter and dive right in AND it gives you great solutions/options for quick fixes or major rehauls.

I'm newly married and only have one small baby, but I'm hoping that as a SAHM, this will get my butt in gear and keep it there for years to come.

SOLD on this book,
Nicki
:)

Basic at best
I was rather disappointed in this book. The tips are mostly quite basic (although a handy reference if you don't have a similar book) - store things where you use them, make the kids help clean up. I didn't feel that it lived up to its title of 'the organized *parent*' but was more of a general organizing book.

A parenting bible.
I should have read this book sooner!!!!From A to Z this book will help you budget your time better and be more efficient. Thus giving you more time for your family and yourself. The suggestions and tips are very helpful.

A great reference book to keep on the shelf to pick up again and again. ... Read more

Product Description
Trusted pros show how to bring order to the chaos of real living spaces.

Achievable, money-saving strategies for kitchens, bedrooms, baths, basements, garages, and more.

Three steps everyone should follow when clearing the clutter, along with specific tips for different areas of the home.

Case studies including before-and-after photography.

Learn to shop for and personalize the right ready-made storage units.

Easy-to-use worksheets help track goals, set budgets, and design well-organized spaces.

Tips to store seasonal clothing, quilts and bedding, dishware, holiday decor, and more. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

A great resource
Since I have watched Mission Organization on television, it was great to review a lot of the tips in the book.I found this book to be a great resource.

HGTV Mission: Organization
I would rate this 3 stars only not the 5 that are showing...a clich.

Nicely done book, but was hoping for a little more in-depth information. It is a great little reminder of things seen on HGTV, but so easily forgotton during are far too busy schedules.

no real strategies
The author simply lists some common sense things people do, but never gives any unique ideas or strategies.

Operation Organized
Operation organized . . . one of the services I offer through my interior decorating business.This book is full of useful ideas, information, suggestions, advice and of course examples and photos!I own several organizing books and this is my favorite and the one I recommend to clients.Not only is it filled with information but it is very enjoyable to read - it makes the difficult task of organizing more enjoyable.

Organized and Easy to Follow
This book is well organized and easy to implement.It has simple steps to getting organized.I would have liked to see a few more pictures and room ideas, but overall it is an excellent guide to organizing rooms in a house. ... Read more

Product Description
In A Place to Call Home, Barton J. Hirsch identifies the strengths of after-school settings while challenging them to rise to new levels of excellence. After-school programs have attracted a strong and growing constituency. Parents, educators, researchers, and policymakers are engaged in pivotal debates about how after-school programs should be oriented. Powerful forces are pushing programs to be more school-like and oriented to academic drill. However, A Place to Call Home: After-School Programs for Urban Youth provides convincing evidence that yielding to such forces would be tragic, a wasted opportunity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The result of research conducted over a 40 year period
The result of an impressive and accessible scholarship, A Place To Call Home: After-School Program For Urban Youth by Barton J. Hirsch (Professor of Human Development and Social Policy, Northwestern University) is the result of research conducted by the author over a four-year period at six Boys & Girls Clubs located in low-income, predominately minority, urban neighborhoods. This study documents the crucial support that after-school programs provide urban youth with case illustrations, insightful analysis, and verbatim field notes. Enhanced with an extensive bibliography and an index, A Place To Call Home is strongly recommended reading for students of Urban Studies, Child Psychology, Education and School-Age Child Care issues. ... Read more

Product Description
This is a collection of over one hundred short inspirational anecdotes by and about the residents of L'Arche, a worldwide network of group homes for people with disabilities. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Ark flowers are bloomin'!
This is a spiritually uplifting book. I know they are true because I live in a L'Arche community in Clinton, Iowa. Some of these stories are about us. They are straight from our lives. And they are wonderful. These little vignettes are glimpses into the minds and hearts of our "core members," the people we live and work with who have mental disabilities. I recommend this book to anybody who wants to know more about what some people withmental retardation think and believe. I think you will find the stories precious.

Childlike simplicity teaches a gigantic lesson
It is simply written but filled with truths and lesson that are so beautifully true.The short examples are an ever refreshing insight into life from one who sees it in a truly simplistic manner. It can be used tomeditate on truths. ... Read more

Product Description
Based on the premise that bullying is learned behaviour that has to be challenged wherever it occurs, be it in families, schools or other community contexts, this work provides tested intervention and prevention programmes in a range of environments and institutions. It also concentrates not only on the behaviour of children and young people, but on the behaviour of the adults who set their models of behaviour. ... Read more

Product Description
This is not a book about entertaining. It is a book about the kind of hospitality that is a gift from God and how we can practice it in every aspect of our lives -- in church, at home, while driving to the grocery store. As she explores models of hospitality in the Bible and how Jesus modeled the development of this gift for us, Halverson shows specific ways we can achieve a hospitable lifestyle wherever we are. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Teaches the simplest path towards hospitality....
This book reaches out to the person deep inside me and sharestips on hospitality.Reading this book was easy for me, as I found Icould really relate first hand to her subjects. Using first handexperiences and examples, the author illustrates how to become more hospitable. Hospitality in our churches, in our home life, in our marriage, and yes even at work has become a lost art. When faced with a truly giving experience, we are often uncomfortable.

Deila Halverson, in her easy to read guidebook, takes us through the front door of churches she has visited and homes she has been in. Once in the door, she shows us ways to make things more welcoming, more inclusive to all.

This is a highly recommended source to anyone who is looking into how to make their church more user friendly, more warm and welcoming or how to improve their time spent with friends and family.

The author covers hospitality from a biblical perspective as it relates to:

Giving and Receiving Welcoming Speaking and listening Celebrating events and people serving others Healing and comforting others and hospitality overall as a mission. ... Read more

Product Description
Suburban sprawl, advertising clutter, vast industrial plantations of spindly pines punctuated by stone-lined gutters in place of streams--this was the thoroughly modern landscape of Germany by the turn of the century. Most people ignored the devastating changes in their environment, or quickly rationalized them away as the price that had to be paid for "progress." But in 1904, three-quarters of a century before Greenpeace, one group arose that did not compromise on conservation: the movement for "homeland-protection," or Heimatschutz.
Aesthetic or "romantic" ideas about the environment have often expressed valuable critiques of our all-too-utilitarian modern lifestyle. In the English-speaking world
John Ruskin and William Morris are well known for this kind of ecological antimodernism; a very similar aesthetic concern for landscape energized the Heimatschutz movement. Drawing on a wide range of archival and printed sources, many made accessible here for the first time, William H. Rollins shows that this was a broad-based middle-class reform movement that combined social egalitarianism with protection for the entire working landscape.
A Greener Vision of Home will appeal to readers in German studies and cultural studies and others interested in some of the roots and major strategies of today's highly visible environmental movement.
William H. Rollins is Lecturer in the Department of German, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
... Read more

Product Description
Offers an in-depth examination of parenting eduction and support in a wide range of contexts. The authors examine practice in a variety of settings and the theory underpinning these practices, where parenting education has become a key vehicle for the delivery of family-focused and social policies. ... Read more

Product Description
A foundation insider’s guide to financial management challenges and solutions

Foundation Management represents the only single-volume reference to cover tried and true and emerging financial planning and management issues–in both the domestic and foreign sectors–affecting philanthropic foundations. A companion to Frank Ellsworth and Joe Lumarda’s From Grantmaker to Leader: Emerging Strategies for 21st Century Foundations, this comprehensive survey not only provides practitioners with a better understanding of the changing financial, legal, and international landscape, but also delivers targeted operational management strategies. Topics covered include:

• European foundations
• Nongovernment organizations in Asia
• U.S. and Mexican relations foundations
• The relationship between the IRS and philanthropic foundations
• The roles of lawyers, accountants, and investment professionals

Extensive interviews with key industry insiders supplement the commentary throughout. Trustees, CEOs, CFOs, members of investment committees, tax and estate-planning professionals, and program officers will find Foundation Management to be an indispensable resource. ... Read more

Product Description