BRF – serie

A core resource for anyone involved in spiritual mentoring, Mentoring Conversations provides a basis for spiritual conversation in a mentoring context through 30 short chapters structured around six key topic areas: Foundations; Steps to growth; Living out your faith; Going deeper; Staying strong; and Living with mystery. Each chapter begins with a Bible passage or text, followed by the author’s comment on the topic, questions to use as a starting point for conversation and suggestions for further reading.

This book is addressed directly to women experiencing domestic abuse, and to those who seek to support them, including pastoral leaders, friends and support organisations.It debunks the myths – perpetuated by some abusers and, unwittingly, by many churches – which prevent women from getting out of harm’s way. It helps them realise that the Bible does not belong to their abuser but is a text of liberation. Written with careful attention to pastoral issues, it closely examines and clearly explains the relevant scriptural texts.

From the Community of Aidan and Hilda, here is a resource to create a daily rhythm of prayer, inspired by historic and contemporary Celtic Christian spirituality and earthed in the activities of everyday living. Celtic Rhythms of Life contains ready-to-use forms of prayer for morning, midday, evening and night, seven days a week. Morning and evening prayer have a choice of four psalms and scripture readings from the Old and New Testaments. Midday and night prayer have short scripture readings printed in the text. Each day also has its own theme, from resurrection on Sundays to the kingdom on Saturdays.

Christmas is a musical destination as well as a spiritual one, yet when we reach the newborn Christ child in the manger, what do we see? What music do we hear in our hearts as we join our songs with those of the angels?In 25 short chapters, each concluding with a specially written prayer, Gordon Giles explores the spiritual and biblical allusions to be found within our best-loved Christmas carols. A Calendar of Carols can be used either as an Advent calendar up to Christmas, or more flexibly over the Christmas season and into January.

Drawing from his experience of co-leading pilgrimages in Britain and Ireland, Michael Mitton captures the essence of 23 significant pilgrimage sites for anyone from experienced pilgrims to armchair pilgrims. Each chapter outlines the story of the Celtic saint who founded the site, together with information about the location, a poem inspired by the author’s experience of that place, a reflective question, a suggested Bible reading and a photo of the site.

The gospels are full of references to coins, money, taxes, costs, pricing, wages, bribery and gambling.In The Cost of Christian Living, Martyn Percy explores the different meanings and uses of money in the gospels. Through parables, miracles, and encounters, Martyn offers a unique perspective on the intersection of faith and finance, helping readers to engage in new ways with the stories of Jesus’ life and death. Ultimately, God’s economy is one formed through the currency of love.Includes stories from Holy Week and discussion material suitable for Lent.

Stillness is an alien concept in today's busy world. Communication, entertainment, work and relationships seem accessible to us 24–7, and it can feel impossible to change the pace. In Be Still, Lucy Rycroft takes us on a journey of 30 Bible devotions, reflecting on the concept of being still. From Moses leading the Israelites through the Red Sea, to the raw emotions of the Psalms, to Jesus calming the storm, the focus of this book is how we, as Christians living in the crazed busyness of the 21st century, can absorb biblical truths to help us discover what being still looks like for us today.

How does a Christian parent tackle common parenting issues? What can we bring to the table that will not only help our children to navigate a complex world, but to do it with faith and a growing awareness of God’s presence with them? The Parenting for Faith podcast has been equipping parents since 2018, with over 200 episodes in its back catalogue. This book draws out wisdom from our guests, brought together by the Parenting for Faith team, on 52 relevant topics for parents and carers.

Pausing to think, pray and yield to God at every stage is a natural, vital element of the creative process. Bless the Work of Our Hands offers prayers, reflections and biblical character studies to encourage Christian creatives to commit themselves and their projects to God. Written for hobbyists and paid professionals alike, playing and working in every genre, it encourages an honest, open-handed and open-hearted approach, in order that all we produce and all we become from our creative toil may bring glory to God.

Belonging without Barriers casts a vision of inclusion and full belonging within our churches and other Christian communities for those with additional needs. Brading, Bunyan, and Wood begin by exploring the theological basis for this vision, aiming to inspire the reader with God’s love for the weak and marginalised in society. They then move into a practical section outlining a range of different experiences we are likely to encounter, including autism, learning disabilities, and physical disabilities. Each chapter contains up-to-date research, personal accounts, interviews, and a range of specific, actionable ideas, including changes that any individual within the church could make. This book shares a vision not just for inclusion, but for full integration and belonging for those with additional needs. Throughout, the emphasis is that this is an ‘every believer ministry’ as we all grow in love together as Christ’s disciples wherever he has put us.

No one dreams of being a stepparent – and that is where the adventure begins.Through practical guidance and biblical pointers, stepmum and bio-mum Esther Kuku leads you towards peace and fulfilment in your day-to-day family life. Packed with wisdom and encouragement, as well as a good dose of reality, this devotional will strengthen and empower you to embrace the beautiful gift of family that God has entrusted to you.

After a gruelling 140-mile pilgrimage walking across the rugged terrain of North Wales, Trystan Owain Hughes finds himself facing another, very different pilgrimage as he recovers from a serious injury sustained on the walk. In To Hell’s Mouth and Back he explores his experience of suffering, considering how God can redeem and transform pain and disability, and examines how common experiences of pilgrimage are echoed in the challenges of our life journeys. Along the way, the reader is led to consider the journeys we all face, as we search for God’s presence and hope in our joys and pains.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could make Christmas greener, less wasteful, less stressful, more enjoyable, and with more space to focus on what it’s really all about? Written for families to work through, Dreaming of a Green Christmas is an essential companion as you prepare for the festive season. With 111 practical eco-tips to select from, you’ll find inspiration and encouragement too, with pauses in the busyness for moments of biblical reflection that speak of God’s love for his creation – people and planet.

Dementia is one of today’s most feared health conditions, and Christians with the condition may also worry about losing their faith and their connection to God. However, there is still hope: those living with dementia can still find meaning in their life and their faith. Written by two practitioners in this field, Dementia, God and the Church aims to show how person-centred approaches to dementia can provide hope. Wendy Gleadle first examines the difficulties of maintaining religious beliefs as cognition declines, and the implications if faith is not only cognitive, but an expression of the whole person, such as emotions and relationships, the arts, and creativity. Frances Attwood asks how churches can better support those living with dementia, through examining what they and their families and carers find helpful and want most. Throughout, space is given to first-hand stories of those with dementia, those working with them and those caring for them.

Christian. Mother. Working – in that order.It’s easy to look at life only through the lens of being a Christian mum. But could we weave our other important work into the equation?In Christian. Mother. Working, Naomi Aidoo considers how family and faith impact our work in each of life’s seasons. With more and more mothers in the workforce, she shows how working motherhood is something to be celebrated as we display our gifts and the call on our lives in areas which extend beyond our families, offering prayerful, practical prompts to encourage flourishing and fulfilment.

Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone loves to hear a story… In Footsteps of Faith, popular speaker and mentor Tony Horsfall distils the wisdom of over 50 years of discipleship and ministry. Using the events of his own life story to illustrate the ways in which God prepares us for ministry and shapes us for fruitfulness, he reflects on different life stages and identifies key phases of the spiritual journey. Through these he explores the process of leadership development and considers issues of transition and change, purpose and identity, and rest and contentment.

Our everyday lives are full of small-scale beginnings and endings-births, death, marriages, careers, house moves and so on. How do the grand-scale beginnings and endings of Advent help to guide us as we seek to follow Jesus in the 21st century? This book of daily readings reflects on the stories of six groups of people and individual characters from the Bible. Each provides a focus on the idea of beginnings and endings, and each gives us a glimpse into the human experience in between.

The idea of 'giving something up for Lent' is widely known and discussed today - yet how many know that the ancient discipline of the Lenten fast had several purposes? It was designed as a reminder of our daily dependence on God for all our needs, to draw us closer to God in prayer, to reconnect with the idea of community, and to help us follow Christ's journey through the wilderness and on to Jerusalem. How many of us simply abstain from some treat or other for a few weeks and fail to engage with this deeper meaning of Lent? This book shows how Lent can be a time for exploring a different kind of 'giving up', one that can transform our lives. If we are to draw closer to God, we have to be willing to give up some of our entrenched ideas about him, in order to see him more clearly. In a series of daily studies, Maggi Dawn shows how, throughout Scripture, people were radically changed by encountering the true God. If we follow their examples, we can allow the Holy Spirit to shed his light on our ideas of God that are too harsh, too small, too fragile, or too stern. Then God will graciously reveal himself to us and bring us to an Easter joy that is richer and more profound than ever before.

For some, Christmas is a magical time. For others, it can be painful, and the tinselled tellings of Jesus’ birth feel saccharine and empty. Yet in that first Christmas, all of life is there – disgrace and honour, uncertainty and hope, temptation and tyranny, sorrow and celebration. Interweaving theological insight with honest experiences, Marlow traces the themes of loss and gain throughout the nativity. Against a darker backdrop, we see with greater clarity our unshakeable blessings. However you feel about Christmas, Treasures in Straw will leave you with fresh wonder, deeper understanding, and genuine joy.