People to Be Loved

People to Be Loved
Author: Preston Sprinkle
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2015-12-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310519667

Christians who are confused by the homosexuality debate raging in the US are looking for resources that are based solidly on a deep study of what Scripture says about the issue. In People to Be Loved, Preston Sprinkle challenges those on all sides of the debate to consider what the Bible says and how we should approach the topic of homosexuality in light of it. In a manner that appeals to a scholarly and lay-audience alike, Preston takes on difficult questions such as how should the church treat people struggling with same-sex attraction? Is same-sex attraction a product of biological or societal factors or both? How should the church think about larger cultural issues, such as gay marriage, gay pride, and whether intolerance over LGBT amounts to racism? How (or if) Christians should do business with LGBT persons and supportive companies? Simply saying that the Bible condemns homosexuality is not accurate, nor is it enough to end the debate. Those holding a traditional view still struggle to reconcile the Bible’s prohibition of same-sex attraction with the message of radical, unconditional grace. This book meets that need.

Assuming the Ecosexual Position

Assuming the Ecosexual Position
Author: Annie Sprinkle
Publisher: U of Minnesota Press
Total Pages: 383
Release: 2021-08-17
Genre: Art
ISBN: 145296579X

The story of the artistic collaboration between the originators of the ecosex movement, their diverse communities, and the Earth What’s sexy about saving the planet? Funny you should ask. Because that is precisely—or, perhaps, broadly—what Annie Sprinkle and Beth Stephens have spent many years bringing to light in their live art, exhibitions, and films. In 2008, Sprinkle and Stephens married the Earth, which set them on the path to explore the realms of ecosexuality as they became lovers with the Earth and made their mutual pleasure an embodied expression of passion for the environment. Ever since, they have been not just pushing but obliterating the boundaries circumscribing biology and ecology, creating ecosexual art in their performance of an environmentalism that is feminist, queer, sensual, sexual, posthuman, materialist, exuberant, and steeped in humor. Assuming the Ecosexual Position tells of childhood moments that pointed to a future of ecosexuality—for Annie, in her family swimming pool in Los Angeles; for Beth, savoring forbidden tomatoes from the vine on her grandparents’ Appalachian farm. The book describes how the two came together as lovers and collaborators, how they took a stand against homophobia and xenophobia, and how this union led to the miraculous conception of the Love Art Laboratory, which involved influential performance artists Linda M. Montano, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, and feminist pornographer Madison Young. Stephens and Sprinkle share the process of making interactive performance art, including the Chemo Fashion Show, Cuddle, Sidewalk Sex Clinics, and Ecosex Walking Tours. Over the years, they celebrated many more weddings to various nature entities, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Adriatic Sea. To create these weddings, they collaborated with hundreds of people and invited thousands of guests as they vowed to love, honor, and cherish the many elements of the Earth. As entertaining as it is deeply serious, and arriving at a perilous time of sharp differences and constricting categories, the story of this artistic collaboration between Sprinkle, Stephens, their diverse communities, and the Earth opens gender and sexuality, art and environmentalism, to the infinite possibilities and promise of love.

Star of the Week

Star of the Week
Author: Darlene Friedman
Publisher: Harper Collins
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2009-06-02
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0061141364

It's Cassidy—Li's turn to be Star of the Week at school! So she's making brownies and collecting photos for her poster. She has pictures of all the important people in her life—with one big exception. Cassidy—Li, adopted from China when she was a baby, doesn't have a photo of her birthparents. But with a little help from her family, she comes up with the perfect way to include them! Using their own family's story as a model, Darlene Friedman and Roger Roth celebrate the love of families everywhere through this straightforward and insightful book.

The Sprinkles Baking Book

The Sprinkles Baking Book
Author: Candace Nelson
Publisher: Grand Central Life & Style
Total Pages: 550
Release: 2016-10-25
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 1455592595

Cupcake favorites and dessert classics from the pastry chef and creator of Sprinkles Cupcakes and judge on Food Network's Cupcake Wars. When Candace Nelson started Sprinkles, America's first cupcakes-only bakery, in 2005, people thought she was crazy. "What else do you sell?" they'd ask. But Sprinkles sold out on opening day . . . and hasn't slowed down since! Now, in her first cookbook, Candace opens up her recipe vault to bring you 100 irresistible desserts she can't live without. You'll learn all the secrets for making 50 beloved Sprinkles Cupcakes, from iconic red velvet to new flavors created exclusively for the book, like crv®me brvalv©e. But Candace doesn't stop there. She shares the recipes for her all-time favorite cakes, pies, quick breads, cookies, bars, and other treats, plus delicious guest recipes from Sprinkles friends like Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, and Michael Strahan. The Sprinkles Baking Book is filled with all-American classics that will appeal to everyone in your family and on your dinner party guest list. So, don't hold back. Treat yourself to this sweet cookbook and share in the fun!

Listen, Love, Repeat

Listen, Love, Repeat
Author: Karen Ehman
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
Total Pages: 257
Release: 2016-11-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310339685

Our culture is self-obsessed – in our schedules, relationships, and especially online. (Can you say selfie?) But in this near-narcissism, people are less content than in decades past. Why? Because we forgot the joy that comes from putting others first. Doing so requires us to live alert, listening for “heart drops,” hints from those in our lives who need a helping hand or a generous dose of encouragement. Living alert lifts our own spirits, showing us that blessing others blesses us even more. Listen, Love, Repeat offers biblical teaching and suggests doable actions that are simple, heart-tugging, sentimental, even sneaky and hilarious. This message: • Presents scriptural examples of those who lived alert, including Jesus, who noticed those who least expected to be seen. • Explains the role of good works for followers of Christ. They aren’t our ticket to heaven but they are our marching orders on earth. • Gives creative ideas for showing love to friends and family, and suggests practical ways to reach out to the lonely, the marginalized, the outcast, and the odd duck. Additionally, it helps you comfort the grieving, showing what you can do when you don’t know what to say. • Provides inspiration for blessing the “necessary people” in your life, those often-overlooked souls who help you get life done every day, and teaches you how to hug a porcupine by genuinely loving the hard-to-love. As we scatter love, we create a safe space where we can openly share the gospel. We get to see lives changed right before our eyes. Most importantly, Listen, Love, Repeat will enable you to live a life that is full of kind deeds, not to selfishly shout, “Hey! Look at me!” but to humbly implore, “Will you look at Him?”

The Power of Sprinkles

The Power of Sprinkles
Author: Amirah Kassem
Publisher: Abrams
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2019-04-09
Genre: Cooking
ISBN: 168335575X

“Kassem’s cakes are pure rainbow joy.” —Food & Wine In this wildly cheerful cookbook, New York bakery owner Amirah Kassem preaches the power of sprinkles. A modern-day Willy Wonka, Kassem reminds us that joy can be found in creating something delightful and delicious, that baking a cake for someone is the best thing in the world, and that, when it comes to cake decorating, any mistake can be covered in sprinkles (and everyone will love it anyway!). With twenty-nine different cakes—from unicorn cakes and donut cakes to cakes that look like reindeer, popcorn, spaghetti, and avocado toast—and packed with photographs, illustrations, and infinite ideas, The Power of Sprinkles is a book for bakers and cake decorators at every age and level. “One of the few figures in the food industry who can get the fashion set to eat their carbs.” —Vogue

Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits

Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits
Author: Anna Meriano
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 235
Release: 2019-02-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0062498517

The second book in this breakout series that's been called "charming and delectably sweet." (Zoraida Córdova, award-winning author of the Brooklyn Brujas series) Leonora Logroño has finally been introduced to her family’s bakery bruja magic—but that doesn’t mean everything is all sugar and spice. Her special power hasn’t shown up yet, her family still won’t let her perform her own spells, and they now act rude every time Caroline comes by to help Leo with her magic training. She knows that the family magic should be kept secret, but Caroline is her best friend, and she’s been feeling lonely ever since her mom passed away. Why should Leo have to choose between being a good bruja and a good friend? In the midst of her confusion, Leo wakes up one morning to a startling sight: her dead grandmother, standing in her room, looking as alive as she ever was. Both Leo and her abuela realize this might mean trouble—especially once they discover that Abuela isn’t the only person in town who has been pulled back to life from the other side. Spirits are popping up all over town, causing all sorts of trouble! Is this Leo’s fault? And can she reverse the spell before it’s too late? Anna Meriano’s unforgettable family of brujas returns in a new story featuring a heaping helping of amor, azúcar, and magia.

Embodied

Embodied
Author: Preston M. Sprinkle
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2021-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830781234

Compassionate, biblical, and thought-provoking, Embodied is an accessible guide for Christians who want help navigating issues related to the transgender conversation. Preston Sprinkle draws on Scripture, as well as real-life stories of individuals struggling with gender dysphoria, to help you understand the complexities and emotions of this highly relevant topic. This book fills the great need for Christians to speak into the confusing and emotionally charged questions surrounding the transgender conversation. With careful research and an engaging style, Embodied explores: What it means to be transgender, nonbinary, and gender-queer, and how these identities relate to being male or female Why most stereotypes about what it means to be a man and woman come from the culture and not the Bible What the Bible says about humans created in God’s image as male and female, and how this relates to transgender experiences Moral questions surrounding medical interventions such as sex reassignment surgery Which pronouns to use and how to navigate the bathroom debate Why more and more teens are questioning their gender

Erasing Hell

Erasing Hell
Author: Francis Chan
Publisher: David C Cook
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0781407257

Addressing a variety of views on hell, the Bible, and the character of God, offers an eloquent response to the recent media storm surrounding questions of eternal destiny.