Women, created by God in His own image, serve as co-stewards (with men)over God's creation. Historically the church, as well as society as a whole, has placed women in a silent and subservient role, far from God's purpose at creation. How do parents in the 21st century raise up confident and strong daughters who will fulfill their potential in bringing wholeness to a broken world?

Lisa Graham McMinn has written a thoughtful, well-organized and practical book addressing some of the issues women and girls face in today's society. Drawing from her own experience as mother of three daughters and sociology professor at Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL), McMinn outlines ways parents can encourage girls to have confidence, voice, a balanced self-image, and an appropriate perception of themselves as women. In short, McMinn celebrates biblical feminism, urging women and girls to rejoice in their uniqueness as image-bearers of God.

"Being gracious, empowered women is what I hope for my students and my daughters," McMinn writes in her introductory chapter. "To be a non-bitter Christian woman is to feel blessed, after all, to BE a woman ... Christian women who are empowered to interact in the world recognize the strength endowed them from being made in the image of God. Thus they are able to respond confidently to God's call ... seeking to bring peace, justice and mercy to a broken world."

Women of all ages will find their own stories in the pages of McMinn's book. Written not only for parents of adolescent girls, GROWING STRONG DAUGHTERS is important reading for pastors, teachers, youth workers, grandparents, and young men -- anyone whose life touches that of a young woman.

Thank God - literally - for Lisa McMinn's book. As my husband and I wrestle with raising our own 14-year-old daughter, we find comfort and guidance through the pages of this balanced, helpful look at bringing up girls. McMinn offers valuable insights about the mixed messages girls receive from their families, their churches, and from contemporary culture, and is vulnerable about her own successes and failures in raising her three daughters. Practical without preachy, this is a book we'll refer to again and again -- and give as a gift to our friends.

Perfection is the best way to describe this classic story collection by the legendary James Joyce. Dubliners follows the lives of ordinary folks in early twentieth century Ireland. Instead of using dramatic events such as many conventional short stories do, Joyce centered his tales on what seemed to be inconsequential. This groundbreaking literary formula succeeded and Dubliners went on to become one of the most greatly praised and athologized works of all time. By focusing on the magnitude of simple things, Joyce provided writing that truly connects the reader with the character through empathy. Examples of such include Araby in which an adolescent boy seeks romance and idealizes a beautiful girl who pays him no mind, and A Painful Case that portrays a lonely man who is haunted by a relationship he had with a married woman after he hears of her untimely death.

Each story in Dubliners contains gorgeously descriptive passages and words that dance across the pages. Though the themes may be dismal and the people Joyce writes of often come up empty-handed, the reader will likely find an underlying optimism that hardship builds strength and hope will prevail.

Interestingly, Dubliners barely came to print. Years of controversy hindered the 1914 release of the book, as many publishers regarded the stories as immoral and risque. Fortunately the public embraced it, and today we should all be required to read this enduring work by one of Ireland's finest, Mr. James Joyce.

The Dubliners is a collection of short stories which open the windows into the lives of the citizens of Dublin in the beginning of the twentieth century. The stories are depressing as well as uplifting. It just depends on the conclusions the reader draws from the open endings of the stories. The opportunity to finish the stories myself was actually one of the features I liked most about the entire book, but especially about the last and longest story-the Dead. The Dead sums up all the concerns and issues raised time and time again throughout the Dubliners - religion, alcohol addiction, immorality, and political instability of Ireland. In my opinion, The Dead is the key to the entire book. For me, the last sentence of The Dead as well as of the entire book, " His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow was falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead," was as much of a mystery as of a hint. It really got me thinking, because there so many ways to take it. First, did Gabriel die or not? Was just Joyce describing the last moments of Gabriel's life or was he describing the first moments of Gabriel's new life? I have always been an optimist, so many might consider my opinion biased, but I personally think that the sentence marks new beginning and new life for Gabriel. Of course, I have to admit that Gabriel had a good reason to commit suicide after realizing that his beloved wife had been in love with her dead lover for all this time, but, honestly, I do not see Gabriel as a hopeless man who would simply give up his life and future. I see him more as a man who was taught a hard lesson and learned it well. I see him more as a man whose eyes were open. I see new Gabriel as man who wants to do and not only talk about doing. Then there is the description of snow falling which is another important clue/mystery the Dead gives the reader to help him to figure out for himself if the book is truly uplifting or depressing. I personally the snow is a pointer that the ending is truly an optimistic one and that somewhere there is brighter future for everybody . Why do I think that? It is the gentle way the snow is described. It covers the world and all its problem like a white blanket. It makes everything seem so pure and clean. I cannot help thinking that Joyce used snow on purpose to help the reader draw such conclusion. But, I am sure that many other readers came to just an opposite conclusion that the snow represents a deep and abiding human truth: the essential loneliness of the soul. But that is just right because the diversity of the conclusions is the beauty of the book.

Though now more famous for his later, immense, incredibly ambitious novels, James Joyce's early collection of short stories remains a classic - and for good reason. Joyce, as someone once pointed out, was and remains almost unique among writers in that he published only masterpieces. Granted, he took years (eventually decades) to write each book - yes, even this slim volume of 15 short stories. It paid off. Just as Joyce was immensely influential with his stream-of-consciousness (or interior monologue) style used in Portrait of The Artist As A Young Man and Ulysses (#3 and #1 on Modern Libary's Top 100 Books of the 20th century, respectively), and the... let us say, indescribable, style of Finnegan's Wake (which people are STILL trying to figure out), his style in writing these short stories became almost the archetype for short fiction in this century. Instead of focusing on action-oriented events in the story (or, as Edgar Allen Poe suggested, by trying to create a particular mood), Joyce instead centered on the simple, everyday mundane events of regular life. This not only made the stories seem realistic and believable, but also made them universally applicable. This is the reason why this is considered one of the greatest short story collections of all-time, and has been one of the most widely anthologized. A true classic of the 20th century.

It is a very good choice for those who want to learn French.

These tapes are an excellent addtion to(and really a necessity for anyone who uses)the corresponding textbook, HORIZONS. They are fun and interesting in subjest matter. The only drawback to them is that they do not list the vocabulary words from the textbook, that the student might hear each word spoken individually.

This book is a superb textbook for anyone who wishes to study French on their own or for faculty seeking a well written, interesting and asthetically stimulating text for their introductory courses. While I am on the faculty at my college, I signed up for the French I class for fun. The course was cancelled but I was able to teach myself the material, so complete is this book when used with tapes and workbook. It surpasses all of the "teach yourself" books. Excellent!

This is the first book of this series The sword and the Ring. This book has mystery, violence, innocence, longing, and love all wrapped up in a enjoyable story. The characters are a bit undefined and I would have liked a bit more substance to the main as well as to the secondary characters but it still was an enjoyable read.

The story starts off with a young woman and an old nun alone as the only survivors of a horrid year. They are almost to the point of starvation when two knights appear. They give them shelter only to regret it. The two knights rob them, kill the nun and beat the young woman. she is only saved by the fact that one of the knights does have some honor. She is found later by Lord Damon of Wulfere. He is shocked to find her beaten and takes her to his home. He was going to the convent to pick up his bride Lady Lorabelle who was residing there. When he finds the woman he beleives her to be Lorabelle because she wears the engagement ring. he is determined not to really care for her but he soon finds himself drawn to her.

Belle, as her new husband calls her, must overcome her wounds and become the lady of the keep. she takes his sisters under her wing and tries to make this cold castle a warm home, but the uglyness she has faced before is threatening her happiness. She must gain Damon's trust and love in order for her to prevail.

I look forward to reading other books in this series.

Pestilence decimated those living at the convent, leaving behind the old Sister Berenice and young Aurelie. When strange knights approach begging shelter, they cannot turn the men away. The fortune hunters, however, have no qualms about killing the old nun and robbing the convent of its treasures. One knight is soon pitted against the other, however, in defense of the young woman, whom they at last leave behind, but not before she's badly beaten.

Damon of Wufere returns from the king's campaigns in France, and a year spent in a dudgeon, to find his father dead, his four young sisters running amuck, and his estates in disarray. He determines to claim the bride long promised so that she might assume some of the duties of the castle. However, when Damon arrives at the convent, he only finds one survivor, a badly beaten yet vulnerably beautiful young woman who wears his betrothal ring. Despite her protestations, he carries her to the castle so they might be wed. As his bride gently reaches beyond his well place guards to touch the man behind the warrior, Damon soon finds his heart is captive to this beauty. Yet he can't help wondering what secrets she keeps.

Author Suzanne McMinn brings the pageantry, intrigue and danger of medieval England vividly alive in MY LADY IMPOSTER. Like a breath of fresh air, McMinn stirs ancient history into a vivid account that includes mischievous children, betrayal and love. Her obvious delight in the period gives the background and characterizations both believability and depth. While I often become short tempered with characters who purposefully mislead, the heroine circumstances and reasons lend her motivation a unique and convincing twist. MY LADY IMPOSTER has been added to my keeper shelf and comes highly recommended.

Most of the time that is the best way to describe the feelings for a baby! -- Garrett Blakemore needed to find out if the expectant mother Lanie was really carrying a Blakemore heir -- When Lanie first meets Garrett she is overcome with the feeling that she was seeing her dead husband Ben -- Garrett's cousin. She had mistakenly written to Ben's father, Walter Blakemore to tell of her unborn child.
Garrett has to determine if Lanie is truly an innocent or just after an inheritance. Walter is suspecious and not exactely to be trusted.
Garrett can't understand how he can be attracted to a woman eight months pregnant but was finding himself becoming envious of his cousin. The tenderness he felt when holding little Dalton was making him wish the child and mother were his.
He did have some very strong issues to resolve. Loved the ending.
This is really a very good story for SR and you will thoroughly enjoy it -- have a good read.

Mark McMinn and James Foster, both Christian psychologists, respond to the assault on the practice of Christian psychology being made by many within the Church. However, the book is more than a response. It is also an attempt at teaching Christians to think for themselves and an attempt at giving them some of the basic tools to do so. (The book is aptly subtitled "Guarding Your Mind Against Manipulation and Self-deception.")

Among some of the other topics covered besides psychology & faith are public education, humanism, apologetics, positive thinking, and critical thinking.

Although not a thorough (and perhaps not an entirely convincing) response to such books as William Kilpatrick's "Psychological Seduction," Paul Vitz's "Psychology as Religion" or Dave Hunt's "Beyond Seduction", the book contains information that is absolutely pertinent to the debate over psychology and spirituality.

As your library would be incomplete without Kilpatrick's and Vitz's works, it is incomplete without McMinn & Foster's. Read with attention and care!

What a breath of fresh air! Suzanne McMinn takes a tried and true storyline, the reunion of a high-school lovers years later, and puts many twists on the subject. I was pleased immediately when Natalie wasn't hiding Miller's secret baby from him and she didn't leave him in high school because she was pregnant. If either of those things had happened, as I'd read in so many books, I would have been tempted to throw the book down. Instead, McMinn gave a compelling reason why the female character left her man ten years ago, one that really made me understand how much Natalie loved Miller and been afraid she loved him too much. The whodunit also added to the suspense and tension of this well done novel. I've never read McMinn's work before, but I will certainly do it again now. My only complaint was that it ended too soon. But all in all, worth your time and money!

I had no prior experience with a foreign language and have been stuck with this book at my local community college for 3 semesters. It is extremely advanced and difficult to follow. After purchasing additional tapes, CD-ROM, verb conjugator and a Spanish/English dictionary, I am still unable to translate some sentences. This book goes beyond confusion, it is almost impossible to learn from. As a matter of fact, if you are not already fluent in the Spanish language, I wouldn't recommend this book at all! It is horrible! And definitely not for beginners!

I wouldn't recomend this book for learning spanish if there were no other evidence of the spanish language on earth

I'm bilingual, and teaching children. This book is GOOD!

cirugia con tecnica de SISTRUN

Everyone agrees that the anatomy of Head and Neck is the most difficult, yet important, part of human anatomy. McMinn did a really great job in this book which presents detailed but clear structures which are clinically(surgically) relevant. Lecturers usually recommend medical students, who eager to pursue a srugical career in the future, to read Last's anatomy and using the the real-specimens-featured McMinn's Color Atlas of Human Anatomy. The latter atlas is enough for Med School anatomy course, but the content of Head and Neck part chapter is less than the Color Atlas of Head and Neck Anatomy which in the whole book deals with ENT. I think this Head and Neck atlas is particularly useful for ENT surgeons(and Dental Surgeons as well) or students who want to be ENT surgeons. Otherwise one may find enough to read Last's and McMinn's(I also use Netter as a supplement).

I thought this was going to be a good book apparently I was wrong. I do not reccommend that you buy this book but maybe check it out at the library.