This engaging prequel to Joseph Girzone's bestselling series, which has sold more than 5 million books in the United States, describes Joshua's early years and the first inklings of his destiny as a messenger of love in a troubled world. Millions of readers around the world have followed the story of the gentle woodcarver and carpenter who was first introduced in 1983 in Joseph Girzone's beloved parable Joshua. In Joshua's Family, Girzone travels back in time, painting a captivating portrait of the mother and father who nurtured Joshua and of the friends and neighbors who viewed the unusually precocious child with an uneasy balance of wonder and skepticism.
There are countless paths to follow when seeking spiritual guidance, but thousands of years of theology and religion cannot replace the premier example that Jesus himself set for us. In A Portrait of Jesus, bestselling writer Joseph Girzone recaptures the truth of Jesus that is presented to us in the Gospels and gives a compelling vision of the person Jesus' contemporaries must have known.
Girzone seeks to personify Christ in the minds of readers by asking some simple questions: 'What did people see in Jesus as He walked down the street? How did He approach others and what would these people take away from meeting Him? What do His actions tell us about how we can live our lives today?' Girzone' empowering and loving understanding of the heart of Christianity will make this another groundbreaking classic in the tradition of his Joshua and Never Alone.
In THE WISDOM OF HIS COMPASSION, bestselling author Joseph Girzone reflects on the character and mind of Jesus through a series of meditations. Each meditation is based on an episode related in the Gospel and focuses on a particular aspect of Jesus' life and its significance to contemporary Christians. Some of the meditations bring to life Jesus' humor, others his penetrating insights into human frailties. Together they create a portrait of a warm, compassionate divinity who relates to each person as an individual. As he recounts and interprets the lessons of the Gospel, Girzone shows that compassion for our fellow human beings is the most profound expression of God's love and wisdom. His thoughtful, incisive meditations will help listeners turn away from thoughts of retribution or punishment, and will inspire them to embrace God's message of help and healing.
Joseph Girzone, who so powerfully captured the spirit of Jesus in his Joshua novels and in his best-selling A Portrait of Jesus, brings his work to a beautiful culmination with this retelling of the life and work of Jesus, based on the accounts in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Girzone captures the greatest story ever told in language that will open the hearts of readers from all backgrounds. From the birth of the Messiah to the wedding at Cana, the Sermon on the Mount, the Passion, and the triumphant Resurrection, each episode and lesson from the life of Jesus is rendered with wisdom and freshness.
"Girzone uses Jesus' relationships with both God and others to define just what intimacy with God actually looks like."-Publishers Weekly
The Sequel to the Bestselling Spiritual Parable Joshua
Nearly two decades earlier, the tiny town of Auburn was transformed by the presence of a quiet, humble carpenter named Joshua. With gentle actions of love and words of peace, this mysterious man had a profound influence upon everyone he met. Since then, however, many of Joshua's friends have passed away, and a generation has grown up not knowing him. And as the new millennium approaches, some have begun to get anxious, even panicked, about what God intends for them.
Amid this atmosphere of uncertainty, Joshua returns to reassure the people of Auburn by reminding them of the lessons he left them years before. He explains that God is love, not a monster intent on punishing them. But when an immense earthquake and other 'signs of the apocalypse' seem to abound, Joshua realizes that his wisdom must reach beyond this small town to help the rest of the world.
This provocative addition to the best-selling Joshua series finds Joshua in post-9/11 America trying to unite Muslims, Jews, and Christians. His Arabic appearance and lack of ID prompt anti-terrorist agents to shadow him as he travels from D.C. to Beirut to Oslo in his quest to convince political and religious leaders to form a lasting peace.
Joseph F. Girzone is the author of the best-selling novel Joshua. His work Kara, the Lonely Falcon, a thought-provoking story of a creature at odds with his very nature, has been in print for over two decades. A moving parable about gentleness and self-sacrifice, it continues to inspire millions of fans. For ages, all Kara has known is hunting and killing his next meal, but one day something changes within him. A new kind of hunger is growing, one in his heart. He can't quite explain it, but he makes a vow to never kill another living thing. Kara finds his hunger sated by a presence he is intimately aware of, but cannot see. As he grows into his new-found compassion, he begins making preparations for his next important journey. Girzone's powerful personifications bring this tale to vivid life. Alexandra O'Karma's warm narration will have listeners soaring along with Kara to the greatest of heights.
