Van Tracy has narrated 20 audiobooks on Listento.it by 18 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.6★ across 69 ratings. The most-rated is Hope in the Dark.
Hope in the Dark
Summary
Can God be good when life is not? Rediscover faith in the character, power, and presence of God. Even in the questions. Even in the hurt. "I want to believe, I want to have hope, but...." Pastor and best-selling author Craig Groeschel hears these words often and has asked them himself. We want to know God, feel his presence, and trust that he hears our prayers, but in the midst of great pain, we may wonder if he really cares about us. Even when we have both hope and hurt, sometimes it's the hurt that shouts the loudest. In Hope in the Dark, Groeschel explores the story of the father who brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus, saying, "I believe! Help my unbelief!" In the man's sincere plea, Jesus heard the tension in the man's battle-scarred heart. He healed not only the boy but the father too, driving out the hopelessness that had overtaken him. He can do the same for us today. As Groeschel shares his pain surrounding the health challenges of his daughter, he acknowledges the questions we may ask in our own deepest pain: "Where was God when I was being abused?" "Why was my child born with a disability?" "Why did the cancer come back?" "Why are all my friends married and I'm alone?" He invites us to wrestle with such questions as we ask God to honor our faith and heal our unbelief. Because in the middle of your profound pain, you long for authentic words of understanding and hope. You long to know that even in overwhelming reality, you can still believe that God is good. Hope in the Dark is also available in Spanish, Esperanza en la Oscuridad.
©2018 Craig Groeschel (P)2018 Zondervan
Divine Direction
Summary
Every day we make choices. And those choices accumulate and eventually become our life story. What would your life look like if you became an expert at making those choices? In this inspiring guidebook, New York Times best-selling author Craig Groeschel shows how the choices that are in your power, if aligned with biblical principles, will lead to a life you've never imagined. Divine Direction will help you seek wisdom through seven principles. You'll consider one thing to stop that's hindering you; how to start a new habit to redirect your path; where you should stay committed; and when you should go, even if it's easier to stay. The book also includes criteria that will help you feel confident in the right choice and encourages you with principles for trusting God with your decisions. What story do you want to tell about yourself? God is dedicated to the wonderful plan he's laid out for you. The achievable and powerful steps in Divine Direction take you there one step at a time, big or small.
©2017 Craig Groeschel (P)2017 Zondervan
Sales Differentiation
Summary
"If we don't drop our price, we will lose the deal." That's the desperate cry from salespeople as they try to win deals in competitive marketplaces. While the easy answer is to lower the price, the company sacrifices margin - oftentimes unnecessarily. To win deals at the prices you want, the strategy needed is differentiation. Most executives think marketing is the sole source of differentiation. But what about the sales function of the company? This commonly neglected differentiation opportunity provides a multitude of ways to stand out from the competition. This groundbreaking audiobook teaches you how to develop those strategies. In Sales Differentiation, sales management strategist, Lee B. Salz presents 19 easy-to-implement concepts to help salespeople win deals while protecting margins. These concepts apply to any salesperson in any industry and are based on the foundation that "how you sell, not just what you sell, differentiates you." The strategies are presented in easy-to-understand stories and can quickly be put into practice. Divided into two sections, the "what you sell" chapters help salespeople: Recognize that the expression "we are the best" causes differentiation to backfire. Avoid the introspective question that frustrates salespeople and ask the right question to fire them up. Understand what their true differentiators are and how to effectively position them with buyers. Find differentiators in every nook and cranny of the company using the six components of the "Sales Differentiation Universe." Create strategies to position differentiators so buyers see value in them. The "how you sell" section teaches salespeople how to provide meaningful value to buyers and differentiate themselves in every stage of the sales process. This section helps salespeople: Develop strategies to engage buyers and turn buyer objections into sales differentiation opportunities. Shape buyer decision criteria around differentiators. Turn a commoditized Request for Proposal (RFP) process into a differentiation opportunity. Use a buyer request for references as a way to stand out from the competition. Leverage the irrefutable, most powerful differentiator...themselves. Whether you've been selling for 20 years or are new to sales, the tools you learn in Sales Differentiation will help you knock-out the competition, build profitable new relationships, and win deals at the prices you want. Accompanying charts are available in the audio book companion PDF download. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Lee B. Salz (P)2018 Thomas Nelson
All In
Summary
Christians who want to take the next step in their faith walk need look no further. It's time to ante up and go all in with God. The Gospel costs nothing. You can't earn it or buy it. It can only be received as a free gift, which is compliments of God's grace. It doesn't cost anything, but it demands everything. It demands that we go "all in," putting all that we have into God's hands. But why do so many Christians hesitate to do that? And when did we start believing that the Gospel is an insurance plan? We're afraid that if we go all in that we might miss out on what life has to offer. But Jesus did not die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. So, let's step out of spiritual no man's land and kneel at the foot of the cross of Christ and surrender to his lordship. It's time to dethrone yourself and enthrone Christ as king, and Pastor Mark Batterson is here to show you how. Using his customary vivid, contemporary illustrations, as well as biblical characters like Shamgar, Elisha, Jonathan, and even Judas, you will be challenged to trade what Batterson calls "inverted Christianity" for true discipleship as you strip away your excuses and inhibitions and follow God completely. It's now or never. Are you ready to go all in and all out for God? Also available: All In student edition, video curriculum, and study guide.
©2013 Zondervan (P)2013 Zondervan
A Fellowship of Differents
Summary
In this compelling audiobook, Scot McKnight shares his personal experience in the Church as well as his study of the Apostle Paul to answer this significant question: What is the Church supposed to be? For most of us the church is a place we go to on Sunday to hear a sermon or to participate in worship or to partake in communion or to fellowship with other Christians. Church is all contained within one or two hours on Sunday morning. The Church the Apostle Paul talks about is designed by God to be a fellowship of difference--how people differ socially--and differents--how people differ culturally. God did not design the Church to be a two-hour experience on Sunday but a mixture of people from all across the map and spectrum: men and women, rich and poor, Caucasians or African Americans, Mexican Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and Indian Americans, and a mixture of people with varying personalities and tastes. The Church McKnight grew up in was a fellowship of sames and likes. There was almost no variety in his church. White folks, same beliefs about everything, same tastes in music, worship, sermons, and lifestyle. Because of his experience, he writes incisively and compellingly. The Church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens we show the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together are designed by God to be. The Church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how he wants us to live as a family.
©2015 Zondervan (P)2015 Zondervan
How to Influence People
Summary
Leadership guru John C. Maxwell and his friend Jim Dornan share their straightforward, effective way for making an impact on the world: make an impact on individual people. How? Through influence. How to Influence People will empower you on your journey to becoming a potent and positive influence in your relationships both great and small. By pouring your life into other people, which is Dr. Maxwell's definition of "mentorship", you can truly make a difference. And when you have a meaningful impact on the lives of those around you - from your children and coworkers to your customers and the barista at your favorite coffee shop - it makes a difference in your life, too. You'll learn to perceive the stages of influence in your relationships and skillfully navigate your progress - from perfect stranger, to helpful confidant, to inspiring mentor - until, ultimately, you attain the highest honor there is for an influencer: becoming a multiplier of other influencers.
©2013 Thomas Nelson (P)2013 Thomas Nelson
Empowering Leadership
Summary
A major problem in the local church today is lack of leadership. Simply put, we have more needs than we have leaders to meet those needs. So, how do we train better leaders faster? The truth is, very few churches really have a well-thought-out leadership development plan. Growth requires continually adding healthy new leaders who carry the church culture forward and embody its core values. Everyone knows it, but how do we achieve it? In Empowering Leadership author and leadership consultant Michael Fletcher says leaders like this can't simply be bought, nor can they be hired from someone else's leadership assembly line. Developing leaders at every level, to create an environment that attracts potential leaders, and to build better leaders faster, an organization needs more than a pipeline. It needs a culture that develops leaders organically. Finding the right kind of leaders to guide your church on a path of continual growth comes out of keeping the right focus, and that focus is not just on the leaders. In fact, as Fletcher says, It isn't about the leader. It never was about the leader. It will never be about the leader. It will always and only be about Jesus and his people. It's about the people. True leadership development includes the often messy, but necessary, interaction of life upon life. So hiring pastors and key staff roles from within the church is the very best policy - people who "breathe" the culture of the church and who have helped create the culture you want to maintain. If your church or organization needs a good leadership development structure, then this is the right audiobook. Empowering Leadership details Michael's greatest insights on how to build better leaders faster by creating a leadership development culture in your church or organization - naturally, organically, continually. Empower your church or organization through great leadership. This book will show you how!
©2018 Michael Fletcher (P)2018 Thomas Nelson
Praying Circles Around Your Children
Summary
Based on his New York Times best seller The Circle Maker, Mark Batterson shows ordinary parents how to become extraordinary influencers in the lives of their children. Mark Batterson shares a perfect blend of biblical yet practical advice that will revolutionize your prayer life by giving you a new vocabulary and a new methodology. Through stories of parents just like you, Batterson shares five prayer circles that will not only help you pray for your kids, but also pray through your kids. You'll see how prayer is your secret weapon as Batterson teaches you how to: Create prayer lists unique to your family Claim God-inspired promises for your children Turn your family circle into a prayer circle Discover your child's life themes And more... As Batterson says, "I realize that not everyone inherited a prayer legacy like I did, but you can leave a legacy for generations to come. Your prayers have the power to shape the destiny of your children and your children's children. It’s time to start circling."
©2013 Zondervan (P)2013 Zondervan
Liking Jesus
Summary
In Liking Jesus, a timely and life-changing book, New York Times best-selling author and pastor of Life.Church Craig Groeschel helps put Christ first again in today's maxed out, selfie-centered world. The more you compare, the less satisfied you are. The more we interact online, the more we crave intimacy. The more filtered our lives become, the harder it is to be real. It's time to refresh and rediscover what it means to be "like Jesus" and find true authenticity, a healthy self-image, and compassion for others in an age when we relate to each other so differently than ever before. Groeschel taps in to some of the most leading-edge studies on the effects of social media on our emotions and friendships. He offers real-life examples of how we struggle with screens and likes, how these things mask our struggles with who we really are, and how we can reclaim a Christ-centered life. Packed with helpful topics like the "10 Commandments of Using Social Media to Strengthen Your Faith" and "Creating Safeguards for Your Digital Devices", listeners from ages 16 to 60 will find Liking Jesus to be just the guide to bring balance and real-world engagement to everyday life.
©2018 Craig Groeschel (P)2018 Zondervan
Believe Audio Bible Dramatized - New International Version, NIV: Complete Bible
Summary
Grounded in carefully selected Scripture, Believe Audio Bible in the NIV is a unique spiritual growth experience that takes you on a journey to think, act, and be more like Jesus. General editor and pastor Randy Frazee walks you through the 10 key beliefs of the Christian faith, the 10 key practices of a Jesus-follower, and the 10 key virtues that characterize someone who is becoming more like Jesus. Each chapter uses short topical passages from the New International Version (NIV) to help you live the story of the Bible. As you listen, one simple truth will become undeniably clear: What you believe drives everything. This audio is narrated by Maria Katayama and Van Tracy. Using Believe, church families around the globe can now embrace a full ministry year through worship services, small group studies, and family activities. Learn more about this church-wide experience at BelieveTheStory.com.
©2015 Zondervan (P)2015 Zondervan
In a Boat in the Middle of a Lake
Summary
Your storm doesn’t have to sink you.... At some point in our lives, we all find ourselves in a boat in the middle of a lake. We might be there due to a job loss or the death of a loved one. Maybe disability, divorce, or financial insecurity has stranded us. Patrick and Ruth Schwenk found themselves feeling battered after five miscarriages and then surrounded by the waves with Patrick’s cancer diagnosis at age 43. They were alone. Drifting. And that’s when their transformation began. In this compassionate and powerful book, the Schwenks weave together lessons from their own experience with insightful Bible teaching to remind us that one of the greatest ways God transforms us is through trials. As they unpack why Jesus called the disciples into the middle of a lake when dry ground was so safe and comfortable, they help us Understand why the depth of our hurt enables us to experience deep hope Learn to conquer fear to experience the freedom God has for us Discover how God uses chaos, and not just the classroom, to shape and work through us. Today - in your confusion about God’s intentions, your disappointment over lost dreams, your disillusionment about prayer - God is offering hope. Because Jesus is still Lord over the water. And while he is not moved by the waves, he is moved by you. And this flood might just be a path to abundance. Reflection questions are available in the audiobook companion PDF download. “A powerful reminder that our current reality is not our final reality, and God is Lord over all chaos and suffering!” (Candace Cameron Bure, actress and New York Times best-selling author) PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Patrick and Ruth Schwenk (P)2020 Thomas Nelson
Believe Audio Bible Voice Only - New International Version, NIV: Complete Bible
Summary
Grounded in carefully selected Scripture, Believe Audio Bible in the NIV is a unique spiritual growth experience that takes you on a journey to think, act, and be more like Jesus. General Editor and pastor Randy Frazee walks you through the 10 key beliefs of the Christian faith, the 10 key practices of a Jesus-follower, and the 10 key virtues that characterize someone who is becoming more like Jesus. Each chapter uses short topical passages from the New International Version to help you live the story of the Bible. As you listen, one simple truth will become undeniably clear: what you believe drives everything. This audio is narrated by Maria Katayama and Van Tracy. Using Believe, church families around the globe can now embrace a full ministry year through worship services, small group studies, and family activities. Learn more about this church-wide experience at BelieveTheStory.com.
©2015 Zondervan (P)2015 Zondervan
A Doubter's Guide to Jesus
Summary
A Doubter's Guide to Jesus is an introduction to the major portraits of Jesus found in the earliest historical sources. Portraits because our best information points not to a tidy, monolithic Jesus, but to a complex, multi-layered and, at times, contradictory figure. While some might be troubled by this, fearing that plurality equals incomprehensibility or unreliability, others take it as an invitation to do some rearranging for themselves, trying to make Jesus neater, more systematic and digestible. After two millennia of spiritual devotion and more than two centuries of modern critical research, we still cannot fit Jesus into a box. He is destined to stretch our imaginations, confront our beliefs, and challenge our lifestyles for many years to come. In A Doubter's Guide to Jesus listeners will find themselves both disturbed and intrigued by the images of Jesus found in the first sources.
©2018 John Dickson (P)2018 Zondervan
Believe Devotional
Summary
Go from knowing the story of the Bible to living it. God invites us to be shaped through his word. And so we look to scripture and spend devotional time searching for answers to these three crucial questions: What do I believe? What should I do? Who am I becoming? Let God guide you in thinking, acting, and becoming like Jesus through these 365 powerful devotions. Randy and Rozanne Frazee walk you through the key beliefs, practices, and virtues of the Christian faith and help you along the journey to renew your mind, practice your faith, and be transformed - to live more like Jesus. This devotional is a great standalone devotional or a wonderful companion to the Believe campaign.
©2015 Randy Frazee (P)2015 Zondervan
How Sweet It Is
Summary
He lost his brother. She lost her dream. Together, they might find what they’re really looking for. Holly Stanford is doing the best she can with the restaurant she inherited from her late uncle. But after her fiancé abandons her and the business, Holly regrets having given up her dream of becoming a pastry chef. Now a few bad financial decisions might cost her everything, including her hope for the future. Jed Henning has done well with his new company despite his prodigal brother’s behavior. When Jed‘s father, the controlling member of the board of directors, temporarily suspends operations until his sons work out their differences, Jed resentfully chases his brother, Chris, to Boise. There Jed rents a basement apartment from Holly and hopes to convince Chris to get his act together before their company collapses. Unaware that Holly is the one person who can help him get through to Chris, Jed starts the tough work of reconciliation armed with little more than a few family photographs, a stack of old letters, and a Bible that belonged to his great-grandfather, Andrew Henning. And as romance blossoms between Holly and Jed, the story of Jed’s great-grandfather highlights the power of God across the generations and the legacy of a family’s courageous faith.
©2020 Robin Lee Hatcher (P)2020 Thomas Nelson
The Founders' Key
Summary
Today the integrity and unity of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are under attack by the Progressive political movement. And yet, writes Larry P. Arnn: "The words of the Declaration of Independence ring across the ages. The arrangements of the Constitution have a way of organizing our actions so as to produce certain desirable results, and they have done this more reliably than any governing instrument in the history of man. Connect these arrangements to the beauty of the Declaration and one has something inspiring and commanding." From Chapter 2, The Founders’ Key Dr. Arnn, president of Hillsdale College, reveals this integral unity of the Declaration and the Constitution. Together, they form the pillars upon which the liberties and rights of the American people stand. United, they have guided history's first self-governing nation, forming our government under certain universal and eternal principles. Unfortunately, the effort to redefine government to reflect "the changing and growing social order" has gone very far toward success. Politicians such as Franklin Roosevelt found ways to condemn and discard the Constitution and to redefine the Declaration to justify government without limit. As a result, both documents have been weakened, their influence diminished, and their meaning obscured - paving the way for the modern administrative state, unaccountable to the will of the people. The Founders' Key is a powerful call to rediscover the connection between these two mighty documents, and thereby restore our political faith and revive our free institutions.
©2013 Dr. Larry Arnn (P)2020 Thomas Nelson
Open
Summary
Despite high-minded ideals, temptation always seems to loom around the corner, threatening to derail us into a desperate world of secret behavior and covered-up indiscretions. From families to marriages to businesses, on a scale as global as the credit default swap meltdown or as personal as our last session on the Internet, we are suckers for bad ideas.Why do we so often make poor decisions that can lead to life-shattering results? Why do we promise ourselves to do better only to slide back into our old habits? Why can’t we help ourselves?The time has come for each of us to become accountable. To experience the freedom, peace of mind, and overwhelming self-confidence that come from living a life free of secrets and lies.In every area of our lives, it’s time to go beyond self-help . . . it’s time to get accountable.It’s time to live Open..
©2013 Thomas Nelson (P)2013 Thomas Nelson
Be a Circle Maker
Summary
According to Pastor Mark Batterson in his book, The Circle Maker, "Drawing prayer circles around our dreams isn't just a mechanism whereby we accomplish great things for God. It's a mechanism whereby God accomplishes great things in us." Do you ever sense that there's far more to prayer, and to God's vision for your life, than what you're experiencing? It's time you learned from the legend of Honi the Circle Maker - a man bold enough to draw a circle in the sand and not budge from inside it until God answered his prayers for his people. What impossibly big dream is God calling you to draw a prayer circle around? In this powerful booklet, excerpted from The Circle Maker, Batterson helps you uncover your heart's deepest desires and God-given dreams and unleash them through the kind of audacious prayer that God delights to answer.
©2013 Zondervan (P)2013 Zondervan
Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day
Summary
Part of the best-selling Emotionally Healthy Spirituality book collection, this 40-day devotional by Peter Scazzero will help you nurture the kind of healthy relationships you long for. Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day - just like its sister devotional, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day - is your invitation into the ancient yet powerful discipline of the Daily Office, the practice of pausing morning and evening to reflect on God's work in your life. Each devotional will reflect on emotionally healthy relational themes, such as: Clarifying expectations Deep listening Clean fighting And more You'll will be ushered into a transformational practice that will deepen your daily walk with Jesus, and along the way, you'll discover the spiritual nourishment, joy, and peace that comes from meeting with him every day. Emotionally Healthy Relationships Day by Day is also available in Spanish, Relaciones emocionalmente sanas Día a día. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Peter Scazzero (P)2021 Zondervan
Ich, Eleanor Oliphant
Summary
Wie Eleanor Oliphant die Liebe suchte und sich selbst dabei fand. Eleanor Oliphant ist anders als andere Menschen. Eine Pizza bestellen, mit Freunden einen schönen Tag verbringen, einfach so in den Pub gehen? Für Eleanor undenkbar! Und das macht ihr Leben auf Dauer unerträglich einsam. Erst als sie sich verliebt, wagt sie sich zaghaft aus ihrem Schneckenhaus - und lernt dabei nicht nur die Welt, sondern auch sich selbst noch einmal neu kennen. Mit ihrem Debüt "Ich, Eleanor Oliphant" ist Gail Honeyman ein anrührender Roman mit einer unvergesslichen Hauptfigur gelungen. Ihre erfrischend schräge Sicht auf die Dinge zeigt uns, was im Leben wirklich zählt. Liebe. Hoffnung. Ehrlichkeit. Und vor allen Dingen die Freundschaft.
©2017 Bastei Lübbe. Übersetzung von Alexandra Kranefeld (P)2017 Lübbe Audio