Joseph Girzone wrote his parable in 1983 and published it himself with neither accompanying fanfare nor expectation of the extraordinary effect it would have on people around the world. With only word-of-mouth for advertising, and by virtue of its siniple message of love, Joshua became an international force of spiritual strength. after its modest beginnings, Joshua and its sequels have millions of readers around the world and continue to bring hope and peace to all who seek nourishment. When Joshua moves to a small cabin on the edge of town, the local people are at first mystified, then confused by his presence. A quiet and simple man, Joshua appears to seek nothing for himself. He supports himself solely by carpentry and woodworking, and he charges very little for his services. Yet his work is exquisite. Even more exquisite, and even more mysterious, is the extraordinary effect he has on everyone he meets. All who come in contact with him can't help but be transformed by his incredible warmth. The acceptance and love in his eyes and in each actions amazes the townspeople. Who is Joshua and just what is he up to? The answer to that question amazes them almost as much discovery of that same transforming power in each of their own hearts.
The Story Continues... Joseph F. Girzone has woven another magical story, a modern-day parable, in Joshua and the Children, which gracefully continues the teachings and inspirations from his previous bestseller, Joshua. A stronger Joshua arrives in a deceptively ordinary village only to witness the doings of unscrupulous leaders and violent people. The children are the first to recognize that something is quite different about this stranger who has come seemingly from nowhere. It is through the villagers' children that Joshua is able to restore a sense of peacefulness and honesty. "A new day had dawned, a new spirit spread throughout the land, and it all seemed to have happened because of the simple, unassuming goodness of one gentle stranger who knew only how to love."
A bishop attempts to turn the hierarchy of the Catholic Church into a simple, democratic Christian community with the help of Joshua, a young man who came to him in a dream and became his mentor and friend. (General Fiction).
Joshua has come home. But home is no more peaceful than it was during the "time long ago" remembered by Joshua. Violent, seemingly intractable disputes poison the very air. It falls to Joshua, retracing the path taken two millennia ago, to lead his followers to peace in this world as well as in the next. Joshua in the Holy Land will carry every reader back to where it all began. Back to Nazareth and Bethlehem. Back to Capernaum and Bethany. Back to Jerusalem. Full of resonances with the Gospels, Joshua in the Holy Land is a profoundly satisfying addition to the Joshua phenomenon.
A contemporary city faces turmoil and devastation until it is visited by the serene figure of Joshua, who presents an alternative, love-based approach to life while addressing such issues as poverty, racism, and AIDS. 150,000 first printing. $150,000 ad/promo.
In the latest chapter of his bestselling Joshua series, Joseph Girzone offers fresh inspiration in this collection of fifty never-before-published contemporary vignettes that underscore the most important lessons of the gospel. Joseph Girzone's novels about Joshua, the carpenter who transforms ordinary lives with words of peace and loving actions, have sold more than three million copies and captured the hearts of readers around the world. In The Parables of Joshua , perhaps his most powerful book since the original Joshua , Girzone distills the essence of Christian teaching in entertaining and inspiring "bite-sized" tales set against the background of current society. For some today, the parables of the New Testament are quaint, old-fashioned stories, with little relevance to everyday life in the twenty-first century. As Girzone writes in his Introduction, "I have heard the most callous people comment with such great piety on the parables that I could not help but wonder if we haven't made parables pleasant-sounding fables about human situations long past, but with no present-day meaning." In order to recapture their original vitality Girzone revives the timeless messages behind the original parables by "dressing them in modern clothes," presenting them through Joshua in a conversational style that will resonate with a modern audience.
The bestselling Joshua series takes an invigorating, timely new turn as Girzone’s beloved hero spreads his message of love and compassion from the streets of our nation’s capital to the blood-soaked lands of the Middle East. Joseph Girzone possesses a unique ability to make Jesus’ words and actions come to life for contemporary audiences. His fictional depictions of Jesus’ return to the present-day world—the Joshua series—have inspired millions of readers. Joshua in a Troubled World is at once a magnificent continuation of his perennially popular series and an enlightening perspective on the political paranoia and destructive acts of vengeance that fill the front pages of our daily newspapers. Arriving in Washington, D.C., Joshua walks along Pennsylvania Avenue with a cool detachment and determination that sets him apart from the bustling crowds. Under ordinary circumstances, he would no doubt be seen simply as a man wrapped in his own thoughts. But in these security-obsessed times, his Middle Eastern appearance and his spontaneous stops at various churches, temples, and mosques inevitably arouse suspicions. Taken into custody by two government agents, Joshua challenges the legal and moral justness of their actions and they reluctantly release him to continue his mission. It is the most difficult and controversial mission he has ever undertaken—a plan to unite Arab- and Jewish-Americans and to work with them to resolve the bitter wars and religious animosities in the Middle East. Peopled with prominent figures such as Ariel Sharon, and moving from Washington to Beirut and then to Oslo while the peace accords are being hammered out, Joshua in a Troubled World explores the most explosive issues of our day and offers a realistic, compassionate assessment of the things that divide us and the beliefs that can serve as a foundation for a new, more peaceful world.
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. Joshua’s extraordinary nature and mysterious gifts come to light even as he participates in the ordinary routines of small-town life: his gentleness and loving spirit imbue his interactions with contemporaries and adults alike. As he grows from child to adolescent, Joshua gradually awakens to the knowledge that he has been placed on earth for a special reason. Leaving the comforts of family and a familiar world, he moves to the outskirts of a distant town, where he will begin to teach others how the powers of love, tolerance, and understanding can heal the divisions in the human family and bring everlasting peace to the world. This is the book so many have been waiting for, and its powerful message is a much-needed antidote to the difficulties in today’s world.