When You Don’t Feel Like Celebrating: A 31-Day Advent Devotional
Ambassador International, October 2025.
When You Don’t Feel Like Celebrating: A 31-Day Advent Devotional
Holidays can be hard when you’re experiencing grief over the death of a loved one, loss of a job, living away from home for the first time, or displacement because of war or violence. All these circumstances and more can lead to the question: “What do I do when I don’t feel like celebrating?”
Christmas has arrived again, and you do not feel like joining in the celebration.
The prophecies recorded in Isaiah were not solely intended for the people of Israel. Although this Bible book contains many rebukes for God’s chosen people and judgments for the pagan nations oppressing them, there is a thread of hope which runs through the pages of Isaiah. In When You Don’t Feel Like Celebrating: A 31-Day Advent Devotional, Carol B. Ghattas walks with you through Isaiah’s prophecies to remind you that the God of promise will provide hope and encouragement even in your darkest days.
As you struggle with your current reality, look to the Word and let God break through to your heart and restore your hope and joy. We have much to celebrate.
Archived by Death
First-year archivist Kevin Mason thought it was just another peaceful day in his dream job at the Tennessee State Library and Archives, but when the library world is rocked by a shocking murder within the halls of a grand institution, his analytical skills kick into gear. Who would want to kill a librarian? Was it a personal vendetta or because of some historical documents they handled? Kevin is determined to solve the crime before another colleague is archived by death.
When Serving Gets Tough: A Thirty-Day Devotional for Missionaries
William Carey Publishing, 2024
Help me, Lord! This is hard.
Life in the harvest fields is not for the faint of heart. Many who answer the call to serve among the nations will, at some point, hit a brick wall in their faith. In When Serving Gets Tough, veteran missionary and author Carol Ghattas shares her experiences, providing practical guidance and hope through Scripture. Each daily entry is designed to help missionaries reconnect with their faith, find strength in God’s promises, and press on in their calling despite difficulties. Ghattas acknowledges that there is no one-size-fits-all solution to ministry trials but emphasizes that there is one God always ready to help and heal.
Both new and seasoned missionaries will benefit from this book. It offers encouragement and wisdom for anyone struggling with the demands of cross-cultural service. Whether you’re facing doubts, loneliness, or exhaustion, this devotional provides a balm for weary souls.
The Life I Now Live
Xulon Press, 2024
Forced to take responsibility for the family business after his brother’s sudden immigration to Europe, Ahmed feels trapped under his father’s watchful eye. What would he or other family members say if they knew that he’d forsaken Islam to follow Christ? How can he be a dutiful son while wanting to experience his new-found freedom as a Christian? He’ll soon learn that God has others to help him in his quest of living for Jesus.
The Life I Now Live is an inspirational story that will give hope and encouragement to those seeking Christ in the Muslim world while helping Christian believers to better understand and pray for those who daily live out their faith in Christ despite their struggles. Um Daoud introduces readers to a wide variety of characters who reflect the multi-dimensional issues confronted by Muslim-background believers in our world today.
Not in Kansas Anymore: Finding Home in Cross-Cultural Service
Xulon Press, 2022
Not in Kansas Anymore: Finding Home in Cross-Cultural Service
Called to serve, but feel out of place and longing for home? Not in Kansas Anymore: Finding Home in Cross-Cultural Service is the book for you. Serving cross-culturally is not for the faint of heart, and whether you’re reaching the nations in your backyard or across the ocean, you will, or already are, facing some challenges that perhaps take you by surprise.
Moving from a high-performance culture to a relational one can be a shock, and no one knows how to navigate the divide like veteran missionary and author Carol Ghattas. Not in Kansas Anymore will address the realities in which new and established missionaries live, providing ways to be more effective in service, while less stressed in life. This book provides questions for individual reflection or group discussion, making it an excellent resource for all those seeking to serve God in ministry or cross-cultural work.
When Doors Close: Changing Course in Missions Without Losing Your Way
Xulon Press (June 7, 2021)
When Doors Close: Changing Course in Missions Without Losing Your Way
“You have ten days to leave the country.” I didn’t want to hear these words. Five months pregnant with our first child and seeing people come to the Lord, so many good things were happening. Did God not call us here? What did this closed door mean for me and my ministry?
What do you do when your life and work come to a screeching halt because of government upheaval, security concerns, illness, aging parents, children’s needs, or a global pandemic? Carol Ghattas understands your struggles and helps you prepare for the challenges in her book, When Doors Close: Changing Course in Missions Without Losing Your Way.
This book provides questions for individual reflection or group discussion, making it an excellent resource for all those seeking to serve God in ministry or cross-cultural work.
A Life Surrendered: Raouf W. Ghattas
Xulon Press (June 23, 2017).
A Life Surrendered: Raouf W. Ghattas
ISBN-13: 978-1545608616
Raouf Ghattas said that learning about God’s will was not a long-range plan but a daily surrender. Living a surrendered life is exactly what he did. In this book, I share stories of what God can do through one life that is completely given to Jesus. Immigrating to the United States after feeling rejection from his native Egypt, Raouf would eventually return to the region of his birth in obedience to the call of God. Follow Raouf’s life and ministry of over thirty-five years among Arabs and Muslims and see, not the man, but the God he served. Raouf’s story is an inspiration to anyone who questions what they have to give to God. All it takes is the first step of faith in Christ. God will do the rest.
A Christian Guide to the Qur’an: Building Bridges in Muslim Evangelism
Kregel, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0825426889
A Christian Guide to the Qur’an: Building Bridges in Muslim Evangelism
It has been my privilege to walk by the side of Dr. Raouf Ghattas for over 25 years and see his love for Muslims in action. A Christian Guide to the Qur’an will prepare Christians to understand the central messages of the Qur’an in simple terms, and illustrates how knowledge of Islam’s sacred text can provide bridges to reaching Muslims with the Gospel of Christ.
Lust Under the Veil
Xulon Press, 2004. ISBN-13: 978-1591606543
Lust Under the Veil is a story about Emira, who is looking for a way of escape from the secluded life she leads as the only daughter of a Muslim sheik. When her father takes a second wife and her mother has a breakdown, Emira is sent to the hospital to be by her side. Will her salvation come while she makes the daily trip to the hospital? Desperate, Emira searches the eyes of the first person she sees on the outside–the taxi driver. Emira could never have imagined the events that would follow this first encounter. Freedom does come but not in the way that Emira planned.
My desire in sharing this fictional story is for you to have a better understanding about the struggles a Muslim woman faces in confronting the Truth of Christ and to also encourage intentional prayer for and engagement of Muslim women by Christians. I would love to hear your thoughts after reading this book and to know if you have shared it with any Muslim women in your life.
Things I Never Told My Mother
Xulon Press, 2007. ISBN-13: 978-1602660106
Things I Never Told My Mother is a story set in the North African country of Tunisia. Deception has become a way of life for Iman. Ignored in her early years by her career-minded parents, the sudden intrusion of her mother into her life pushes Iman to become something she never imagined. Though Muslim, her loose lifestyle leads her into many dangerous encounters with the opposite sex. When true love does finally come her way, she finds herself incapable of returning it, perhaps losing forever the best opportunity to escape her mother’s reach. Desperation leads to desperate measures and even a reanalysis of her own faith. Could God love her? This is the question Iman asks herself as she thinks back over all the things she never told her mother.
This book brings us face-to-face with a side of Islam many of us do not know – secular Islam. Yet, many Muslim live in areas that allow a freedom that sometimes causes them to swing from the very conservative norms of the religion to a lifestyle that looks virtually nothing like what we would consider normal for the average Muslim. I look forward to your comments on this book, as it is “spicy” and yet realistic for many Muslims in secular societies.
Two Sides of a Coin: An Egyptian Story
Xulon Press, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-1615796175
Two Sides of a Coin: An Egyptian Story
One country–two distinct religious communities living in a state of tangible tension–this is Egypt. This is where Madame Phardos, a Coptic Orthodox Christian, is trying to help her children become successful against the constant push of the Muslim majority. Education is all-important in remaining above the crowd. This is also where Madame Fatma, a Sunni Muslim, is striving to raise her own family in the midst of growing fundamentalism and economic hardship. In a society where religion is central, members of both families struggle to see how God could bring anything good out of their lives. Yet, good does come, attitudes change and unity is achieved in a way never imagined.
This book helps us to see that Muslims do not always live in a vacuum but are affected by the religions around them. In this case, it is Christianity, which has been in Egypt since the time of the Apostle Mark in the first century AD. As Muslims are affected by Christians, the same goes for the Christians of Egypt, a dwindling minority surrounded by a growing majority of Muslims. I believe there is hope for members of both communities that will never come in political solutions but in a relational one. Let me know if you have read this book and what you think. Share it with your Muslim and Christian friends.