Throughout history ravens have been dark symbols of all that is bad. Yet these birds are fascinating creatures. Might there be something to learn by considering the ravens? In the raven I see a wild, playful, dark, fascinating scavenger shrouded in mystery. I also see an amazing narrative that speaks to our human journey of life. This book is an expression of three such narratives-narratives that tell the stories of three journeys. I call these narratives the "raven narratives" because they tell the stories of people and ideas that are "raven" in nature-beautiful, crazy, ugly, nasty and messed up-all wrapped up and mixed up. Is that not a picture of what life really is? I believe the "ravens" of the bible have a story to tell us, and that these stories will have an amazing impact on our thinking, acting and feeling. "Rest Unleashed" contains three narratives about rest: Finding rest by throwing off the yoke of bitterness through embracing forgiveness, finding rest by throwing off the yoke of guilt through understanding the deeper gospel messages, and finding rest by throwing off the yoke of undue religious influence through connecting with new friends and searching for my authentic self.