Download or read book No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted written by Jane Marie Thibault and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2017-11-28 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With more than 5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's disease and nearly 10 million loved ones caring for them, addressing the concerns of these elders and their caregivers is a matter of increasing importance. Relying on their many years of experience in this area, Jane Thibault and Richard Morgan offer this book to provide a fresh, hopeful model of dealing with life and death in the realm of Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Caregivers have two basic needs: affirmation that caregiving is not in vain and reassurance that the lives of those for whom they care are not being lived in vain. Care receivers need more than medical attention; they need tender care, involvement in the community, and a sense of connection with a loving God. When patient and caregiver regard this shared experience as a "mutual spiritual path," each plays a role in deepening the spiritual life of the other. No Act of Love Is Ever Wasted is an excellent resource for individuals caring for loved ones as well as for counselors, support group leaders, pastors, and other professionals. In addition to offering practical ways to help, this book serves as a reminder that every act of love brings positive transformation to the recipient, to the giver, and to the world.

Download or read book Everyday Gratitude written by A Network for Grateful Living and published by Storey Publishing. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Network for Grateful Living curates this collection of quotes and reflections aiming to help you discover that the roots of happiness lie in gratefulness. Inspiration from well-known minds such as Maya Angelou, Confucius, and Anne Frank is combined with original reflections and practices that will help you recognize the abundance of everyday opportunities for gratitude and joy. Hand-lettered art makes this beautifully designed collection a gift to treasure, regardless of whether you keep it for yourself or give it to a loved one.

Download or read book Seeking His Face written by Charles F. Stanley and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2009-04-20 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Take a few moments out of your busy life to seek the God who desires to love, comfort, heal, and transform you. All you need to do is make yourself available to listen to His voice, to sense His promptings in your heart and spirit, to saturate your mind with His written word. Seeking His Face is a refreshing daily devotional from beloved pastor and bestselling author, Dr. Charles Stanley. Open your heart to the Father as Dr. Stanley leads you in a daily quest to seek His face. Follow after God each day and allow Him to mold you into the man or woman He intends for you to be. For, as Dr. Stanley writes,"Only a divine encounter with God can satisfy the inner longing of your heart and bring a true sense of fulfillment and lasting peace."

Download or read book Transgressive Devotion written by Natalie Wigg-Stevenson and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2021-02-28 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Academic theology is in need of a new genre. In "Transgressive Devotion" Natalie Wigg-Stevenson articulates a theological vision of that genre as performance art. She argues that theology done as performance art stops trying to describe who God is, and starts trying to make God appear. Recognising that the act of studying theology or practicing ministry is always a performance, where the boundaries between what we see, feel, experience and learn are not just blurred but potentially invisible, Wigg-Stevenson brings together ethnographic theological fieldwork, historical and contemporary Christian theological traditions, and performance artworks themselves. A daring vision of theology which will energise anybody feeling ‘boxed in’ by the discipline, Transgressive Devotion blurs borders between orthodoxy, heterodoxy and heresy to reveal how the very act of doing theology makes God and humanity vulnerable to each other. This is theology which is a liturgy of Divine incantation. In other words: this is theology which is also prayer.

Download or read book A Season of Rebirth written by Marc Foley and published by New City Press. This book was released on 2007 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reflections contained here invite us to ponder our lives and to open our listening hearts to the voice of God, so that our Lent can truly be a Lent in its deepest sense a spring that buds forth new life. Drawing upon classic and current literature, Marc Foley accompanies us in this Scriptural-personal Lenten journey. He does it in a way that invites us to both explore the human condition and embrace the grace the Lord again offers us in order to transform who we are and how we are living. What more than this can you ask of a Lenten guide?" Robert J. Wicks Author of Everyday Simplicity This little gem [of Lenten reflections] could apply just as well to any time during the liturgical year... Foley turns the reading of this book into an enjoyable and beneficial experience." Kieran Kavanaugh, O.C.D. Carmelite scholar and translator of the Collected Works of St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila

Download or read book Transcendent Love written by Leonard G. Friesen and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2016-05-15 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Transcendent Love: Dostoevsky and the Search for a Global Ethic, Leonard G. Friesen ranges widely across Dostoevsky's stories, novels, journalism, notebooks, and correspondence to demonstrate how Dostoevsky engaged with ethical issues in his times and how those same issues continue to be relevant to today's ethical debates. Friesen contends that the Russian ethical voice, in particular Dostoevsky's voice, deserves careful consideration in an increasingly global discussion of moral philosophy and the ethical life. Friesen challenges the view that contemporary liberalism provides a religiously neutral foundation for a global ethic. He argues instead that Dostoevsky has much to offer when it comes to the search for a global ethic, an ethic that for Dostoevsky was necessarily grounded in a Christian concept of an active, extravagant, and transcendent love. Friesen also investigates Dostoevsky's response to those who claimed that contemporary European trends, most evident in the rising secularization of nineteenth-century society, provided a more viable foundation for a global ethic than one grounded in the One, whom Doestoevsky called simply "the Russian Christ." Throughout, Friesen captures a sense of the depth and sheer loveliness of Dostoevsky's canon.

Download or read book Every Day Spirit written by Mary Davis and published by Sourcebooks, Inc.. This book was released on 2024-09-03 with total page 794 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this uplifting and transformational book, spiritual teacher Mary Davis shares daily reflections, inspiring quotes, practices, prayers and meditations that fill your heart with encouragement, joy and inner peace. With a page for each day of the year, this gentle book will become a companion and a wise teacher that takes you on a spiritual journey of finding joy and gratitude in simple things, peace and comfort even in the midst of chaos, and a deeper love for others through kindness, compassion and service. Written during a year of solitude in the isolation of a cabin, Mary's poetic gift with words, loving guidance, humor and heart will feed your soul and have you looking forward to each day's reading. Every Day Spirit is packed with spiritual wisdom, making it a road map to a more meaningful and fulfilling life – and a reminder to slow down and notice the blessings. It's the perfect gift for yourself...and anyone in need of inspiration, hope, comfort and wisdom.

Download or read book I Lift Up My Soul written by Charles F. Stanley and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2010-10-17 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sun rises, the day begins, and the world begins clamoring for your time. But the whisper of God calls you to be with Him?and it's the best part of your day. Beloved pastor Charles Stanley has been teaching the Word of God for forty years?lovingly, reverently explaining the wonders of Christ's Good News from the pulpit, in his internationally acclaimed radio program, and in more than thirty-five best-selling books. In I Lift Up My Soul, Dr. Stanley's inspirational gems?filled with personal wisdom and words of encouragement?will lead you to your heavenly Father day after day. Each day in I Lift Up My Soul, you will find a verse from Scripture, recommended reading, a guided prayer, and an inspirational and instructional message designed to lift your heart and soul from the earthly to the eternal. Your day will be transformed.

Download or read book Pathways to His Presence written by Charles F. Stanley and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2006-09-10 with total page 396 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover God's Blessings for Your Life Even more appealing than the charm of a trail through the forest, the serenity of a stroll by a river, or the inspiration of climbing a mountain path are the spiritual pathways to God's awesome presence. Pathways to His Presence reveals Dr. Charles Stanley's keen understanding of your deep longing for a clearer view of God's will for your life. The spiritual guidelines of the Word explained in this devotional offer practical truth and inspiration for everyday living. The daily readings reveal biblical solutions to the desires and fears of those who feel they are stumbling along faintly lit paths of life. If you're longing for the blessings God promises to those who walk with Him, Pathways to His Presence will lead you in the direction to capture them in your everyday life.

Download or read book Bringing Art to Life written by Daniel C. Potts and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2022-06-30 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: People diagnosed with dementia are still living and deserve the support needed to help them live as well as possible through the trauma and losses they face. To this end, the expressive arts play an important role. Enlightened by his father’s artistic gift revealed in the throes of dementia, neurologist Daniel C. Potts tells how his father’s creativity inspired the development of the Bringing Art to Life program, sharing stories of its participants, both persons living with dementia and their student partners, and of the power of art and authentic relationships to foster spiritual growth and make meaning even amidst life’s greatest challenges.

Download or read book God Is Just Love written by Ken Whitt and published by Read the Spirit Books. This book was released on 2021-02-02 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can people of faith foster love and resilience in our children while building sustainable, diverse communities? That’s the big question Ken Whitt answers in light of the many threats looming in our world. Through wisdom he has gleaned from scientists, scholars and lots of real families, Ken shows how God’s love is a hopeful compass in our lives. He encourages enjoying stories, songs and explorations of the natural world with children, and closes with “100 Things Families Can Do To Find Hope and Be Love.” Because Ken has years of experience working with multi-generational groups, his book encourages reflections and activities with our families that he knows will be both fun and faithful. The cover of his book illustrates a central story he shares about the wonderment families discover when they look up into the starry night sky with their children. “Ken Whitt offers care to weary souls in this book. It is not just his words but the spirit that manifests through the words. Ken says that love is at the heart of reality and love is what he gently breathes on us here,” Christian ethicist David Gushee, author of Changing Our Mind, writes in the book’s Foreword. “As you read this wise and joyful book, I know you will feel both instructed and delighted, and you will agree that your life has been enriched by adopting Ken Whitt as a literary pastor, mentor and friend,” Brian McLaren, best-selling author of more than 20 books, writes in the Preface. “In extensive dialog with scientists and theologians, Ken shows the delightful and enriching complementarity of faith and science. Both can feed us mentally and emotionally, and both are needed to move us in constructive and creative ways in the face of the global perils we face,” writes Daniel Buttry, author of Blessed Are the Peacemakers and the former Global Consultant for Peace and Justice of the American Baptist Churches.

Download or read book Ministry with the Forgotten written by Bishop Kenneth L. Carder and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2019-09-17 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dementia diseases represent a crisis of faith for many family members and congregations. Magnifying this crisis is the way people with dementia tend to be objectified by both medical and religious communities. They are recipients of treatment and projects for mission. Ministry is done to and for them rather than with them. While acknowledging the devastation of dementia diseases, Ken Carder draws on his own experience as a caregiver, hospice chaplain, and pastoral practitioner to portray the gifts as well as the challenges accompanying dementia diseases. He confronts the deep personal and theological questions created by loving people with dementia diseases, demonstrating how living with dementia can be a means of growing in faith, wholeness, and ministry for the entire community of faith. He also reveals that authentic faith transcends intellectual beliefs, verbal affirmations, and prescribed practices. Carder asserts that the Judeo-Christian tradition offers a broader lens, defining personhood in relationship to God’s story and humanity’s participation in God’s mighty acts of creation and new creation; thereby contributing to hope, community, and self-worth. Pastors and congregations will be better equipped to minister with people affected by dementia, receiving their gifts and responding to their unique needs. They will learn how people with dementia contribute to the community and the church’s life and mission, discovering practical ways those contributions can be identified, nurtured, and incorporated into the church’s life and ministry.

Download or read book Stolen Memories written by Lynda Everman and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dementia steals memories—creative stitchery crafts can hold memories. Stolen Memories: An Alzheimer’s Stole Ministry and Tallit Initiative describes the use of hand-sewn, individualized stoles and stole-style tallitot in advocacy for Alzheimer’s and related dementias. These beautiful pieces of liturgical art can increase awareness, prompt discussion, begin an educational process, promote dementia-friendly faith communities, and give honor to those affected by Alzheimer’s. Pastors wear them in the pulpit or as they conduct services, particularly during national days of awareness or remembrance of those affected by dementia or their caregivers and loved ones. Chaplains wear them in pastoral visits or special services for people in assisted living or memory-care units. Advocates wear them as they speak at churches, synagogues, conferences, or training sessions, or as they make visits to their representatives in Congress to lobby for increased funding for research, as well as treatment and care for persons living with dementia and their care partners. Included are simple step-by-step instructions and photos on how readers can piece and sew their own stoles and tallitot, along with many photos of clergy wearing them and their personal reflections on the stoles/tallitot and their meaning to them.

Download or read book 701 Sentence Sermons written by L. James Harvey and published by Kregel Academic. This book was released on with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of attention-getting quotes are perfect for church signs, bulletins, newsletters, and sermons. With 10 helpful chapters on effectively using and rating the quotes, 701 Sentence Sermons is an easy-to-use, meaningful, and effective tool--a must for every pastor and church library.

Download or read book Act Fast written by Alydia Smith and published by The United Church of Canada. This book was released on 2024-01-01 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Grief, anxiety, hope, love, pain, despair, awe—many emotions are used to describe our relationship with all of Creation. What is your personal, physical, and spiritual relationship with God’s Creation? How does this relationship affect how you follow Christ? This Lenten devotional invites us to deepen our love for Creation and take action or fast for a climate in crisis. Includes a study guide.

Download or read book Building the Benedict Option written by Leah Libresco and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2018-07-11 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building the Benedict Option is a combination spiritual memoir and practical handbook for Christians who want to build communities of prayer, socialization, and evangelization in the places where they live and work. Beginning when the author was a new convert, she desired more communal prayer and fellowship than weekly Mass could provide. She surveyed her friends--busy, young, urban professionals like herself--and created unique enriching or supportive experiences that matched their desires and schedules. The result was a less lonely and more boisterous spiritual and social life. No Catholic Martha Stewart, Libresco is frank about how she plans events that allow her to feed thirty people on a Friday night without feeling exhausted. She is honest about the obstacles to prayer and the challenge to make it inviting and unobtrusive. Above all, she communicates the joy she has experienced since discovering ways to open her home (even when it was only a small studio apartment). The reader will close this book with four or five ideas for events to try over the next few weeks, along with the tools to make them fruitful. From film nights to picnics in the park to resume-writing evenings, there are plenty of ideas to choose from and loads of encouragement to make more room in one's life for others.

Download or read book Second Wave Spirituality written by Chris Saade and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2014-05-20 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his work as a spiritual teacher interacting with seekers and activists from around the world, Chris Saade has witnessed a remarkable recent phenomenon: an emerging wave of spirituality that is socially and globally engaged in the pursuit of justice, earth care, and solidarity. Saade calls this movement "second wave spirituality," and in this book he maps out the cutting-edge ideas that are fueling this burgeoning wave of engaged spirituality. He challenges us to rise to our spiritual task and join the millions of all faiths who are awakening to the suffering and social struggles of all living beings. According to Saade, second wave spirituality holds a vision of the intrinsic values of love: justice, global peace, solidarity, inclusion, democratic freedom, compassion, and reconciliation. Saade explores current trends of thought that are shaking the foundations of our belief systems and propelling us toward an evolutionary leap. We are in the midst of a spiritual renaissance, Saade asserts, a universal reawakening that will steer us away from the abysmal global dangers we are facing. The book also includes a collection of quotations as a resource for those working for peace, justice, and inclusion. By dividing the selections into theme-specific chapters, Saade helps us easily access the wisdom and companionship of other souls committed to our diversity, our oneness, and our pursuit of justice. Contents Foreword by Andrew Harvey Introduction 1. The Emergence of Second Wave Spirituality 2. A Brief Historical Overview of "First Wave" Spirituality 3. Crossing the Threshold 4. The Flowering of the Feminine in Theological and Spiritual Thinking 5. The Great Convergence of Spiritual Development and Action for Peace and Justice 6. The Six Crucial Ideas that Converged and Generated the Global Awakening of Second Wave Spirituality 7. Fourteen Additional Characteristics Essential to Second Wave Spirituality 8. A Response to the Escalating Global Crisis: Love in Action 9. Implications of Second Wave Spirituality for the Individual 10. Practical Suggestions for Spiritual Activism 11. Summary and A Blessing for the Reader 12. Engaged Spirituality and Sacred Activism: Writings and Quotes