Download or read book Creativity and Divine Surprise written by Karla M. Kincannon and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2005-08-01 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Deepen your relationship with God as you discover your God-given gift of creativity. Creativity is usually defined narrowly and associated only with artists or children. "Creativity is so much more than art making," writes Kincannon. "It is a tool for navigating through everyday experiences to find the sacred in each God-given moment. Those who believe they lack creativity have relegated it to remote regions of their life, burying it under the need for security, approval, and control. However,…creativity does not die; it simply waits to be unearthed and set free." Creativity and Divine Surprise couples insightful meditations with thoughtful exercises that will help you celebrate your divine spark and connect with God. Can't draw a straight line? Color-blind? No worries. If you yearn for God and desire greater awareness of God's presence in your life, you're ready for this book. Through Kincannon's words, you'll see creativity as a source of revelation, joy, healing, and fulfillment, and we all need those things. Ready to dance, draw, paint, take pictures—masterpieces or not? Let the Creator work in you through your creativity, so that you become God's masterpiece.

Download or read book A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God written by John S. Mogabgab and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2014-01-01 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, the fourth in The Upper Room's bestselling "Guide to Prayer" series, offers a simple pattern of daily prayer built around weekly themes and organized by the Christian church year. Each week follows this pattern: Affirmation Psalm Psalm Prayer Daily Scripture Readings Silence Daily Reading Reflection (Silent or Written) Prayers Offering of Self to God Blessing The daily readings are drawn from the history of Christian spirituality and feature such writers as Francis of Assisi, Teresa of Avila, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Sue Monk Kidd, Douglas Steere, Jan Richardson, Trevor Hudson, Wendy M. Wright, and many others. Beautifully bound in a leather-like cover, A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God makes a perfect gift and a reliable companion for anyone seeking to deepen a steady life of prayer.

Download or read book The God Hungry Imagination written by Sarah Arthur and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2007-10-01 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What kind of story is your church telling? Ministry experts describe our culture as having "lost its story." Through neglect or rejection, the next generation seems unplugged from the church's core beliefs. For the most part, young people simply do not feel part of the ongoing, communal story. Paradoxically, this has occurred at a time when youth have fully embraced social networks that connect the world in self-obsessed "I" narratives. This world is starving for a story bigger than what you find on Facebook and YouTube. Sarah Arthur emphasizes the importance of story, an intrinsic aspect of the Christian faith but an aspect that is often overlooked in ministry, especially youth ministry. Arthur shows how youth ministry can be planned as a transforming series of story moments instead of programming. She weaves together her personal experiences and insights along with the sociological work on the faith of teenagers from the book Soul Searching by Christian Smith and Melinda Denton. Repeatedly and unapologetically, Arthur stresses the importance of a distinct Christian language for teenagers. If teens can't speak the Christian language, they don't know the Christian story. If they don't know the Christian story, they don't know how Christians are supposed to live. So what's her solution to this narrative deficiency? The idea of youth ministers as bards, or storytellers. Arthur reminds youth ministers that their primary task is to tell the Christian story, to reclaim the imagination as part of spiritual formation, and to reclaim the church as God's ongoing story. This book would be insightful for all ministers, not only those who work with youth. It can help us make a significant shift in the way we think about and approach ministry in the postmodern world.

Download or read book Crafting Calm written by Maggie Shannon and published by Cleis Press. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this wired, wild world, it is harder than ever to shut out noise and busyness in order to truly calm yourself, but in Crafting Calm, a D.I.Y. guide to peace of mind, you'll find inspiring ideas for how to do exactly that through a wide range of creative exercises. In this book, author Maggie Oman Shannon explores crafts and creativity as a practice with enormous physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. By immersing ourselves in a craft with intention and mindfulness, we can quiet those voices around us and in us—we can enter sacred stillness. Through revealing interviews, personal stories, and forty suggested activities, the author shows how creative processes can become spiritual practices. Whether you're an aspiring artist, longtime craftsperson, or someone who has never set foot in a craft-store (yet!), you'll find something in Crafting Calm to inspire you. Crafts and how-to ideas include contemplation candles, visual journals, prayer shawls, collage mandalas, intention beads, finger labyrinths, personal prayer flags, spiritual toolkits, and tabletop altars. Features inspired craft ideas from luminaries such as Angeles Arrien, Mary Ann Radmcher, Shiloh Sophia McCloud, Sister Marianne Heib, May Ann Brussat, and many more.

Download or read book A Quiet Pentecost written by Dwight H. Judy and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2013-02-01 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past 30 years, a quiet revolution has taken place in Christianity. People of all ages are finding the need for daily prayer. Many are encountering Jesus anew through ancient yet new forms of prayer. "Quiet Pentecosts" are happening as Christians engage in spiritual practices. Congregations feel the power of the Holy Spirit at work as they participate in thoughtful reading of scripture, walking the labyrinth, prayerful listening to one another, spiritual direction, and more. At a time when denominations are declining and the church seems to be fighting for survival, Dwight Judy sees hope for the future in the practices of spiritual formation. "The practices of spiritual formation take us outside of the noisy and frenetic activity our popular culture encourages," Judy writes. "We need to be taught how to be together in a spirit of respectful listening to one another. We will not learn this art from our television commentators. We will rarely witness such moments of genuine care in national or international politics." In A Quiet Pentecost, he recounts the stories of more than 40 congregations being transformed by spiritual practices. This book addresses the following topics: evangelism and spiritual formation praying the scriptures (lectio divina) spiritual practices in small groups healing prayer multisensory worship (evening prayer and Taizé) congregational discernment prayer ministries health and wellness ministries centering prayer and much more! A wonderful resource for churches and individuals interested in reenergizing their spiritual life. Perfect for laypersons or clergy who want guidance in establishing or expanding spiritual formation ministries; also helpful for seminary classes.

Download or read book Crafting Love written by Maggie Oman Shannon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2018-12-11 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” –Vincent Van Gogh As the future unfolds before us, it seems people are getting busier, more distracted, and less connected to the physical and spiritual world. This can be especially problematic for our relationships, as love is something that just does not magically exist on its own. Love must be cultured, tended, and cared for as if it were a special garden unlike any other. Whether you desire to foster, encourage remembrance, or express gratitude for the love you feel toward the known and unknown in your life, it can be done through the practice of mindfulness and crafting. Crafting Love is filled with thematic chapters meant to inspire your own journey in your expression of love, whether you build an “I Love You…” notebook for your partner, Anytime Valentines for your friends and mentors, a Conversation Starter Table Cloth for your family, Portable Place Shrines for natural places and animals, an “I Am” Affirmation Mandala for yourself, or a Rhythm Painting for the Divine. With the help of a few uplifting friends along the way, Maggie Oman Shannon will help launch your exploration for your love of materials, love of the process, and love of everything and everyone around you through creating transcendent, one-of-a-kind projects with your own hands and heart.

Download or read book The Lord s Prayer written by Mary Lou Redding and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of us feel intimidated about our prayer life—we look at other Christians, and prayer seems to come naturally to them. But somehow we feel that we just don't "get it." Author Mary Lou Redding reminds us that the disciples were with Jesus continually, and still they had to ask him for help in learning how to pray. That should reassure us, she says. Because the Lord's Prayer is so familiar, we run the risk of praying it by rote without really thinking about the meaning of the words. Redding explores this ancient prayer phrase by phrase and helps us see how it can be a model for all of our praying. This insightful, practical study of the Lord's Prayer features six brief chapters that can be read in 10 to 15 minutes brief daily scripture passages reflection questions for each chapter suggestions for weekly group meetings Rather than approaching scripture from a scholarly standpoint, Redding invites us to consider passages with our hearts. She encourages us to make connections between the scriptures and our daily lives. As an added benefit, Redding leads us through several classic Christian spiritual practices, such as examen, journaling, and reflective reading of scripture. This book is a great resource for a congregational study on the Lord's Prayer. It will help anyone enrich their faith and deepen their relationship with God. 6 weeks • Includes Leader's Guide

Download or read book A Guidebook to Prayer written by MaryKate Morse and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-11-04 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why is it so hard to master consistent and meaningful prayer? MaryKate Morse explores 24 pathways of prayer meant to give readers a vast array of ways to focus and reflect. Whether you are a beginner or a lifetime person of faith, you will find a treasure trove of riches here to guide you into a deeper experience of prayer.

Download or read book The Power of a Focused Heart written by Mary Lou Redding and published by Upper Room Books. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes! Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world. "…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore." Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God. The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.

Download or read book Crafting Gratitude written by Maggie Oman Shannon and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-10-10 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2017 by Spirituality & Practice! We live in a fast-paced world where we are pestered from all sides with siren calls to constantly strive for something more, something better, something new, rather than find ways to stay grateful for the abundance and blessings already present in our own lives. In Crafting Gratitude, Rev. Maggie Oman Shannon believes that crafting for us and those we love can be used as a meditative practice to appreciate the incredible, overflowing richness of life. Each meditative craft, from novice to expert, is infused with stories like how Gratitude Bundles can represent prosperity and physical health, Spirit Houses from Southeast Asia can be a symbol of a happy home, a Values Bracelet can help you reinforce your best professional traits, or Flower Mandalas can be an affirmation of nature. With other crafts involving aromatherapy, journaling, dream catchers, and a variety of household items, anyone can invigorate their own lives with Crafting Gratitude for family, health, prosperity, the Divine, and much more. Accompanied by a carefully curated list of recommended reading, helpful websites, and how-to guides, these forty practices will resonate with and prompt you to begin, or continue, exploring gratitude.

Download or read book With All of Creation written by Candee Fick and published by Candee Fick. This book was released on 2024-03-22 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Creation declares God's glory and points us heavenward. This compilation includes the following titles for well over 100 devotions using examples from nature plus Scripture to challenge the reader toward spiritual growth. Devotions from the Garden -- Explore the seasons of the soul Be Like a Tree -- Discover the keys to a fruitful life Creation Declares -- Reflect on God's infinite creativity Let us join with all of creation in worship.

Download or read book The Artist s Way Morning Pages Journal written by Julia Cameron and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-11-08 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Elegantly repackaged, The Morning Pages Journal is one of The Artist's Way's most effective tools for cultivating creativity, personal growth, and change. Now more compact and featuring spiral binding to make for easier use, these Morning Pages invite you to do three pages daily of longhand writing, strictly stream-of-consciousness, which provoke, clarify, comfort, cajole, prioritize, and synchronize the day at hand. This daily writing, coupled with the twelve-week program outlined in The Artist's Way, will help you discover and recover your personal creativity, artistic confidence, and productivity. The Artist's Way Morning Pages Journal includes an introduction by Julia Cameron, complete instructions on how to use the Morning Pages and benefit fully from their daily use, and inspiring quotations that will guide you through the process.

Download or read book Art and Faith written by Makoto Fujimura and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From a world-renowned painter, an exploration of creativity’s quintessential—and often overlooked—role in the spiritual life “Makoto Fujimura’s art and writings have been a true inspiration to me. In this luminous book, he addresses the question of art and faith and their reconciliation with a quiet and moving eloquence.”—Martin Scorsese “[An] elegant treatise . . . Fujimura’s sensitive, evocative theology will appeal to believers interested in the role religion can play in the creation of art.”—Publishers Weekly Conceived over thirty years of painting and creating in his studio, this book is Makoto Fujimura’s broad and deep exploration of creativity and the spiritual aspects of “making.” What he does in the studio is theological work as much as it is aesthetic work. In between pouring precious, pulverized minerals onto handmade paper to create the prismatic, refractive surfaces of his art, he comes into the quiet space in the studio, in a discipline of awareness, waiting, prayer, and praise. Ranging from the Bible to T. S. Eliot, and from Mark Rothko to Japanese Kintsugi technique, he shows how unless we are making something, we cannot know the depth of God’s being and God’s grace permeating our lives. This poignant and beautiful book offers the perspective of, in Christian Wiman’s words, “an accidental theologian,” one who comes to spiritual questions always through the prism of art.

Download or read book Creation Declares written by Candee Fick and published by Candee Fick. This book was released on 2024-03-12 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God’s fingerprints are all over His creation. Just like a sculpture, painting, symphony, or poem reveals clues about the one who created it, all creation reveals God. Nature screams about God without uttering a single word, and the deeper we look, the more we discover of His infinite creativity and attention to the smallest detail. In this 50-day devotional, you will: - Learn how creation continuously speaks of God's power and divine nature. - Gain a deeper understanding of God's invisible qualities through His creation. - Discover the beauty and complexity of nature and how it reflects God's character. - Find new ways to connect with God and deepen your relationship with Him. - Reflect on God's fingerprints in your own life and how He is constantly at work. Don't miss out on this eye-opening and transformative devotional journey through God's creation.

Download or read book The Principles of War written by Rick Joyner and published by Morningstar Publications Inc.. This book was released on with total page 112 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “These principles of war were formulated by Carl von Clausewitz, an officer in the Napoleonic Wars. They quickly became a paradigm for developing strategy and tactics by virtually every military in the world and remain so to this day. In this study, one of our premier warriors and a founding member of the U.S. Army Delta Force, LTG (R) W.G. "Jerry" Boykin, addresses the military application of these principles. I then elaborate on how each can be applied to virtually any other endeavor such as business, sports, missions, or even government programs.” —Rick Joyner

Download or read book The Nature of the Psyche A Seth Book written by Jane Roberts and published by Amber-Allen Publishing. This book was released on 2011-08-01 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seth, speaking through Jane Roberts, reveals a startling new concept of self, answering questions about the secret language of love, human sexuality, the real origins and incredible powers of dreams, and how we choose our physical death — sometimes years in advance. He also covers human sexuality as it relates to the private and mass psyche, and explains how distorted beliefs about sexuality can hold back spiritual progress. “The psyche is a gestalt of aware energy in which your own identity resides, inviolate, yet ever-changing as you fulfill your potentials. You are your psyche’s living expression, its human manifestation. Yet you allow yourselves often to become blind to brilliant aspects of your own existence.” — Jane Roberts, Speaking for Seth “The Seth books were of great benefit to me on my spiritual journey and helped me to see another way of looking at the world.” — Gerald G. Jampolsky, author of Love is Letting Go of Fear

Download or read book The Way of Prayer written by Jane E. Vennard and published by Companions in Christ. This book was released on 2006 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's said that prayer is so primal an urge for humankind that we're born into the world praying. Yet, something so natural and seemingly so easy comes hard sometimes. The Way of Prayer is a 10-week small-group study about the nature, practice, and results of prayer. "All prayer, formal or informal, is about our relationship with God," the authors write. "Somewhere deep inside us resides the experience of being so deeply connected to God that we long to express the wonder of that relationship. We pray because we can.and must." Honor the ways you were taught to pray while expanding your understanding to include new ways to pray. Topics covered include: How Do You Pray? Images of God Praying by Heart Praying with Music Praying by Gaze Praying with Our Bodies Scriptural Prayer Contemplative Prayer Praying with and for Others Prayer and Social Transformation