That’s what Jen Hatmaker had to admit after taking in hurricane victims who commented on the extravagance of her family’s upper middle class home. She once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called “rich” by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual was born.7 is the true story of how Jen (along with her husband and her children to varying degrees) took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.Food. Clothes. Spending. Media. Possessions. Waste. Stress. They would spend thirty days on each topic, boiling it down to the number seven. Only eat seven foods, wear seven articles of clothing, and spend money in seven places. Eliminate use of seven media types, give away seven things each day for one month, adopt seven green habits, and observe “seven sacred pauses.” So, what’s the payoff from living a deeply reduced life? It’s the discovery of a greatly increased God—a call toward Christ-like simplicity and generosity that transcends social experiment to become a radically better existence.

    His unique approach—thematic rather than verse-by-verse—makes the ancient treatise eminently accessible, combined as it is with his trademark illustrations and simple diagrams.In a world that seems spellbound by argument over dialogue, vi-vaad over sam-vaad, Devdutt highlights how Krishna nudges Arjuna to understand rather than judge his relationships. This becomes relevant today when we are increasingly indulging and isolating the self (self-improvement, self-actualization, self-realization—even selfies!).We forget that we live in an ecosystem of others, where we can nourish each other with food, love and meaning, even when we fight.So let My Gita inform your Gita.

    Drawing from his years of experience as a teacher, spiritual leader, and avid meditator, Edward Viljoen will guide readers down the path to enlightenment using wisdom such as:Mindfulness practices—Train yourself to become absorbed in a purposefully chosen activity Sitting practices—Reduce the use of mental and physical resources as much as possible by sitting still and silently Creative practices—Devices such as journaling, observing, and focusing on a favorite literary or spiritual passage   Peppered throughout with stories from the author’s spiritual teachings and personal anecdotes, this book goes beyond a simple how-to book and creates a wonderful reading experience that will help readers to live more wise and fulfilling lives.

    Four years later in the midst of his Great Sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack on a wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change Mack's world forever.In a world where religion seems to grow increasingly irrelevant The Shack wrestles with the timeless question, "Where is God in a world so filled with unspeakable pain?" The answers Mack gets will astound you and perhaps transform you as much as it did him. You'll want everyone you know to read this book!

    Covering a wide span of topics—from life and death to courage and winning—the practical information and encouragement are ideal for those seeking to find a deeper understanding of this ancient philosophy.

    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    When his pursuit of happiness in Corporate America feels counterproductive, he escapes the flourescent-lit hell that was his cubicle in Seattle, and sets out to fully embrace the stress-free lifestyle of Hawaii. Intrigued and curious about what people believe (and why they believe what they do), he questions everything that he ever thought was true, and learns to let go of the compulsive need to know. And that’s where he finds his bliss.If you consider yourself spiritual but not religious, you’re going to love this book! And if you want to lead a simple and uncomplicated life with happiness at your fingertips, then you’ll want to read it more than once.“It’s not that I’m against religion, I simply don’t have one (nor do I believe that we need it to be ethical). My faith is doctrine-free, with a definition of God that doesn't conjure a white, bearded man in the sky who dispenses blessings for good behavior and condemns the bad. That’s because I don’t believe God does that; religion does. You see, faith is a spiritual practice of continually letting go of certainty, of ego, and of the underlying need to know, while religion is a ceremonial tradition of hanging on, clinging to concrete dogmas, stubborn rigidity, and ageless ritual.”Discover the difference between feelings and emotions, the disparity between truths and facts, and the countless benefits of mindful living.

    But the next time you have dinner, what will you eat? With so much processed food in the marketplace, obesity in adults and children dramatically on the rise, and digestive problems increasingly more common, it's clear that we're facing a serious food crisis in this country. The answer, however, isn't just to go on a diet. Reducing the intake of refined and processed foods and increasing whole foods certainly can improve one's health. But we need more. We need to feed ourselves with a sense of purpose, self-respect, love, and passion for our lives. We need to nourish our spirits. Nourishment isn't a fad diet . . . it's a lifelong journey, and Haléofia Schatz is the ideal guide. Gentle, wise, and humorous, she shows us the way to the heart of nourishment--our own inner wisdom that knows exactly how to feed our whole self. A perfect blend of inspiration and practical suggestions, If the Buddha Came to Dinner includes guidelines for selecting vital foods, ideas for keeping your energy balanced throughout the day, a cleanse program, and over 60 recipes to awaken your palate. Open this book and nurture yourself as never before. You'll be fed in a whole new way.

    A calling may be to do something (change careers, go back to school, have a child) or to be something (more creative, less judgmental, more loving). While honoring a calling's essential mystery, this book also guides readers to ask and answer the fundamental questions that arise from any calling: How do we recognize it? How do we distinguish the true call from the siren song? How do we handle our resistance to a call? What happens when we say yes? What happens when we say no?Drawing on the hard-won wisdom and powerful stories of people who have followed their own calls, Gregg Levoy shows us the many ways to translate a calling into action. In a style that is poetic, exuberant, and keenly insightful, he presents an illuminating and ultimately practical inquiry into how we listen and respond to our calls, whether at work or at home, in our relationships or in service. Callings is a compassionate guide to discovering your own callings and negotiating the tight passages to personal power and authenticity.

    The sage's sole concern was with human suffering and the ending of suffering. It was his mission to guide the individual to an understanding of his true nature and the timelessness of being. He taught that mind must recognize and penetrate its own state of being, "being this or that, here or that, then or now," but just timeless being.

    She believes that by shedding our armor, we can stop hiding, competing, striving for the mirage of perfection, and making motherhood, marriage, and friendship harder by pretending they’re not hard. In this one woman trying to love herself and others, readers find a wise and witty friend who will inspire them to forgive their own imperfections, make the most of their gifts, and commit to small acts of love that will change the world.

    Raised in a secular family but increasingly interested in the relevance of faith in our modern world, A.J. Jacobs decides to dive in headfirst and attempt to obey the Bible as literally as possible for one full year. He vows to follow the Ten Commandments. To be fruitful and multiply. To love his neighbor. But also to obey the hundreds of less publicized rules: to avoid wearing clothes made of mixed fibers; to play a ten-string harp; to stone adulterers.The resulting spiritual journey is at once funny and profound, reverent and irreverent, personal and universal and will make you see history's most influential book with new eyes.Jacobs's quest transforms his life even more radically than the year spent reading the entire "Encyclopedia Britannica" for "The Know-It-All." His beard grows so unruly that he is regularly mistaken for a member of ZZ Top. He immerses himself in prayer, tends sheep in the Israeli desert, battles idolatry, and tells the absolute truth in all situations - much to his wife's chagrin.Throughout the book, Jacobs also embeds himself in a cross-section of communities that take the Bible literally. He tours a Kentucky-based creationist museum and sings hymns with Pennsylvania Amish. He dances with Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn and does Scripture study with Jehovah's Witnesses. He discovers ancient biblical wisdom of startling relevance. And he wrestles with seemingly archaic rules that baffle the twenty-first-century brain.Jacobs's extraordinary undertaking yields unexpected epiphanies and challenges. A book that will charm readers both secular and religious, "The Year of Living Biblically" is part Cliff Notes to the Bible, part memoir, and part look into worlds unimaginable. Thou shalt not be able to put it down.

    In the pages of this book, internationally recognized teacher Richard Rohr circles around this most paradoxical idea as he explores the nature of God—circling around being an apt metaphor for this mystery we're trying to apprehend. Early Christians who came to be known as the "Desert Mothers and Fathers" applied the Greek verb perichoresis to the mystery of the Trinity. The best translation of this odd–sounding word is dancing. Our word choreography comes from the same root. Although these early Christians gave us some highly conceptualized thinking on the life of the Trinity, the best they could say, again and again, was, Whatever is going on in God is a flow—it's like a dance. But God is not a dancer—He is the dance itself. That idea might sound novel, but it is about as traditional as you can get. God is the dance itself, and He invites you to be a part of that dance. Are you ready to join in?

    But God keeps showing up in the least likely of people—a church-loving agnostic, a drag queen, a felonious Bishop and a gun-toting member of the NRA. As she lives and worships alongside these “ac­cidental saints,” Nadia is swept into first-hand en­counters with grace—a gift that feels to her less like being wrapped in a warm blanket and more like being hit with a blunt instrument. But by this grace, people are trans­formed in ways they couldn’t have been on their own. In a time when many have rightly become dis­illusioned with Christianity, Accidental Saints dem­onstrates what happens when ordinary people share bread and wine, struggle with scripture together, and tell each other the truth about their real lives. This unforgettable account of their faltering steps toward wholeness will ring true for believer and skeptic alike. Told in Nadia’s trademark confessional style, Accidental Saints is the stunning next work from one of today’s most important religious voices.From the Hardcover edition.

    Philosopher and prolific writer Peter Kreeft is up to the challenge in this work of popular apologetics aimed at both teens and adults. The masterful Kreeft tackles sixteen crucial issues about the deeper meaning of life. The questions that Kreeft explores range from, Is faith reasonable?, Can you prove there is a God?, and Why is Jesus different?, to Why is sex so confusing?, Why is there evil?, and Why must we die? Kreeft provides thoughtful, lucid, and persuasive answers for believers, unbelievers, and seekers to consider. As always, Kreeft is insightful, inspiring, and entertaining. This book is ideal for those exploring faith for the first time, as well as for confirmation and religious education classes. It's an intellectual and spiritual feast! This is vintage Kreeft.