His reflections on daily life with the Trappists are funny, wise, and often profound--resembling Kathleen Norris's The Cloister Walk, but a bit less thematically structured and more down to earth. Nouwen's goal is simply to record what it's like to pass the time in a cloistered community. He spends part of his stay there reading Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, which helps awaken a hunger for a richer experience of life that he subsequently satisfies by learning to slow down. In his first week at the monastery, Nouwen writes, "I have so many ideas I want to write about, so many books I want to read, so many skills I want to learn--motorcycle maintenance is now one of them--and so many things I want to say to others now or later, that I do not SEE that God is all around me and that I am always trying to see what is ahead, overlooking him who is so close." Then, looking forward to being planted in one place among the Trappists, he writes, "Maybe I need to get stuck," to learn to see God. He does, and he does. --Michael Joseph Gross

    . . let us press on to know the LORD . . . And He will come to us like the rain.” This verse is the essence of Downpour, a revival-ready book by Pastor James MacDonald. MacDonald writes with the desire to witness an absolute soaking of God's Spirit on the church in North America. He is grieved by statistics showing little or no difference between the lifestyles of professing Christians and their nonbelieving neighbors, and he counters that with a five-point outline that charts the pathway to personal revival.

    A profound book of spiritual insight that helps believers live a deep life in God beneath the turmoil of our hurried business.

    . . . I did have stories. I hadn’t dared to tell many people about them, but I definitely had had what I believed to be encounters with the Divine. I wondered if many other people had stories too. What happened next surprised me most. I realized that a Divine intelligence that many people call God is connecting with millions of people every day. These are their stories.” —from the IntroductionIn God Stories, Jennifer Skiff shares the extraordinary experiences of people who have felt the power of God’s presence in their lives and been forever changed. A doctor opens the chest of a dying heart patient to discover her heart is healed; Marines watch as a fellow soldier in Iraq is hit by a powerful explosion only to discover, when the dust settles, that he is still standing and has no injuries; a struggling couple receive an answer to a prayer and are prevented from making a mistake that could cost them their children; a young woman loses her boyfriend on 9/11 and receives a message that brings her peace.Reassuring, hopeful, and unforgettable, these amazing confirmations of divine intervention will lift your spirit and leave you wondering—and even remembering—when your life was touched by a miracle.

    As long-held beliefs on love, faith, and God are challenged by the aggregate of changes that have overhauled our world, many of us are left feeling confused and uncertain while old norms are challenged and redefined at breakneck speed.In Wrestling with God, Ronald Rolheiser offers a steady and inspiring voice to help us avow and understand our faith in a world where nothing seems solid or permanent. Drawing from his own life experience, as well as a storehouse of literary, psychological, and theological insights, the beloved author of Sacred Fire examines the fears and doubts that challenge us. It is in these struggles to find meaning, that Rolheiser lays out a path for faith in a world struggling to find faith, but perhaps more important, he helps us find our own rhythm within which to walk that path.

    During World War II, he fought with local partisans against the Nazi occupiers of Crete. But in A Time to Keep Silence, Leigh Fermor writes about a more inward journey, describing his several sojourns in some of Europe’s oldest and most venerable monasteries. He stays at the Abbey of St. Wandrille, a great repository of art and learning; at Solesmes, famous for its revival of Gregorian chant; and at the deeply ascetic Trappist monastery of La Grande Trappe, where monks take a vow of silence. Finally, he visits the rock monasteries of Cappadocia, hewn from the stony spires of a moonlike landscape, where he seeks some trace of the life of the earliest Christian anchorites.More than a history or travel journal, however, this beautiful short book is a meditation on the meaning of silence and solitude for modern life. Leigh Fermor writes, “In the seclusion of a cell—an existence whose quietness is only varied by the silent meals, the solemnity of ritual, and long solitary walks in the woods—the troubled waters of the mind grow still and clear, and much that is hidden away and all that clouds it floats to the surface and can be skimmed away; and after a time one reaches a state of peace that is unthought of in the ordinary world.”

    You can experience salvation and receive a new heart but still miss receiving your full spiritual inheritance. Juanita Bynum, best-selling author of Matters of the Heart, minces no words in explaining the scriptural significance for believers to understand the role spiritual authority plays in your inheriting all God destines for you. Your Spiritual inheritance comes only from submission. Looking in-depth at the lives of Samson, Saul, Uzziah, and Jesus, as well as her own life, Bynum explains the pattern for receiving - and not squandering - the mantle of anointing from God. Discover how submission to instruction and receiving correction from spiritual authority can draw you into destiny. The Bible's pattern is clear - spiritual leaders are to lead, and believers are to submit to their leadership for spiritual direction. Your spiritual inheritance - reserved especially for you - is awaiting your full obedience. Will you embrace the greatness God has put within you?

    The Desert Fathers is the perfect introduction to the stories and sayings of these heroic pioneers of the contemplative tradition. Selected and translated by Helen Waddell, The Desert Fathers opens a window onto early Christianity while presenting us with touchingly human models of faith, humility, and compassion. With a new Preface by the Cistercian monk, writer, and revered teacher of contemplative prayer M. Basil Pennington, author of O Holy Mountain and Challenges in Prayer."God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land.  The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--may we follow their directions home."--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    And yet it is this which can allow us to know the grace of God most powerfully. This study explores why Henri Nouwen is, perhaps, the modern writer who has done most to confront the question of woundedness. In doing so his work brings us face to face with Jesus the wounded healer and can release new depths of grace in the reader's life

    For every pained believer, for each child of God unjustly treated, for everyone who has been crucified by other Christians, comes this monumental literary work that will touch the heart as its very wellsprings. Formally titled "Crucified by Christians."

    This red-hot-relevant manifesto offers up a simple lifestyle solution called "Gracenomics." This radical idea of second chance living has spawned a passionate movement of thousands who have transformed both their personal and professional lives. Through inspiring stories, practical next steps and a straight-forward writing style, "Gracenomics" will show you how to unleash the power of second chance living in your life. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:"Gracenomics a must read!! Super short but super huge. I'm crying from laughing, conviction and just the mere thought we as people could love this way!" --Brenda Renderos"After finishing it, I had to put it down and sit in the impact of what I had just read. The stories and lessons are gifts and the book may be one of the best things I've ever read on what grace, acceptance and inclusion can be when we throw ourselves at the mercy of grace." --Christopher Heuertz"Great fuel for my soul, and motivation for my actions." --Scott Rubin"The bottom line...the world would be a be a much better place if people followed the teachings in this book." --Jason Wert"Mike Foster has a style of writing that is accessible to everyone. No convoluted, complex writing on complex subjects, just simple and to the point." --J. Forehand"Absolutely loved this book! Bought it for several on our staff and have given them away as gifts. Everyone I've given it to has raved about it." --RandyABOUT MIKE FOSTER:Mike Foster is the Co-Founder of "People of the Second Chance" a radical grace movement made up of activists, artists and imperfectionists. He serves on the Executive Leadership team of PlainJoe Studios and lives in Southern California.

    Thomas Merton writes: "When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude it can no longer be held together by love: and consequently it is held together by a violent and abusive authority. But when men are violently deprived of the solitude and freedom which are their due, the society in which they live becomes putrid, it festers with servility, resentment and hate."Thoughts in Solitude stands alongside The Seven Storey Mountain as one of Merton's most enduring and popular works. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentieth century. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968. Librarian note: there is an alternate cover edition of this book here

    As Ruth's life descended through divorce, depression, and shame, as she bore heartrending parental struggles and as she faltered trying to make wise choices in the wake of bad ones, she discovered the unending embrace of a faithful, forgiving, and grace-filled God. As fascinating as Ruth's story is, her book surpasses testimony as she brings sharp new insight from the word of God for all who fear their actions may be beyond forgiveness or their broken circumstances may keep them from ever again being used by God. makes wasted places come to life. Through Ruth's eyes the reader grasps the Prodigal Son parable as never before. She discloses her own journey through that parable, first as the indignant older brother struggling to understand God's grace toward her husband's infidelity, then as the prodigal when her own actions brought deep shame and painful circumstances, and even in her role as the father in that parable, running to embrace her own children in the midst of bullmia, drug abuse, and unwed pregnancy. Finally, Ruth includes practical steps in every chapter that anyone can take to offer care, support, and hope to the broken people they encounter in their lives and in the pews beside them each Sunday. With Ruth, the broken and those who love them will run to the arms of the God they can trust, the Father God who embraces, sustains, and redeems.

    When this practical guide was first published in 1978, people all over the world welcomed its simple and beautiful form of meditative prayer. Reflections and advice on Centering Prayer's possibilities?and its pitfalls?are presented with clarity and simplicity, exposing a vision of the deeper life of the soul that contemplative prayer can bring about. This informative, useful tool explains: ? The prayer of The Cloud of the Unknowing ? Posture and relaxation ? The three simple rules of Centering Prayer ? How to cultivate Centering Prayer throughout all aspects of your life

    From the bestselling author of The Last Arrow and The Way of the Warrior. In every realm of our existence--art, technology, mathematics--we are captivated by stories of genius. Geniuses violate the status quo, destabilize old ways of thinking, and ultimately disrupt history by making us see the world differently. We see this effect when we consider the canon of history's great geniuses, from Leonardo da Vinci to Steve Jobs. But when we look for the genius who left the most lasting impact on human life--our search for truth; our desire to know who we are; our notion that happiness is about more than seeking to serve ourselves--we inevitably encounter Jesus.Despite having lived in obscurity for most his life, Jesus of Nazareth is undeniably one of the most influential people to have ever walked the face of the earth. In The Genius of Jesus, Erwin Raphael McManus asks: what would happen if we studied and emulated Jesus, not only through the lens of his divinity, but as a genius who showed us what it means to live fully human? Drawing on scripture, history, and stories from his own ministry, McManus dives into the nuances of Jesus's words and actions, showing how they can not only inspire us, but transform how we think about humility, freedom, and the purpose that makes our lives worth living.For Christians who want to better know and understand their faith, or for readers who want to create their most powerful future, The Genius of Jesus is a thought-provoking study of the most important person who ever lived.