As society grows increasingly technological, isolated, and lonely, those who take their caregiving gifts seriously can fill a tremendous void. In Real Love for Real Life, caregivers of all kinds can find the help and hope they need to fulfill their calling. Through personal illustrations, timely research, and thoughtful quotations, Andi Ashworth addresses the practicalities, philosophies, challenges, and joys of providing care in the relationships of home and communityâ��leading readers to a greater understanding of the value and the validity of their call to be caregivers. With the encouraging hope and creative insights theyâ��ll find in these pages, they can serve others in more effective, more fulfilling waysâ��in the name of God.

    These issues have been corrected, but if you purchased a defective copy between September and December 2019, please send proof of purchase to josseybasseducation@wiley.com to receive a replacement copy.Dear Friends: I'm sorry that after 20 years of happy traveling, Let Your Life Speak hit a big pothole involving printing errors that resulted in an unreadable book. But I'm very grateful to my publisher for moving quickly to see that people who received a defective copy have a way to receive a good copy without going through the return process. We're all doing everything we can to make things right, and I'm grateful for your patience. Thank you, Parker J. PalmerWith wisdom, compassion, and gentle humor, Parker J. Palmer invites us to listen to the inner teacher and follow its leadings toward a sense of meaning and purpose. Telling stories from his own life and the lives of others who have made a difference, he shares insights gained from darkness and depression as well as fulfillment and joy, illuminating a pathway toward vocation for all who seek the true calling of their lives.

    Sustaining belief without any doubts for one’s entire life is a very rare accomplishment. Indeed, many would say that examining one’s faith at least once is a central part of the Christian condition. In this landmark work, esteemed theologian Paul Knitter explains the unique path that he took to overcome his doubts, becoming a stronger Christian in the process.Honest and unflinching, Without Buddha I Could not be a Christian narrates each common spiritual dilemma that Knitter has struggled with and explains how a Buddhist worldview has allowed him to resolve each one. From the ‘petitioning’ nature of Christian prayer to how Christianity views life after death, Knitter argues that a Buddhist standpoint can help inspire a more person-centred conception of Christianity, where individual religious experience comes first, and liturgy and tradition second. Moving and revolutionary, this book will inspire Christians everywhere.

    If you wish to know your Lord in a deeper way, your are invited to join the numerous Christians who, over three centuries, have turned to this book in order to begin that journey to the depths of Christ.

    With their trademark insight, humor, and candid personal perspectives, Bill and Pam Farrel reveal the truths about the sexual relationship in marriage and what husbands and wives need to know to keep the embers burning.Sex is like fireworks!—why a little skill turns marriage into red-hot monogamyHow sex works best emotionally, physically, and physiologicallyHow to avoid the pleasure thieves that steal your chance for fulfillmentThe Farrels present difficult-to-discuss topics and biblical truths in universal language with sensitivity, fun, and understanding.For newlyweds, golden anniversary celebrants, and all couples in between—this book inspires the gift of romance and passion to fuel lives with love.

    However, the mystical tradition is also an important component of the Christian tradition. At its heart--and much like its expression in other faith traditions--Christian mysticism is an ancient practice that incorporates meditation, contemplation, worship, philosophy, the quest for personal enlightenment, and the experience of Divine presence. This volume is a comprehensive introduction and guide to Christian mysticism. It is a big book about a big possibility: the hope of achieving real, blissful, experiential unison with God. Among the topics covered here are a general introduction to mysticism, the Bible and mysticism, the history and types of Christian mysticism, biographical sketches of leading Christian mystics, and practical instructions about practicing mysticism today. This is a breathtaking work that explores a form of spirituality that has changed lives over the course of 2,000 years. Learning about Christian mysticism and how it has been articulated through the centuries will prove inspirational for today's seekers, regardless of the faith tradition. "The mystic is not a special kind of person; every person is a special kind of mytic." --William McNamara

    Discussing among other topics, wisdom, salvation, loneliness and solitude, the author gives free reign to the discreet and compassionate intelligence that everywhere is a hallmark of his thinking. 'There is not one of these addresses that does not deserve careful scrutiny.' Times Literary Supplement

    "Long ago," Calvin Miller writes, "when the Celts built their own rustic kingdom of God in what would later be the British Isles, their fervor in prayer washed their world in a vital revival." In uncertain and dangerous days of high infant-mortality rates, leprosy and plagues, the Celts breathed candid prayers out of the reality of their lives: Desperate prayers for protection. Praise for the God who was king over all creation. Honest prayers of confession. In these pages, Miller introduces us to six types of Celtic prayer that can connect us to God more deeply by helping us pray out of the circumstances and uncertainties of our own life. "This book proposes a kind of prayer that can end our amputated feelings of separateness from God," says Miller. What was true for the Celts is still true for us: "Hunger for Christ keeps us talking to God till our separation is swallowed up in our unending togetherness with him." As rich as the faith they describe, these pages lead us on an ancient path that gives guidance for present and future prayers, until the day the Celts longed for, when all separation is gone and we live forever in the presence of God.

    Tells the complete story: From the Conquest of Mexico and the conversion of the Aztecs through the development of the devotion and on into the modern era. An enthralling story and an essential devotion for our times!

    These forty-six daily meditations on the life and ministry of Jesus drawn from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are a spiritual solvent to help remove the layers of lacquer comprised of political and cultural assumptions that prevent us from seeing just how challenging and compelling Jesus of Nazareth really is. The Unvarnished Jesus is a forty-six day project to restore the incomparable image of Christ.

    In this completely revised version of an Upper Room best-selling classic, Mulholland invites readers to embrace scripture in a new and more fulfilling way, letting the biblical text form our spiritual life. Mulholland's biggest hope is that people will begin to open themselves so they may regularly encounter God in reading the Bible.Dr. Mulholland examines the obstacles often encountered in spiritual reading. These obstacles include the attitudes that we bring to reading the Bible -- our view of self, our view of the Bible, our relationships with others. As Mulholland writes about these obstacles, he offers a gentle pastoral voice that guides the reader to meet God anew. Readers will grow spiritually as they read and digest Mulholland's insights into the ways we meet God in scripture.

    But if you are like the rest of us, every day presents a mountain of to-do items, jobs to go to, errands to run, projects to complete, meals to cook, children to raise... You forge ahead and get it done, but you know that things aren’t as they should be. Even when you check every item off your daily list, you still feel as though something meaningful and essential is missing from the very center of your life.   Spiritual director and writer Becky Eldredge has felt that same longing, and she knows what people are missing—a relationship with God through prayer. In Busy Lives & Restless Souls, Eldredge interprets principles of Ignatian spirituality in a fresh way to equip us with prayer tools that are accessible and practical within the relentless realities of our daily routines. Just as important, she shows us how we can bring our relationship with God to life by becoming what St. Ignatius called “contemplatives in action.” For all who sense that there is a missing peace in their lives, Busy Lives &Restless Souls will help them find it—right where they are.

    Prayer is simple. Prayer seems like it should be so simple. Yet when it comes to actually praying, it often feels awkward and complicated.I mean, what should you actually pray about? What do you say? Is there anything you should or shouldn't say? Do you have to speak out loud? Where do you even start?To make matters worse, we've heard about prayer for so long that we feel awkward asking about it. It's like having to ask a person's name after knowing them for years. We're embarrassed to ask because we really should know their name by now.Then comes the reality and craziness of life. Between work, parenting, walking the dog, a full inbox, keeping up on social media--who has time to pray?The truth is, prayer is simple. It's like talking; talking with a good friend. Here's the best part: No matter where we are in life, God can't wait to talk with us.What does it look like to pray in the midst of your life? What do you say when you don't know how to pray? I'm asking the same questions. Let's talk.

    Gardening helps us collect ourselves, much as praying does. For rich and poor- it makes no difference- a garden is a place where body and soul are in harmony. In Inheriting Paradise Vigen Guroian offers an abundant vision of the spiritual life found in the cultivation of God's good creation. Capturing the earthiness and sacramental character of the Christian faith, these uplifting meditations bring together the experience of space and time through the cycle of the seasons in the garden and relate this fundamental human experience to the cycle of the church year and the Christian seasons of grace. The tilling of fresh earth; the sowing of seeds; the harvesting of rhubarb and roses, dillweed and daffodils-Guroian finds in the garden our most concrete connection with life and God's gracious giving. His personal reflections on this connection, complemented here by delicate woodcut illustrations, offer a compelling entry into Christian spirituality.

    They seek counseling, practice confession, and pursue God-centered lives, yet still these genuine believers feel hopeless in finding freedom. Could they be under the influence of evil spirits? Yes, says author Neal Lozano. In Unbound, he reveals Satan's strategies and the sneaky "entrance points" Satan finds to get a toehold in a Christian's life. He helps readers acknowledge the doors they may have opened to evil influence, and shows them how to close those doors and walk in God's freedom and abundance. Lozano's focus on God and his work in the believer's life, not on intimidating aspects of evil spirits, gives this book a balanced and hopeful tone. Because deliverance is part of the ongoing, glorious work of the Holy Spirit, Unbound outlines a plan for tapping into the potent power of the gospel. It also offers guidance on how pastors, counselors, and laity can pray for others who are still bound by evil and help them to gain victory.