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Let's face it: our times of rest need work. And God calls us to rest, and even shows us through his own example. With collected insights from sabbath keepers of all ages and backgrounds, Lynne M. Baab offers a practical and hopeful guidebook that encourages all of us to slow down and enjoy our relationship with the God of the universe.
Trends and skills for those who offer pastoral care Christian pastoral care has changed a great deal in the past few decades in response to many factors in our rapidly changing world. In part 1 of Nurturing Hope, Lynne Baab discusses seven trends in pastoral care--shifts in who delivers pastoral care, the attitudes and commitments that undergird pastoral care, and societal trends that are shaping pastoral care today. She illustrates them with stories from diverse congregations where Christian caregivers are meeting those challenges in creative and exciting ways. In the second half of the book, Baab presents four practical, doable, energizing skills needed by pastoral carers in our time. Focu...
"A book for people grieving because of the pandemic, health challenges, family conflict, or other losses, while also seeing so many things to be thankful for. A book for small groups - each of the seven chapters has discussion questions at the end. A book for Advent and Lent."--Author's website
Prayers that lead to a growing intimacy with God. Heart-learning, not just more head knowledge. Walking conversations with God. These are a few of the fruits produced by a spiritual practice called holy walks. Rooted in the ancient art of praying the Psalms, holy walks enrich our understanding and practice of prayer by integrating prayer-walking and learning the Psalms by heart. In a practical, deeply personal, and at times humorous manner, Steve Simon shares how holy walks have transformed his own prayer life and revitalized his walk with God--and how they can do the same for the reader. In addition to explaining the spiritual practice of holy walks, Holy Walks also provides an introduction to the book of Psalms, which will be especially valuable for those with limited knowledge of the Bible. Exploring five types of psalms, Holy Walks describes how God uses them to shape our heart in life-giving ways no matter what peaks we're climbing or valleys we're traversing. The book concludes with a discussion on what the Psalms teach about God's relationship with us as our creator, leader, and rescuer.
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God." Matthew 5:6 The Message We live in hungry times. Ours is a consumer culture, predisposed to quickly fill the cravings of body and mind. The idea of fasting--the voluntary denial of something for a specific time, for a spiritual purpose--sets us immediately on edge. But Lynne Baab makes the case that anyone can fast. Fasting is an expression of freedom. Free from the patterns and habits that mark everyday life, from time to time we can move beyond our appetites into meaningful encounter with God. In Fasting you'll discover an ancient Christian practice that extends beyond giving up food to any regular activity in our contemporary lives. You'll see how taking a break from eating--or driving, or checking e-mail, or watching television--opens us up to discover new things about ourselves and God and the world around us. You'll see that while not everyone should forgo food, anyone can step out of routine to feed the soul. In a time of great spiritual hunger, God invites us all to a feast: fellowship with the Creator of the universe, where all our truest needs are identified and attended to.
Which activities give you energy and connect you with God? Do you know what behaviors are life-draining for you, separating you from God? In this book Jan Johnson provides small experiments with simplicity as well as questions for discussion or reflection to help you discover the unhurried rhythms of grace.
Listening skills, and the perspective gained through careful listening, are more important in congregations than ever. Many factors make attentive listening a significant contributor to healthy congregations. As we enter into a post-Christendom culture, the people coming into congregations, as well as the people in the wider community, are less likely to be operating from a shared set of assumptions. With world-wide migration reshaping our communities and congregations, diverse perspectives coming from varied cultural backgrounds are also more common. The breakdown of many support structures in society has created profound pastoral care needs, making listening increasingly significant for bo...
Pastor & author, Lynne Baab "offers readers a useful tool to understand both their own spiritual journeys and their role in the life of their chosen spiritual community". The book "...provides a basic understanding of the concepts of psychological type and then builds upon them with applications to real-life issues...".
“But I don’t wanna go to church!” Marva Dawn has often heard that cry—and not only from children. “What a sad commentary it is on North American spirituality,” she writes, “that the delight of ‘keeping the Sabbath day’ has degenerated into the routine and drudgery—even the downright oppressiveness—of ‘going to church.’” According to Dawn, the phrase “going to church” both reveals and promotes bad theology: it suggests that the church is a static place when in fact the church is the people of God. The regular gathering together of God’s people for worship is important—it enables them to be church in the world—but the act of worship is only a small part of...
Marva Dawn opens up her own experiences of deep loneliness in these personal stories and reflections on the Psalms. By evoking the wordless comfort contained in these songs, Dawn teaches us to wait prayerfully on God.