Featuring authors of interest and insights.
I just designed my new business card, not for my graphic design business, this time, but for my work in spiritual things.
(btw if you are looking for business cards, I’m running a special for custom cards, 500 designed, printed & shipped to you for just $43, available in September only. Graphic design is how I help put food on our table, since I don’t get too many donations here, as of yet.)
(also note- I am a senior this year, but I won’t complete my M.A.R. degree until May, 2010.)
This goodie this month is a book give-away available to visitors from now until the end of September. To be eligible, simply leave a comment below stating your interest. One recipient will be picked at random. (Detailed book information below.)
We live in a high-maintenance world; cars, homes, computers, and even relationships need continual attention. But what about our souls, the center of our selves where our passions, gifts, and individuality unite? Do we ever consider what it means to care for our souls? In a world where the quick fix and instant gratifications are many people’s most immediate focus, author Steve Smith invites the reader to focus on what truly matters most; the lifelong process of nurturing our souls by focusing on relationships, spiritual and personal growth and healing, and living out God’s purpose for our lives. Step off the hamster wheel of endless activity and purposeless action to find a deeper sense of self and spiritual transformation. Foreword by Dr. Gary Chapman.
Smith, a confessed former workaholic, introduces readers to the unique joy of caring for the soul, which he says “contains the deepest part of who we are.” This founder of the Potter’s Inn Ministry, which helps people experience soul transformation, shares his wealth of knowledge about the soul in 92 brief chapters presented in 13 sections that address issues such as soul identity, soul formation and threats to the soul. Each chapter includes several questions to help readers address their own soul struggles. Smith certainly covers all the bases of the soul, but one wishes for more depth. Staccato chapters whet the appetite for deeper exploration, but Smith moves on quickly to new topics. The book, however, does bring important issues to light. He speaks often of the need for those who believe in God to slow down; he urges readers to use their senses to nurture the soul and highlights the importance of companionship on the soul journey. Studying the soul, he says, “is an incomparable journey to explore the depths and heights of the soul, for we travel the contours of a holy land.” (June) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Biography
The founder of The Potter’s Inn, Stephen W. Smith has been involved in Christian ministry for more than twenty-five years. He and his wife, Gwen, are frequent speakers and retreat leaders who focus on the spiritual growth and transformation of individuals, couples, churches, and organizations.
Have you ever wondered what prayer is all about? Not just that it’s important, but why it is, or how it changes us? Why might God wish us to do it? Why did Jesus do it? I have.
In my Christian education class at church on Sunday, we’ve been going through the book by Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does it Make a Difference. I recommend it highly. It discusses the questions many of us have wrestled with regarding prayer. Such as, “If God knows everything, what is the purpose of asking him?” or “What is happening when it seems like God is silent, and my prayers seem to just be hitting the ceiling?” or “What should I pray to God? What is off limits? Is it for him that I pray, for me, or both of us?” Yancey goes through plenty of tough prayer-related subjects honestly, without pat answers.
If you’ve read this book, what did you like, or what didn’t you like?
What have been the most helpful thing or things you’ve learned about prayer? What books have helped you? Please, leave a comment or lesson you’ve learned here.
One big reason I set out to try to spend time on this message (with a book proposal and a blog) is to show that God is usually different than we make him out to be. This comes out in the Bible. He’s full of surprises. He sews leather outfits for the couple who betrayed him. He gives clemency to the first murderer. Jacob the devious trickster is father to a great nation. “Jacob have I loved, Easu have I hated.” In a better translation of the Hebrew, God says: “I am favoring Jacob, but not Easu.” God points this out much in a twist of the plot, and our normal assumptions, much to our surprise. It’s all to show his wild grace, which none of us deserve. The running narrative in the Bible isn’t much of a “how to do right living” book. The characters featured are usually full of flaws. It is rather a collection of stories where God’s power and grace shines through and saves the day.
This is a God we can love and trust. It is often a God we weren’t taught about too much in church or Sunday school. Perhaps Jesus was taught to us this way-a lamb draped on his shoulders, and such. But, God is often taught as something of a splintered off honcho, a petulant Being who has had a habit of smiting people.
The idea of understanding God’s character anew, through informed context, is that it leads us to understand the Reality of “him,” and the omnipresence of this Being, God Almighty, always in the regular moments of life. Every moment may be a chance for greater awareness and communion with the lover of our nefesh (soul-whole being). It doesn’t boil down to a set of rules or rituals. It is a relationship, a prayer between us and the Supreme Other. Our life becomes prayer.
Keri, how would you sum up what you write about, mainly; and why it has been important to you?
I write about the connection between faith and real life. I try to give people practical guidance on spiritual growth, on spiritual practices that can help form them into the image of Christ. And I believe the most important step toward growth, for American Christians, anyway, is to slow down and simplify. So many of my books focus on those themes. That’s been important to me because I know how it feels to be going through the motions, wanting more spiritulally. I see how people try to get busy for God, and they don’t realize how counterproductive that is. I want to help those people find a way to grow by simplifying.
Tell us the books you’ve written.
God’s Whisper in a Mother’s Chaos (IVP, 2000) is a book for parents of young children who are wondering where their spiritual life went. I wrote it when my own kids were one and three, so it’s very honest. Readers tell me they love this book because they realize they are not alone in the struggles of parenting.
The Garden of the Soul (IVP, 2002) compares the growth of our souls with the growth in a garden. It introduces spiritual disiciplines in a simple way.
Breathe (Revell, 2005) is about how the pace of our lives affects us spiritually. It tells stories of real women who are moving toward Sabbath Simplicity, and gives practical help on slowing, simplicity and Sabbath-keeping, which are foundational spiritual practices.
Listen (Jossey-Bass, 2006) is about hearing God, through our circumstances, other people, and in time with God.
Oxygen (Revell, 2008) is a devotional that has you read one gospel passage each week, and reflect on it using various spiritual practices.
Rest (Zondervan, 2009) is about how to live in Sabbath Simplicity. it looks at the Sabbath command, and what Jesus said about Sabbath, and offers practical, guilt-free ways to embrace Sabbath-keeping as a lifestyle. Readers love this book because it offers freedom and absolutely refuses to get legalistic.
Simple Compassion (Zondervan 2009) will release this September. It’s a 52-week devotional, with one 3-to 4 page entry per week. It’s about how to make a difference in your neighborhood and the world. it looks at verses that talk about God’s concern for the poor, for his heart for compassion and justice. It’s an ideal resource for small groups.
If there was one sentence, or short message, you could convey to the world that would be remembered always, what would it be?
Slow down, and listen to the voice of love, (God’s voice) which says that grace is sufficient.
Why do you think people don’t associate God and spiritual life with rest or enjoyment?
Our understanding of God is skewed by our upbringing, our culture. We often think God is strict or mean–which is so not true. Or we think we have to earn God’s favor–and earning and resting don’t go together. But I’ve found that only when I stop running do I actually experience the unconditional love of God, and the amazingness of grace.
Do you have any tips or ideas for getting better at seeing God in this way?
Start slowing your life down, create some space for God. One day a week, just stop your striving. Really, this is something you can’t just think about, you have to do it to experience it.
What are a few keys to “doing Sabbath” most beneficially?
The key is to remember that building a Sabbath practice is a long-term project. It’s a journey, and you do it slowly, over time. My book has a lot of practical help, but the key is to begin where you are. If you are a very hurried person, your first step will be different than someone who is already a little more laid back. And also, listen to God’s leadings. Ask others what they do, but remember that you don’t have to do the exact same thing. A good way to start is to ask, “what do I want to be free of?” And then refrain from doing that thing (maybe it’s laundry, or grocery shopping) on the Sabbath. And then, ask “what brings me joy?” And find a way to engage in that on Sabbath (maybe it’s worship, or gardening, or just hanging out with your kids).
What lesson, or lessons, have you had to learn the hard way?
This column is not long enough for me to answer that question But here’s one of the many: don’t run ahead of God. When I’ve tried to steer my life in the direction I thought it should go, I ended up on a major detour. God knows the way, and I just need to follow.
What’s on the horizon for you?
My next gig is at the Karitos Arts Festival in Bolingbrook IL July 16-18)
Thank you, Keri! This book was a wonderful read, and brought home a lot of ideas I was already pursuing. It’s good to comprehend just how much we can enjoy God, and actually, how he made us for just that. It seems we get in our own way!
Visitors, your comments are welcome, and Keri, chime right in, too!
Have you authored a book, or enjoyed a book with themes similar to that featured here at Life as Prayer? If so, let me know.
