"Chronic Blessings is an inspiring, faith-driven account full of powerful lessons..." — FOREWORD CLARION REVIEWS DO YOU WANT TO ENJOY THE LIFE YOU ARE LIVING, EVEN AS YOU FACE SIGNIFICANT LIFE CHALLENGES? Are you grieving the loss of the life you planned? Is your body or mind failing you? Can you ever find joy, peace, or fulfillment in these challenging situations? The answer is a resounding YES. Cristy Maddox searched for answers that were not coming; answers for a diagnosis to explain her symptoms. For nearly ten years, Cristy and her husband Greg researched an illness they had never heard of, Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome or POTS. An illness affecting over 2 million Americans and 1 in every 100 teenagers! POTS, the invisible intruder, not only places Cristy at risk but her children as well. Feeling isolated and misunderstood, Cristy grieves the loss of the life she once knew. But now, Cristy brings her findings and insights to you in this compelling, honest, and often too-real story, providing answers to the many perplexing questions surrounding chronic illness. She takes you on a journey of learning the purpose of hardship, a better way to view pain and how to allow God to recycle it for good. Are you ready to discover that your greatest joys in life may be hidden in your deepest heartache?
The bestselling author of the million-copy bestseller Wherever You Go, There You Are and Full Catastrophe Living joins forces with his wife, Myla, in this revised edition of their groundbreaking book about mindfulness in parenting children of all ages. Updated with new material -- including an all new introduction and expanded practices in the epilogue -- Everyday Blessings remains one of the few books on parenting that embraces the emotional, intuitive, and deeply personal experience of being a parent, applying the groundbreaking "mind/body connection" expertise from global mindfulness leader, Jon Kabat-Zinn and his wife, Myla Kabat-Zinn. Mindfulness is a way of living and there is increasing scientific evidence of its value for optimal health and well-being. A new field in psychology is devoted to mindful parenting, and mindfulness is being increasingly integrated into K-12 education. There has never been a better time for cultivating greater mindfulness in parenting and in family life.
In My Grandfather's Blessings, Rachel Naomi Remen, a cancer physician and master storyteller, uses her luminous stories to remind us of the power of our kindness and the joy of being alive. Dr. Remen's grandfather, an orthodox rabbi and scholar of the Kabbalah, saw life as a web of connection and knew that everyone belonged to him, and that he belonged to everyone. He taught her that blessing one another is what fills our emptiness, heals our loneliness, and connects us more deeply to life. Life has given us many more blessings than we have allowed ourselves to receive. My Grandfather's Blessings is about how we can recognize and receive our blessings and bless the life in others. Serving others heals us. Through our service we will discover our own wholeness—and the way to restore hidden wholeness in the world.
The beloved bestseller that offers a practical, inspiring new roadmap for raising self-reliant, ethical, and compassionate children. In the trenches of a typical day, every parent encounters a child afflicted with ingratitude and entitlement. In a world where material abundance abounds, parents want so badly to raise self-disciplined, appreciative, and resourceful children who are not spoiled by the plentitude around them. But how to accomplish this feat? The answer has eluded the best-intentioned mothers and fathers who overprotect, overindulge, and overschedule their children's lives. Dr. Mogel helps parents learn how to turn their children's worst traits into their greatest attributes. Starting with stories of everyday parenting problems and examining them through the lens of the Torah, the Talmud, and important Jewish teachings, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee shows parents how to teach children to honor their parents and to respect others, escape the danger of overvaluing children's need for self-expression so that their kids don't become "little attorneys," accept that their children are both ordinary and unique, and treasure the power and holiness of the present moment. It is Mogel's singular achievement that she makes these teachings relevant for any era and any household of any faith. A unique parenting book, designed for use both in the home and in parenting classes, with an on-line teaching guide to help facilitate its use, The Blessing of a Skinned Knee is both inspiring and effective in the day-to-day challenge of raising self-reliant children.
"You must be cursed. I mean there isn't any other feasible explanation for why you've had to live your life battling a chronic disease. A disease that causes you to live each day like you're sick with the stomach flu. It's just doesn't make sense" he told me with a look of confusion in his eyes. "Sometimes life just doesn't make sense." I replied with a small smile, "but perhaps instead of being cursed I was given a blessing in disguise." This book is based on the true story of a girl who has lived all her life fighting a chronic disease. It will inspire you to keep going despite your circumstances. It will challenge your status quo. It will encourage you to face your fears and conquer the giants you are facing. Feel the pressure come off your shoulders as you read. Start the journey to change your attitude regardless of your situation.
You Are More than Your Illness Magickal Practices and Stories from a Witch Who Knows What You're Going Through Your condition may always be with you, but so will your magick. This book is a beacon of hope for anyone grappling with chronic or invisible illness. Through personal stories and hands-on magick, Danielle Dionne guides your journey of self-discovery. She shows you how to incorporate spellcraft, healing, self-care, and confidence-building practices into your own unique process. Chronically Magickal presents techniques that help boost your energy, mood, and vision for your future. While it can't cure your illness, this book teaches you how to accept help from others, grow around grief, pace yourself according to the spoon theory, and more. You'll also learn how to work with stone, plant, and animal allies. From energy clearing to spirit communication, Danielle covers every aspect of staying magickal and manifesting change for the better. Foreword by Amy Blackthorn, author of Blackthorn's Botanical Magic
Every human being longs for the affirmation, acceptance, and esteem of someone who matters to them. Sadly, most of us never hear the words we long to hearwords of appreciation, esteem, recognition, and value. In Papas Blessings, author Dr. Greg Bourgond focuses on the vital importance of bestowing blessings upon others. This practical and helpful guide provides a fresh take on applying an ancient practice to life in the modern world. Bourgond establishes the importance of blessing, identifies the eight essential components of a meaningful blessing, provides multiple examples of blessings, describes how to administer a blessing, explains the legacy of blessings, and includes a worksheet for developing and giving a blessing. He combines biblical references, illustrations, and personal and emotional stories to show its never too late or too early to give a blessing to those who long for onebeginning with your loved ones and continuing with those who come within your sphere of influence. The world can be a cold and unforgiving place, and Papas Blessings helps prepare our loved ones by giving them something that will sustain them on the difficult journey before thema blessing.
Congregation Sha’ar Zahav’s first siddur appeared in 1982. It was revised in 1994and again in 2000. The richness of this siddur, like the Sha’ar Zahav community, is rooted in its integration of Jewish tradition with egalitarian, feminist, and LGBTQ-positive ideas and language. With this edition, we have sought to continue and expand the Sha’ar Zahav tradition of creating liturgy that reflects who we are. The compilers of the 2000 edition wrote: “A Jewish prayer book which had nothing in common with the traditional siddur would lack the wealth of history which connects our worship with Jewish practice around the world and over the centuries. On the other hand, many of us are uncomfortable with some of the imagery and language found in the prayer books of the major Jewish denominations in the United States. With this prayer book, we have attempted to capture the spirit of Jewish liturgy while avoiding the objectionable elements.” When Congregation Sha’ar Zahav was founded in 1977, only a handful of synagogues offered full acceptance to bisexual, transgender, lesbian, gay, and queer-identified Jews. From the outset, Sha’ar Zahav has been a community that is open to all. Sha’ar Zahav is affiliated with the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), and this siddur reflects many of the innovations of the Reform movement as well as the URJ’s commitment to an evolving liturgical tradition. The members of Congregation Sha’ar Zahav – the authors of most of the new material in this siddur – come from many varied backgrounds, movements, affiliations, traditions, and practices. Some identify with Ashkenazi, Sephardi, or Mizrachi traditions. Some were born into Jewish families, while some chose Judaism. We are young and old and every age in between. We have sought to reflect both our shared traditions and our differences in our liturgy. In order to create a spiritual home for all who choose to enter our gates, and in order to develop a siddur which will continue to resonate with the congregation and reflect our community’s diversity, we have tried to cast a wide liturgical net. We have drawn from the traditions we have been handed, we have sought out sources that have been hidden, and we have tapped the creative gifts of our own community. In this edition, we have been mindful of, and have sought to expand, the principles which have distinguished this siddur in the past: using non-sexist language when referring to both people and God; restoring visibility to women throughout Jewish tradition; speaking directly to the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer-identified people; understanding the concept of Jewish chosenness as uniqueness; envisioning the Messianic time as the fulfillment of tikkun olam, the repair of the world, and seeing ourselves as participants in the holy work of repair. Siddur Sha’ar Zahav includes alternative English versions of prayers, and alternative Hebrew and Aramaic, so that our values can be reflected in all of our languages of prayer. Because of the gravity of altering wording that may be hundreds of years old, we spent considerable time developing guidelines for Hebrew prayers. In keeping with the Sha’ar Zahav tradition, we decided not to remove customary versions of prayers, but to add new versions alongside them. We did not alter any passages taken from the Torah, except to ensure gender inclusivity, which is noted in the text. Nor did we alter prayers such as the Mourners’ Kaddish, which serve so powerfully to connect us to the Jewish people across time and space. Where we did create new Hebrew versions, we followed a set of principles, which are discussed in the appendices. Siddur Sha’ar Zahav endeavors to respect the varied, and at times contradictory, sensibilities of our people and our congregation. Our goal is for all of us – progressive Jews within the Reform movement’s umbrella, regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation – to see ourselves reflected in our liturgy, so that none of us experience the invisibility and exclusion we have historically encountered. Our prayer book attempts to embody the teaching that each of us is created b’tzelem Elohim, “in the image of God.” While we know that not every reading will speak to each of us, we hope that in these pages all of us will find a point of departure for prayer, and for dialogue with the Source of creation.
