Awaken your connection to Mother Earth as you journey through these peaceful encounters with the birds, the wind, and the trees. This collection of stories, poems, and meditations touches your soul and refreshes your spirit with its gentle wisdom and simple beauty. Evocative meditations will help you deepen your own connection to the Earth and will open your heart to the glorious world we are blessed to live in. Written by a shamanic healer and teacher who is deeply in touch with nature, Walk Gently Upon the Earth will awaken you to the living, vibrant beauty of this precious planet.
Sociologist and author Lisa McMinn and Megan Anna Neff invite you to rediscover, through new eyes, the beauty and goodness of our earth, and to make faithful choices that will help it prosper. Each chapter uniquely begins with a prelude by Megan Anna that highlights an African perspective or practice, and Lisa's fluid, passionate writing then offers both the truth about the state of the earth and inspiration to get back to shalom--a peace that allows all things to thrive.
World-renowned Zen monk Thich Nhat Hanh champions a more mindful, spiritual approach to protecting nature and limiting climate change—one that recognizes people and planet as one and the same. While many experts point to the enormous complexity in addressing issues ranging from the destruction of ecosystems to the loss of millions of species, Thich Nhat Hanh identifies one key issue as having the potential to create a tipping point. He believes that we need to move beyond the concept of the “environment,” as it leads people to experience themselves and Earth as two separate entities and to see the planet only in terms of what it can do for them. Here, Thich Nhat Hanh points to the lack of meaning and connection in peoples’ lives as being the cause of our addiction to consumerism. He deems it vital that we recognize and respond to the stress we are putting on the Earth if civilization is to survive. Rejecting the conventional economic approach, Thich Nhat Hanh shows that mindfulness and a spiritual revolution are needed to protect nature and limit climate change. Love Letter to the Earth is a hopeful book that gives us a path to follow by showing that change is possible only with the recognition that people and the planet are ultimately one and the same.
When He came to earth, Jesus Christ was rejected in every quarter in which He stepped. The Creator was rejected by His own creation. “He came to His own and His own received Him not,” said John. For this reason, Jesus Christ had “no where to lay His head.” There was one exception, however. A little village just outside of Jerusalem named Bethany. Bethany was the only place on earth where Jesus was completely received. God’s Favorite Place on Earth is a retelling of Jesus’ many visits to Bethany and a relaying of the message it holds for us today. Frank Viola presents a beautifully crafted narrative from the viewpoint of Lazarus, one of the people who lived in Bethany with his two sisters. This incomparable story not only brings the Gospel narratives to life, but it addresses the struggle against doubt, discouragement, fear, guilt, rejection, and spiritual apathy that challenges countless Christians today. In profoundly moving prose, God’s Favorite Place on Earth will captivate your heart with its beauty, charm, and depth. In this book you will discover how to live as a “Bethany” in our world today, being set free to love and follow Jesus like never before.
Jesus was human, like you and me. If the gospel is true, he still is. Christians worldwide believe that Jesus is God. But this belief wasn’t the starting point for Jesus’ earliest followers. While Jesus’ humanity was a given for the disciples, his divinity was a truth they grew into believing—it was a journey of faith. As Christians today, we are also called into a faith journey—this time, to rediscover Jesus’ humanity. Yes, we believe that Jesus is God, but do we truly believe that Jesus is human? And if so, how does that transform our own experience of being human? Through eye-opening yet down-to-earth reflections, Jesus Journey invites you to encounter Jesus again—as if for the first time—by experiencing his breathing, heart-beating, body-and-blood, crying-and-laughing humanity. Join Bible teacher and storyteller Trent Sheppard as he shines new light on the vibrant humanity of the historical Jesus through an up-close look at Jesus’ relationships with Mary and Joseph, with the God he called Abba, with his closest friends and followers, and how, ultimately, his crucifixion and resurrection finally and forever redefine what we mean by the word God. Come encounter the human who radically transforms our view of God. Come encounter the God who forever changes what it means to be human.
One morning in 2011, Libby DeLana stepped outside her New England home for a walk. She did the same thing the next day, and the next. It became a daily habit that has culminated in her walking over 25,000 miles - the equivalent of the earth's circumference. In Do Walk, Libby shares the transformative nature of this simple yet powerful practice. She reveals how walking each day provides the time and space to reconnect with the world around us; process thoughts; improve our physical wellbeing; and unlock creativity. It is the ultimate navigational tool that helps us to see who we are - beyond titles and labels, and where we want to go. With stunning photography, this inspiring and reflective guide is an invitation to step outside, and see where the path takes us.
Surrender - a gift of transformation is an energetically uplifting source of nourishment for one's soul - the source of all inspiration! It both disturbs and nurtures, without scarring. It lifts the Veil of Forgetfulness when one presents themselves to its unique process of sublimination. The book is not conventionally written and empowers the reader to trust ever more their inner guidance, to go within and to seek truth for themselves from the Source of All That Is. It is a journey of discovery. It is a personal experience - most suredly an Invitation to Life! Encased in its pages Surrender - a gift of transformation procures for you, the reader, a note of nostalgia and a pleasantness that is heartfelt. There is a knowing that you experience, or a connectiveness that you feel, through the transmission of light given by the primordial wisdoms intertwined in the commonality of text. Words, in and of themselves, are meaningless, unless you the reader envelope the umbrella of understanding in the plethora of images conjured up by the phraseology, so eloquently labouring on each page or Chapter of Truth. To assist you in this endeavour are a myriad of cosmic vibrations intertwined into thoughtful and simple mandalas, posited to arrest your inquisitive mind, so that Beauty reigns supreme. It is from this standpoint of Beauty that one endures and trusts the process of their own Becoming. Your life, your soul, pulsates the unabridgement needed to forest through the quagmire of recesses within your dark soul. It is through foraging through these morsels that one encounters the light behind the truth that has so ravenously been shed on your behalf. Surrender - a gift of transformation gives you an opportunity to experience the sublime within you, to know the passion that fuels the enigma that disturbs you - the very reason that you now gaze upon this page. What has led you here, is that which you begin to engage with, more consciously, through the channel of Surrender - a gift of transformation. Open your heart and feel the essence of your soul that bequests your ephermeral focus to rise into that state of consciousness of being fully Human.
An inspiring and approachable tip-filled guide to changing your habits, living more sustainably, and taking action, by Greenpeace ambassador Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley in the Harry Potter movies) Go Gently is a guide for sustainability at home that offers simple, tangible steps toward reducing our environmental impact by looking at what we consume and the waste we create, as well as how to take action for environmental change. The title reflects Bonnie Wright’s belief that the best way to change our planet and ourselves is through a gentle approach, rather than a judgmental one. This is a book of do’s rather than don’ts. It’s also an invitation to Wright’s followers to join her on this journey to sustainability. Going through every room in her home, Wright helps us assess which products are sustainable, and alternatives for those that are not. She shares recipes to avoid waste, homemade self-care products to avoid packaging, small space-friendly gardening ideas, and a template for creating your own compost system. Finally, to sustain yourself, there are exercises and meditation prompts to keep you energized, plus info on how to get involved in community and organizations.
Life’s painful trials can bring shame about our inadequate and broken faith. There is relief in hearing the expressions of desperation in the psalmist’s voice. He didn’t experience this life perfected, and we don’t either. But the psalmist was loved. So are we. God was so kind to give us the Psalms. To walk through darkened days is part of the human experience. To walk through them with faith, comfort, strength, joy, and hope is part of the divine experience. Our eyes, though, are often clouded to those blessings by the thing oppressing us. When we remember and recognize our Father’s faithfulness, when we see reality with the eyes of understanding, the darkness ebbs and the light of hope grows. The impossible, unbearable, and unthinkable becomes the hidden passageway to truth, hope, and joy in Christ. These letters were originally written as encouragement to a friend when the darkness began to overtake his path. Each day for 22 days, a letter arrived with one of the eight-verse sections from Psalm 119 along with a small thought to bring light and hope and to be a reminder that we do not fight our battles alone. The letters, along with nine more devotions on the subject of experiencing God in the dark, make up this powerful, honest, hope-filled 31-day devotional.
How do you turn your struggles into strengths? Beloved Bible teacher Sheila Walsh teaches readers how the daily spiritual practices of confession, meditation on God’s Word, and prayer result in fresh freedom in Christ. In her long-awaited book, Sheila Walsh equips women with a practical method for connecting with God’s strength in the midst of struggle. From daily frustrations that can feel like overwhelming obstacles to hard challenges that turn into rock-bottom crises, women will find the means to equip themselves for standing strong with God. Using the spiritual applications of confession, prayer, and meditation on Scripture to form a daily connection to Jesus, women will learn how to experience new joy as a child of God who is fully known, fully loved, and fully accepted. In In the Middle of the Mess, Walsh reveals the hardened defenses that kept her from allowing God into her deepest hurts and shares how entering into a safe place with God and practicing this daily connection with him have saved her from the devil’s prowling attacks. Though we will never be completely “fixed” on earth, we are continually held by Jesus, whatever our circumstances. Sheila Walsh acts as our guardian in In the Middle of the Mess as she shows us we’re not alone in our struggles, guides us through a courageous journey of self-discovery, and reminds us where to find hope, comfort, and strength in tough times.
