Solo: Creating Space with God is your personal guide to help you craft a day alone, a day with God, a day to regain your humanity and your heart! In this busy, stress-filled life, the hustle and bustle can leave us numb to the state of our own souls, disconnected from those we love, and deaf to the whispers of the Spirit of God. We can become overwhelmed with the question of how to actually pull off a day alone with God. The truth is, most of us need guidance in crafting our own solo retreat and in working through the excuses that often prevent us from creating space with God. This book is set to become the "go to" guide to help the novice to the seasoned retreatant spend a day with God.
“Maybe God freed my heart to lead me on a journey to discover His...” This was not the soul whisper I wanted to hear after major heartbreak, but it was what I got. And it led me on a journey to discover a deeper, healthier, more biblical approach to singleness. Seeking Solo is the result of wrestling with God and discovering that – while I still dream of marriage – I actually do believe that He is the best author for my life’s story. With or without a lover, God is faithful. The goal of biblical singleness is spiritual formation; learning to live in congruence with Christ. I tried to make myself better as a person to force God’s hand and fulfill my deepest longing for this earthly life; this is not congruence with Christ. The season of singleness is good in its own right. The length of it is not indicative of a lack of desirability or marriageable traits. The length is not a punishment. The length of my season of singleness is preparatory; it is a time to become the sort of person from whom marriage is about a Kingdom-focused partnership, for whom marriage is not a necessity to a happy life, and for whom marriage is about sharpening and giving and delighting in the otherness of others. And if marriage does not happen, I will not regret accepting Jesus’ invitation to fall more deeply in love with him! Seeking Solo is for the brave, ready to adventure with Jesus.
Don't Leave Too Soon, Don't Stay Too Long Staying isn't always good and leaving isn't always bad. Both require grit and grace. Cross-cultural ministry presents us with many difficulties like transitions, loneliness, messy relationships, and the desire to escape. The lies we believe tempt us to leave our work too soon. But nothing tests our resolve to stay like seeing others go.Grit to Stay Grace to Go normalizes the challenges of ministry through honest and humorous stories from the authors' own lives as well as testimonies from many other workers. The point is to help cross-cultural workers not just to stay, but to stay well, by countering lies with truth. This workbook provides thoughtful reflection questions, practical action steps, and suggested prayers. It encourages stayers to process their grief, guilt, and relief when saying goodbye to goers. In this way, they can move forward with forgiveness and humility and truly bless the departing ones. Those considering leaving will find poignant questions and spiritual practices to help them make an intentional, not reactive, decision.Are you considering leaving the field? Or do you know someone who is? Work through this book by yourself or with others. You will gain wisdom to help workers develop grit and grace to stay or go.
How can the church do better for its millions of singles? Journalist Anna Broadway traveled around the world to interview nearly 350 Christians for answers. Solo Planet draws on her 17 months of fieldwork to provide a first-of-its-kind account of the single life of Christians from nearly 50 countries. Discussing a variety of topics—loneliness, sexuality, aging, housing, cooking, celebrations, parenting, and many more, it gives us the global-church story of singleness. Because when singles thrive in a church, everyone benefits. But consider these typical barriers within most churches: Singles and marrieds often don’t know how to talk to each other. Christians continue to act as if nearly all will marry—and if you don’t, then something must be wrong with you. Churches teach that marriage and family is God’s greatest gift outside of salvation—a perspective that deserves theological challenge. Women in the church outnumber men by a factor of millions—and churches do very little to acknowledge this gap. Solo Planet calls Christians to a more faithful vision of singleness through the wisdom and stories of the global church: young and old; abled and disabled; and Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox. Through its deeply researched account, Solo Planet shows how a more biblical approach to singleness can strengthen churches and empower singles to thrive.
Women were made to lead. Even in church. Jesus affirmed women as leaders-many contend Mary Magdalene was the first female minister. Yet women in ministry face challenges and obstacles, both from churches and from their own self-doubts. Both men and women miss out when women don't lead. Made to Lead empowers you to live out your calling boldly and confidently. Draw closer to God with relevant biblical examples and heart-felt prayers. Break down stereotypes of women in leadership. And create your own successful reality in which you are a key part of God's holy community.
Maybe you're praying and you don't even know it. In this unique and encouraging guide to prayer, Kent Ira Groff, a longtime retreat leader and inspiring writer-poet, explores how to engage in spirituality that blesses your soul--and the world. Whether you're advanced or just starting on your spiritual path, this practical prayer path breaker will lure you in with its novel combination of touching, real-life stories, pithy thoughts and inspiring prayer practices. For those turned off by shopworn religious language, it offers innovative ways to pray in four metaphorical movements that parallel both Native American traditions and Ignatian spirituality: East--Morning / Prayer as Awareness Waking up to reality--opening South--Noon / Prayer as Empowerment Embracing your dreams and possibilities--expanding West--Afternoon / Prayer as Relinquishment Letting go of attachments--emptying North--Night / Prayer as Paradox Uniting the opposites of life--integrating Prayer practices for each of the four "movements" provide for personal and group enrichment at home and work, in formal programs and informal friendships. They interweave the author's own experience to say: "This is honest to God spirituality and I'm seeing myself."
Creating Solo Performance is an innovative toolbox of exercises and challenges focused on providing you – the performer – with engaging and inspiring ways to explore and develop your idea both on the page and in the performance space. The creation of a solo show may be the most rewarding, liberating and stressful challenge you will take on in your career. This book acts as your silent collaborator as you develop your performance, by helpfully arranging exercises under the following headings: Beginnings Creating character Generating material Using your performance space Technology Endings Collaboration Exercises can be explored in sequence, at random or according to your specific needs and interests as a performer. By enabling you to create a bespoke formula that best applies to your specific subject, area of interest, style and discipline, this book will become an indispensable resource as you produce your solo show.
There are a lot of books about leadership out there. I wanted to stir the pot and make some suggestions that I have not heard yet. Leadership is not about sticking qualities all over yourself, like dozens of yellow sticky notes: Today I will learn time management. Tomorrow I will develop integrity. Mere information is not enough to change us. Data may lead to transformation, but it is not enough to transform us on its own. Leadership is not about trends and buzzwords. Leadership is about personhood. Personhood is where this transformation truly takes place. Leadership may perseverate into any one of these things (stickies, trends, information, data, and buzzwords), but it is ultimately and ideally about personhood. This may be a philosophical category that the church has left off discussing, but it meant a lot to the ancients. We need to stir some of their depth back into our existence. One's genuine ability to lead comes from one's genuine transformation into the kind of person that is needed for the particular form of leading at hand. Different traits will be called forth from the leader depending on the situation, place, time, and people. It is the person who is the leader and not the trait or characteristic that is the leader. Being is critical; not just doing. I think a lot of our current reading on leadership is simply about skill-sets. They are important discussions, but that is not all there is. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying you must be perfect to lead. If that were the case, I would not be able to write this book. What I am saying is that your identity is where your true leading comes from, and if you are in a transformational relationship with Jesus the chances are good that your person and identity will deepen over time.
In this book, Hodge takes into account the Christological, theological, and ecclesiological ruminations of a selected group of Hip Hop and rap song lyrics, interviews, and interviews from those defined as Hip Hoppers. The aim of this examination is to ascertain what a Hip Hop theology of community might entail, how it may look, and what it could feel like. The central premise are questions: does a Hip Hop ‘theology’ even fit? Is there an actual motif which Hip Hoppers are espousing within the supernatural realm? This study concerns itself with just over 8,500 songs. Its timespan is between 1987-2011, and it contains interviews from those in the Hip Hop community.
