Dwelling in the Wilderness

Dwelling in the Wilderness
Author: Jason M. Brown
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2024-01-23
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1595349804

What might the lives of contemporary monastics teach us about putting down roots? Whereas many of us are constantly on the go, stressed out, and focused on productivity, the life of a monk prioritizes staying put and paying attention. Many monks take a vow of stability that commits them to their home monastery, leading them to develop a deep connection with and knowledge of the land they inhabit. The monastic life teaches those who practice it to move more slowly through the world, and the monastic sense of place may even hold a key to responding to the growing ecological crisis threatening our environment. Dwelling in the Wilderness examines how contemporary Benedictine Roman Catholic monks in the American West fall in love with their landscapes and how, in troubled times, we might do the same. Jason Brown travels to four monasteries—the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur, California; the Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux in Vina, California; Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey in Carlton, Oregon; and the Monastery of Christ in the Desert in Abiquiu, New Mexico—and spends time with the monks there, following their daily routine of prayer and tending to the land. He learns how the places they inhabit are essential to their daily spiritual practice and how they construct deeper theological meaning from the natural world. Illustrated with Brown’s photography of monastic landscapes, his journey journey as a pilgrim anthropologist is astute, insightful, and intimate. He explores theories of environmental perception, philosophy, and symbolic landscapes in accessible language. Bringing theological reflection to the power of contemplative ecology in an era many are calling the Anthropocene, or the age of human domination, he leads us to reconsider our relationship with our natural homes.

Into the Wilderness

Into the Wilderness
Author: Sara Donati
Publisher: Bantam
Total Pages: 898
Release: 2010-09-01
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 0440338077

Weaving a tapestry of fact and fiction, Sara Donati’s epic novel sweeps us into another time and place . . . and into a breathtaking story of love and survival in a land of savage beauty. It is December of 1792. Elizabeth Middleton leaves her comfortable English estate to join her family in a remote New York mountain village. It is a place unlike any she has ever experienced. And she meets a man unlike any she has ever encountered—a white man dressed like a Native American: Nathaniel Bonner, known to the Mohawk people as Between-Two-Lives. Determined to provide schooling for all the children of the village, Elizabeth soon finds herself locked in conflict with the local slave owners as well as with her own family. Interweaving the fate of the Mohawk Nation with the destiny of two lovers, Sara Donati’s compelling novel creates a complex, profound, passionate portait of an emerging America. Praise for Into the Wilderness “My favorite kind of book is the sort you live in, rather than read. Into the Wilderness is one of those rare stories that let you breathe the air of another time, and leave your footprints on the snow of a wild, strange place. I can think of no better adventure than to explore the wilderness in the company of such engaging and independent lovers as Elizabeth and her Nathaniel.”—Diana Gabaldon “Each time you open a book you hope to discover a story that will make your spirit of adventure and romance sing. This book delivers on that promise.”—Amanda Quick “A beautiful tale of both romance and survival…Here is the beauty as well as the savagery of the wilderness and, at the core of it all, the compelling story of the love of a man and a woman, both for the untamed land and for one another.”—Allan W. Eckert “Lushly written . . . Exemplary historical fiction.”—Kirkus Reviews “Epic in scope, emotionally intense.”—BookPage

With Us in the Wilderness - Bible Study Book

With Us in the Wilderness - Bible Study Book
Author: Lauren Chandler
Publisher: Lifeway Church Resources
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2021-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781087700786

The Book of Numbers is a story of identity, wilderness, and God. Numbers continues the historical narrative begun in Exodus, the story of God's people newly freed from Egypt's shackles and wandering toward the promised land. While Numbers accounts for the next 39 years of their wilderness wandering, it's also a story of God's presence among His beloved. Even when they rebelled--and this book tells of many rebellions--God's love and promises remained. It's in that love and those promises the children of Israel found their identity and where we must find ours today. (7 sessions) Features: Leader helps to guide questions and discussions within small groups Personal study segments to complete between 7 weeks of group sessions Interactive teaching videos, approximately 15 minutes per session, for purchase or rent Benefits: Leverage Old Testament truths for your life today. Recognize God's faithfulness in keeping His promises. Discover your identity as His beloved even in seasons of wilderness wandering.

When You Love a Prodigal

When You Love a Prodigal
Author: Judy Douglass
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2019-09-17
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493420089

Loving a prodigal is a long and desperate journey, filled with fear, worry, anger, self- recrimination. You wait for the phone call--will it be from jail or the hospital? You plead with your loved one. You search for help. You feel the shame. You cry out to God, "How long, Lord?" Author Judy Douglass knows these lovers of prodigals well. She is one herself and has created a large and growing community with others. When You Love a Prodigal is a collection of 90 essays--90 days of perspective on what God offers to you as you love your prodigal. At the end of each brief essay, response questions will help you process how God intends to use the wilderness journey to mold your spiritual life. You can work through it day by day, or you can read it straight through. Judy has traveled this road with her own prodigal--reading, learning, praying, and seeking God. Over and over he continued to give her wisdom, he sustained her, he covered her with grace, and he filled her with hope. May you, too, be strengthened and filled with hope as together you discover how God will take you through your own valley.

First Things First

First Things First
Author: Deborah F. Jenks
Publisher: Xulon Press
Total Pages: 198
Release: 2002-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1591600812

Dr. Deborah F. Jenks is a senior consultant in strategic leadership and effective IT integration. She has worked and lived globally since the eighties. IBM selected her for an international assignment. She served as a missionary for seven years ministering in numerous countries. She is ordained under Overflowing Life. Much of her ministry has been in teaching, intercession, research, and mentoring. Some of her favorite topics include intimacy with the Lord, hearing and seeing what God is saying, foresight: seeing the future through God's eyes. She currently resides in Virginia, near the nation's capital.

The Better Mom

The Better Mom
Author: Ruth Schwenk
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2018-04-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 031034946X

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."