Our conversation stalled around the time I had my baby. I'm going to rectify that right now. Lent is coming up and my church has chosen our Lenten book selection.
Here is the synopsis:
"In her critically acclaimed Leaving Church ("a beautiful, absorbing memoir."—Dallas Morning News), Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about leaving full-time ministry to become a professor, a decision that stretched the boundaries of her faith. Now, in her stunning follow-up, An Altar in the World, she shares how she learned to encounter God beyond the walls of any church.
From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to deep meditations on topics like prayer and pronouncing blessings, Taylor reveals concrete ways to discover the sacred in the small things we do and see. Something as ordinary as hanging clothes on a clothesline becomes an act of devotion if we pay attention to what we are doing and take time to attend to the sights, smells, and sounds around us. Making eye contact with the cashier at the grocery store becomes a moment of true human connection. Allowing yourself to get lost leads to new discoveries. Under Taylor's expert guidance, we come to question conventional distinctions between the sacred and the secular, learning that no physical act is too earthbound or too humble to become a path to the divine. As we incorporate these practices into our daily lives, we begin to discover altars everywhere we go, in nearly everything we do."
I'm really looking forward to reading this one. I recently finished DUG DOWN DEEP by Joshua Harris and I would recommend it for both of you. Lots of meaty stuff there.
Love---Malady
2 comments:
I was so excited to see a new post here! Both of these books sound quite meaningful, so I'm going to pick them up.
Though it doesn't exactly match the topics we discuss here, I'm listing to the The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman on CD. It's about making meaningful connections with your spouse, though the ideas Chapman presents can be applied to other people in your life. I'll write about it when I'm finished.
I'm so glad we're getting back on track. Thanks, Malady!
I was thinking more about "An Altar in the World" and it's so easy to just mechanically proceed through your day without being conscious of what you encounter or experience. Again, this sounds like a good book. I'll be interested in hearing about some examples you have in terms of living consciously.
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