New (Books n') Stuff You Should Know

One of the great things in my life is having so many creative friends.  That means I get showered with all kinds of great books, CDs, etc.  Below are some short takes on stuff that's landed here at Ploughshares that I think you might just like.

Starting Something New: Spiritual Direction for Your-God Given Dream is Beth Booram's newest book (you may remember that she and I co-wrote Awaken Your Senses a few years back). Beth is a gifted writer and a spiritual director. She's one of the founders of Sustainable Faith Indy, which grew out of a God-given dream of hers. In her book she provides practical advice for people in discern those dreams and helping them, with Divine assistance, to become reality.  Folks who are feeling continual deep spiritual nudges in new directions -- whether to start a ministry, make a lifestyle change, or just grow deeper in their life with God -- will find this book really helpful.

Embracing the Body: Finding God in Our Flesh and Bone is by my friend Tara Owens'. Many Christians are afraid (or even ashamed) of their bodies -- especially as vessels of spiritual wisdom and connection to God. Tara writes with warmth and wisdom to people claim to be people of the incarnation but often live as if only our souls mattered and our bodies did not. She calls us back to our whole selves—body and soul—and in doing so helps us reconnect with incarnational living both through the central historical event that kicked off Christian movement and our ongoing task of being the disciples of Jesus cloaked in flesh and blood.  Tara is, like Beth, a spiritual director. She's the founder of Anam Cara.


A Convergent Model of Renewal: Remixing the Quaker Tradition in a Participatory Culture is C. Wess Daniels' addition to thoughts on revitalizing the Friends message today.  You can read more about this important book here.

Finding God in the Verbs -- about crafting a fresh way of praying -- was co-written with Jennie Isbell.  Publishers Weekly says "this is a fresh, useful approach to a subject much written about. Readers will learn to pray not perfectly but personally."
I've contributed to a couple of projects myself lately.

If you'd rather listen than read, check out Hear My Prayer: The Audio Book of Psalms. While I can't stand to hear my own recorded voice, other people say it's not unpleasant. On this set of CDs, my voice joins a number of others (Scott Cairns, Paula Huston, Sr. Joan Chittister, and many more!) in reading this most amazing book.