In Mercy & Melons, each letter of the alphabet calls forth two words: a word that celebrates an ordinary thing, and another word that names a holy quality about God. Those pairings speak to each other. For those who pay attention to those pairings, they discover something about prayer and about God. This companion guide to Mercy & Melons offers a practical guide to living and exploring and praying those pairings in our daily life--as we look for beauty and hope in the “ordinary” things around us. Each of the 26 chapters focuses on four ways to explore those pairings: Ask Practice Implement Center “Praying the alphabet allows us to be thorough in our prayers because each letter conjures up something we might not otherwise have remembered: mercy, melons. Suddenly, we can taste both.” Use this companion along with Mercy & Melons or as its own guide to prayer, for a retreat, for Lent, or any time you want to explore praying in new ways.

In Mercy & Melons, each letter of the alphabet calls forth two words: a word that celebrates an ordinary thing, and another word that names a holy quality about God. Those pairings speak to each other. For those who pay attention to those pairings, they discover something about prayer and about God. This companion guide to Mercy & Melons offers a practical guide to living and exploring and praying those pairings in our daily life--as we look for beauty and hope in the "ordinary" things around us. Each of the 26 chapters focuses on four ways to explore those pairings: Ask PracticeImplementCe.

This major new poetry collection from bestselling poet and priest Malcolm Guite features more than seventy new and previously unpublished works. At the heart of this collection is a sequence of twenty seven sonnets written in response to George Herbert’s exquisite sonnet 'Prayer', each one describing prayer in an arresting metaphor such as ‘the church's banquet’, ‘reversed thunder’, ‘the Milky Way’, ‘the bird of paradise’ and ‘something understood’. In conversation with each of these, Malcolm’s sonnets offer profound insights into the nature of communion with God in all circumstances and conditions. Recognising that all poetry is a pursuit of prayer, After Prayer also includes forty five more widely ranging new poems, including a sonnet sequence on the seven heavens.

When you talk to God, do you ever wonder if He really hears? Do your prayers start to feel rote or routine? Do you sometimes feel you don’t even know how to pray? Jesus is known for turning situations upside down . . . and He can do the same in your prayer life. Your perspective on prayer and faith may never be the same again when you read artist and designer Kelly O’Dell Stanley’s delightfully accessible, innovative new book Praying Upside Down. Stanley uses imagery, simple techniques, and artwork to help you see God like never before and move your prayer life away from the preconceived and expected to a new level of intimacy. Praying Upside Down offers a fresh chance to learn something new, hear an answer you didn’t anticipate, and experience God in a more real, tangible way.

In the next thirty-one days, allow God to transform your prayers, your hearts, and those you love and pray for. Experience the transforming power of God s Word brought to life. Break down barriers and bring forth healing, love and God s power. Draw strength from God s grace; proclaim freedom, life and prosperity into marriages and ministers hearts and lives."

In Mercy & Melons, each letter of the alphabet calls forth two words: a word that celebrates an ordinary thing, and another word that names a holy quality about God. Those pairings speak to each other. For those who pay attention to those pairings, they discover something about prayer and about God. This companion guide to Mercy & Melons offers a practical guide to living and exploring and praying those pairings in our daily life--as we look for beauty and hope in the “ordinary” things around us. Each of the 26 chapters focuses on four ways to explore those pairings: Ask Practice Implement Center “Praying the alphabet allows us to be thorough in our prayers because each letter conjures up something we might not otherwise have remembered: mercy, melons. Suddenly, we can taste both.” Use this companion along with Mercy & Melons or as its own guide to prayer, for a retreat, for Lent, or any time you want to explore praying in new ways.

We don't question our desire to be open with our close friends about our feelings, even if those feelings are difficult to express. We recognize that being honest with our loved ones will only deepen our bonds and help us feel peace in being able to express our innermost thoughts. Why then is it so challenging for us to come as we are, however we are, when approaching God in prayer? In Praying the Truth: Deepening Your Friendship with God through Honest Prayer, William A. Barry, SJ, helps us deepen our friendship with God by examining how to approach God, at any time and with any problem, in complete honesty. Fr. Barry reflects on how secrecy can hurt families, the Church, and ourselves and how what we are keeping secret can get in the way of our connection with God. He acknowledges that we may fear God’s reaction when revealing our most intimate truths; but just like with friendships, we risk not developing our relationship with God if we are dishonest about who we are and how we feel. Praying the Truth helps us realize that if we do not approach God in complete honesty, we may be holding back a part of ourselves that needs to be healed. By learning how to communicate honestly with God, our friendship with God and our faith in God’s promise to love us unconditionally will be strengthened. "Thanks to Praying the Truth, I am beginning to understand that prayer is simply hanging out with God! As I read this book, I felt as if the author seemed to be sitting beside me, just talking to me as I read." -- Anonymous reader