I write poetry that uses ordinary language but still has the capacity to hold sophisticated ideas. Language is meant for communication and is usually lost somewhere within the confines of the modern poet. My poetry's profound in many instances, but it never tries to elude the grasp of the reader's mind. I write for the ordinary person. And that's why I write ordinary poetry with extraordinary ideas. I write that way so that those who might think they're just an ordinary person will realize the truth. I write so that the ordinary may realize that they're extraordinary, because that's the truth of who they are. That's the truth that most have unfortunately forgotten throughout the years. I write ordinary poems for extraordinary people in these ordinary times.

In an extraordinary moment in time it is easy to become overwhelmed. This book was birthed during a global pandemic as a response to the waiting, the unknowing and the helplessness of sitting in front of a living room window, watching much of the world shut down.These poems look for some encouragement and comfort in the ordinary parts of life, and the beauty that is in those ordinary things when we slow down to see it.

Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize: “Thought-provoking, poignant, brutal, amusing, and always beautiful.”—Elizabeth Berg Hurrying through errands, attending a dying mother, helping her own child down the playground slide, the speaker in these poems wonders: what is the difference between the self and the soul? The secular and the sacred? Where is the kingdom of heaven? And how does one live in Ordinary Time—during those apparently unmiraculous periods of everyday trouble and joy?

These poems are easy to read and comprehend. They are written so you know someone else feels the way you do. These are feelings disguised as words, an undressing of the soul. Some are controversial, but that will stimulate your spirit. If you are kind, insightful, self analytical, good to animals, offbeat, sensitive and compassionate-you are extraordinary. There are poems for everyone about everything. Simple words describing sometimes complicated emotions.

The ordinary moments of life can be sacred, if we simply take a moment to notice. This collection of prayers, poems, and meditations offers a brief respite from the hectic, harried pace of our days. Open it when the spirit moves you or when the spirit feels distant--the words will be here to inspire, calm, and encourage you either way. From gifted poet and empathetic pastor Meta Herrick Carlson, Ordinary Blessings collects blessings for loving yourself, enduring hard things, authenticity, living with others, and the rhythms of each day. Pause, take a deep breath, and open these pages to find that you've been standing on holy ground all along.

What energizes someone in pastoral ministry for the long haul? Holy days like Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost are the exception. Ordinary Time, the longest season of the Christian year, is where pastors spend most of their ministry. James Harnish invites pastors and other ministers to see Ordinary Time as a metaphor for the ordinary days of ministry. "Whether we thrive or merely survive depends on what we do with the ordinary days," he writes. Harnish encourages ministers to develop spiritual disciplines and personal relationships to nourish their souls for long-term ministry. He highlights the importance of reflection on scripture, spiritual reading, journaling, prayer, and spiritual conversation with trusted friends. This 6-week study focuses on themes Harnish found crucial in over four decades of ministry: power, people, places, proclamation, perseverance, and promise. Daily readings help readers develop their own customized practices of spiritual formation to sustain and strengthen their life and ministry

“When an author’s unmitigated brilliance shows up on every page, it’s tempting to skip a description and just say, Read this! Such is the case with this breathlessly powerful, deceptively breezy book of poetry.” —Booklist, Starred Review In his much-anticipated follow-up to The Crown Ain't Worth Much, poet, essayist, biographer, and music critic Hanif Abdurraqib has written a book of poems about how one rebuilds oneself after a heartbreak, the kind that renders them a different version of themselves than the one they knew. It's a book about a mother's death, and admitting that Michael Jordan pushed off, about forgiveness, and how none of the author's black friends wanted to listen to "Don't Stop Believin'." It's about wrestling with histories, personal and shared. Abdurraqib uses touchstones from the world outside—from Marvin Gaye to Nikola Tesla to his neighbor's dogs—to create a mirror, inside of which every angle presents a new possibility.