Deeply moving . . . complex emotions and ideas are handled with disarming simplicity John W. Gardner, Former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. This is a book of wisdom in the form of poems, useful, yet delightful and even sometimes surprising. A single poem can shift thinking so everything is different from then on Carol Pearson, author of The Hero Within. Judys work is rooted in the shared soil of our lives, and her images help us understand how lovely and full of promise our common ground is. You hold a feast of insight in your hands. Read it and be nourished. Parker J. Palmer, author of Let Your Life Speak and A Hidden Wholeness.

If God has promised to give us the “peace that passes understanding,” why do we sometimes feel so anxious? What are we so afraid of? Are there ways of living that lead to peace? Conversely, are there ways of thinking and acting that lead to anxiety and a conflicted life? How does Jesus embody peace and where did his peace come from? The Peace God Promises sets our longings for peace beside God’s promise to provide it. In her desire to experience greater peace, bestselling author Ann Spangler probes these and other questions. Exploring the stories that shape us, the memories that define us, and the relationships that connect us, she looks for ways to help us become more peaceful. What can we learn from Scripture, from Jewish tradition, from the Amish and others about rest, simplicity, healing, and peace? The stories she shares and the answers she discovers may surprise you. If you put them into practice, they may even transform you, enabling you to experience the peace God wants you to have.

A practical and inspiring guide to transformational personal storytelling, The Story You Need to Tell is the product of Sandra Marinella’s pioneering work with veterans and cancer patients, her years of teaching writing, and her research into its profound healing properties. Riveting true stories illustrate Marinella’s methods for understanding, telling, and editing personal stories in ways that foster resilience and renewal. She also shares her own experience of using journaling and expressive writing to navigate challenges including breast cancer and postpartum depression. Each of the techniques, prompts, and exercises she presents helps us “to unravel the knot inside and to make sense of loss.”

• A comprehensive resource for understanding the various components of spiritual direction • The first such resource written entirely by spiritual directors of color Early mystics of the Near East and northern Africa created the monastic traditions and were the first psychologists, exploring various practices to test the human capacity. In medieval times, spiritual direction was common in the Roman Catholic monastic traditions. It extended significantly into Protestant Christianity in the late twentieth century by predominantly white and affluent organizations. Spiritual direction has progressively become a global, multi-religious and interfaith practice. This book is a comprehensive and concise text from a spiritual director of color, offering inclusive resources and tools to spiritual directors of many faiths and for people of diverse cultures and traditions. Core skills such a deep listening, hospitality, and discernment are presented with cutting-edge lessons on internal liberation, systemic trauma, and imaginative discovery. Spiritual direction is taught by more than 100 educational institutions and spirituality centers in the US alone, but typical curriculum generally does not reflect current cultural reality and growing diversity. This is a textbook for anyone who studies spiritual direction as both preparation for and deepening of their calling.

How frustrating it is when, as a seemingly successful person, you have achieved everything, yet life feels unfulfilling. When uncertainty sets in. When unhappiness prevails. When everything seems out of balance. More and more people are losing their equilibrium as they sacrifice certain aspects of their lives on the altar of a high standard of living. Success and outcome-focused thinking are not everything. If your quality of life matters to you, this book presents a possible path. While everyone in the world is driven by the pursuit of happiness, only a few manage to truly attain it. To be happy, it is crucial to have a good relationship with oneself, with life itself, specifically with the Six Bastions of Life. The provided self-reflection questions assist readers in examining their integrity and stability within these areas.