Spiritual Boost: Books

Which activities give you energy and connect you with God? Do you know what behaviors are life-draining for you, separating you from God?Simplicity is about choosing the engaging, relational life we were meant to live. It means shedding obligation and pretension. It means spendingtimeenergymoneyin ways that help us become clear-headed. It means being intentional about what we do and how we live. These choices allow God's power to move through us and bless others as we have space to do good.In each chapter Jan Johnson provides small experiments with simplicity as well as questions for discussion or reflection to get you started.Come and discover the unhurried rhythms of grace.

What if you could have a conversation with Jesus Himself? What would He say to you? That’s the concept of the classic devotional God Calling, which has encouraged, challenged, and informed millions of readers around the world. Its daily entries continue to speak to readers today as it first did almost seventy years ago—and now, this Christian classic is presented in a special edition for students, including bonus prayers, questions for further thought, and other features. Containing the complete, unabridged text of God Calling, this handsome new edition promises an entire year’s inspiration.    

When the chaos of our daily lives becomes overwhelming, where can we turn for peace and rest? Best-selling author Max Lucado points to the Source of all hope and strength in Pocket Prayers, which contains forty guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation. This pass-along companion to Before Amen serves as an outreach tool for ministries and churches, offering simple encouragement for those who struggle to pray.

One of Fr. Rohr’s bestselling books, this revised and updated edition explores St. Francis’s ancient call to the simple life, where joy, not dry theology, helps us build relationships and find peace in ourselves.

Burn out. Two words that haunt those in high stress jobs, especially in the medical profession. Long hours and the literal life-and-death nature of the field creates expectations to not only be on call at all hours, but to be at one's best, even at 3:00 AM after a twenty-hour shift. So much energy is devoted to the care of others that self-care is forgotten. Yet, more are noticing and research confirms that self-care is needed, not only for personal sanity but also for quality of work. Unwell medical professionals are not the best at treating others. And this self-care includes not just rest, food, and water, but a deeper care, one that tends the spiritual side as well. To both the spiritually active and the spiritually resistant, hospital chaplain William Dorman offers a guide to understand a more comprehensive, full-bodied self-care. Each chapter begins with case studies, concrete experiences that help unpack abstract concepts which bring much needed peace to stressed individuals. Dorman also structures each chapter to end with prayers and action steps, which offer more concrete ways to care for the self. From working as a hospital chaplain for over 18 years, and serving as the director of chaplaincy services for the largest integrated health care system in New Mexico, Rev. Dorman recognizes the stresses that come to those who have made it their profession to heal others. Healers need healing too--and this guide is the first step.