Gratitude - Daily Doses of God's Abundance


Book Description

ItÕs been said, ÒI wonÕt remember what you did, or what you said. I will remember how you made me feel.Ó We live in our feelings. How we feel colors all our life experiences, good or bad. How is it one person will embrace something with rapturous delight while another experiences the same thing with absolute life sapping dread? How have I sat through intense turbulence on airplanes planning my funeral while others around me sleep soundly? Attitudes we bring to an experience in life will determine if itÕs one of catharsis or deadening fear. Attitude is everything in life. Life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I respond to it. When gratitude becomes the dominant emotion in our universe of feelings, we move from states of discontent, anger, frustrated perfectionism, even depression towards serenity, acceptance, peace, tranquility, well being. With gratitude, everything becomes a gift to be celebrated, a bonus. Daily doses of gratitude might even help you find your own hidden treasure.




A Cat's Eye View of the World - Theology According to Puderd


Book Description

In the Old Testament, God used Balaam's donkey to speak to him and protect him from great difficulty. I think in the Atomic Age God has used a small cat to speak to me many times. I don't hear a voice like Balaam, but the messages are just as loud. In a complex age fraught with distractions and dangers, we are in need of reminders of those times when we are about to stray into the abyss. I hear Puderd telling me spiritual life is found in simplicity and knowledge of God is found in quietness. Contentment is found in good friends, not good products. Trust and safety are really beyond our control and we can only have these if we trust in the One who is in control.




Mosaics - Making the Pieces Fit


Book Description

Often, our lives feel like a disjointed collection of drab glass, stone, and ceramic pieces. We wonder if thereÕs any purpose or plan to our lives. Has the artisan stopped working on our project and tossed us onto the shelf to collect dust? We think weÕve been thrown into the landfill as rubble. Sometimes our introspection thickens and we find ourselves in depression or a dark night of the soul. ThereÕs no gold or color any more, just a monochrome palette of black, white, and gray. We sense great loss and despair of ever regaining that which has been lost. Miraculously, itÕs in the midst of such times, we often find God doing amazing things in our lives. If we are yielded to Him, looking for His ways in us, we discover HeÕs building all sorts of things into our lives; He is creating a wondrous mosaic from the tesserae of our experiences. These essays represent some of the tesserae being assembled into my life image by the Master Artisan who makes no mistakes.




Tapestries - Weaving My Life


Book Description

I've long found writing scratches places just out of reach somewhere in my psyche. Amazingly, I often have friends, acquaintances, even total strangers tell me my words somehow scratch hard to reach places for them as well. Each of our lives is a wondrous tapestry in the making. The most satisfying experience I have is seeing people embrace God's plan for them, to begin to see something beautiful emerge from all the disjointed knots and loose end of their often severely troubled lives. I've collected a number of my own knots and threads here, often frayed ends becoming part of the tapestry of my life. Some dark. Some brilliant. Some fuzzy. Some gold. I trust all will become something beautiful in the end.




The Second Season of Growth


Book Description

Advice given when buying plants or trees is "Don't expect any blooms the first year. Fruit trees may require three years." I planted a slim brown stick in my yard and got nothing the first year except a thin brown stick with a few leaves on it. During its second season of growth and beyond, that brown stick grew to 7 inches in diameter and now produces wondrous 20 foot pink clouds each spring. In an ideal world we learn lessons the first time around. So often, as with daffodils and cherry trees, we need more time to get it. Winter, incendiary summer, a few storms, and unexpected late frost toughen us, giving us confidence to face whatever life has for us. We can then bloom where we are planted. We often don't have choices about challenges life gives us, but we have free-will in deciding how to respond to them. We can embrace the One who gives Wisdom to live life abundantly. May these vignettes inspire you to find pearls of learning and wisdom to be harvested from the depths of your own life.




The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude


Book Description

Newly revised with a fresh introduction, updated quotes, and a charming, contemporary aesthetic. "Gratitude is the most passionate, transformative force in the Cosmos." This beautiful companion journal to the national bestseller Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, the mega-bestselling guide that has led so many women to live fulfilling, harmonious, and joyful lives, has been refreshed for fans of the original Simple Abundance Gratitude Journal -- and a whole new generation of journalers. The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude offers insight via uplifting, inspirational quotes and gives women a place to record their daily moments of gratitude. Through daily practice, this journal can help you embrace everyday epiphanies: profound moments of awe that forever alter your experience of the world.




The Power of Being Thankful


Book Description

New York Times bestselling author Joyce Meyer believes that giving thanks to God daily will positively impact our lives. When we pause to acknowledge His blessings it restores us to a state of spiritual peace. In this 365 day devotional, Joyce offers an inspiring message that will spark an attitude of gratitude in our hearts. Through uplifting Scripture, she illustrates God's never-ending love, inexhaustible grace, and always-accessible presence in our lives. As we develop a renewed outlook, we will better recognize and be further blessed by God's abundant goodness. Each devotion will also include a prayer of thanks, so that we may begin every day ready to receive the transforming power of a thankful heart.




Phenomenological Approaches to Religion and Spirituality


Book Description

There is an interesting knowledge trajectory that God remains incomprehensible, not imperceptible. This lends credence to the fact that religious study since the Enlightenment has dedicated itself almost entirely to the problem of reconciling the non-existence of God in the physical world with his necessary existence in the metaphysical world. When seriously examined, it would be discovered that these two aspects are logically contradictory, and this is a problem with no solution. But interpreting God not as a physical being but as a phenomenological thing changes the nature of the problem enough that a solution emerges almost automatically. In this phenomenological model, the crux of the matter is that God does not exist, but God is real. Therefore, it is imperative to return to experience and verifiability, hence, purging it of unexamined and often hidden assumptions. Phenomenological Approaches to Religion and Spirituality brings together the different disciplines and research approaches to provide a comprehensive analysis of the phenomenology of God and spirituality, as well as offering an effective epistemological apparatus capable of dealing with this concept. The book employs multidisciplinary approaches from religious studies, theology, philosophy, anthropology, and other segments to dissect the subject matter for efficient evaluation and all-inclusive findings. While covering various aspects of religion such as the testaments of the Bible, the church, the religious experience, and various aspects of spirituality, this book is intended for theologians, philosophers, religious leaders, policymakers, academicians, researchers, students, public institutions, and agencies with a special interest in religious matters, values, knowledge, and truth.




Daily Hope Devotional


Book Description

Discover real purpose, lasting peace, and faithful promises in God’s Word each day, with a devotional written by Rick Warren, the bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life. Ever feel like you're just floating along, not really anchored to anything? Are you searching for purpose and peace in your life? Do you feel like something is missing? It's time to anchor yourself to something solid, something unchanging—but not to just any old thing. Take hold of something firm and secure. Take hold of hope—“an anchor for the soul” (Hebrews 6:19 NIV). So where do you turn to find real hope? The only answer is God. In Romans 15:13, the Bible says, “May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (GW). God is the only source of hope that will never disappoint. In fact, the Bible says he is the God of hope. He wants his hope to overflow into your daily life, providing the power to conquer fear, reduce stress, resolve conflict, build healthy relationships, overcome temptation, and face any challenge. In this Daily Hope Devotional: 365 Days of Purpose, Peace, and Promise, you will experience clear, practical, and biblical teaching, helping you stay anchored to the real and unfailing hope that comes only from God. Discover what God has for you in the pages of the Daily Hope Devotional: 365 daily devotions: Fill your heart with hope and encouragement every day Lessons rooted in the Bible: Scripture verses with each reading The latest from Rick Warren, author of the runaway New York Times bestseller The Purpose Driven Life




MEDICINE: A DAILY DOSE OF SPIRITUALITY


Book Description

Take Control of Your Health! Discover yourself! Define the true meaning of life, harmony and health. Use this book to eliminate stress, low self-esteem, anger, fear, ignorance, selfishness; and bring comfort, peace and tranquility into your existence. You will read it again and again to arrive at a sense of spiritual awareness, and embark upon a journey of exploration, revelation and demonstration. Discover how to: • Pray a healing prayer. • Develop a closer relationship with God • See abundance on a daily basis. • Move consciousness to higher levels of thought. • Stand firm in the face of addiction. “The power of healing lies within you!” This book is: “Medicine without a pill or knife!”