The Spiritual Meadow


Book Description

'I have plucked the finest flowers of the unmown meadow and worked them into a row which I now offer to you', wrote John Moschos as he began his tales of the holy men of seventh-century Palestine and Egypt. This translation offers readers contemporary insights into the spirituality of the desert.




John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow


Book Description

John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow is one of the most important sources for late sixth-early seventh century Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian monasticism. This undisputedly invaluable collection of beneficial tales provides contemporary society with a fuller picture of an imperfect social history of this period: it is a rich source for understanding not only the piety of the monk but also the poor farmer. Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen fills a lacuna in classical monastic secondary literature by highlighting Moschos' unique contribution to the way in which a fertile Christian theology informed the ethics of not only those serving at the altar but also those being served. Introducing appropriate historical and theological background to the tales, Llewellyn Ihssen demonstrates how Moschos' tales addresses issues of the autonomy of individual ascetics and lay persons in relationship with authority figures. Economic practices, health care, death and burials of lay persons and ascetics are examined for the theology and history that they obscure and reveal. Whilst teaching us about the complicated relationships between personal agency and divine intercession, Moschos’ tales can also be seen to reveal liminal boundaries we know existed between the secular and the religious.




John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow


Book Description

John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow is one of the most important sources for late sixth-early seventh century Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian monasticism. This undisputedly invaluable collection of beneficial tales provides contemporary society with a fuller picture of an imperfect social history of this period: it is a rich source for understanding not only the piety of the monk but also the poor farmer. Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen fills a lacuna in classical monastic secondary literature by highlighting Moschos' unique contribution to the way in which a fertile Christian theology informed the ethics of not only those serving at the altar but also those being served. Introducing appropriate historical and theological background to the tales, Llewellyn Ihssen demonstrates how Moschos' tales addresses issues of the autonomy of individual ascetics and lay persons in relationship with authority figures. Economic practices, health care, death and burials of lay persons and ascetics are examined for the theology and history that they obscure and reveal. Whilst teaching us about the complicated relationships between personal agency and divine intercession, Moschos’ tales can also be seen to reveal liminal boundaries we know existed between the secular and the religious.




Mountains, Meadows, and Moonbeams


Book Description

Mountains, Meadows, and Moonbeams is one of the most useful children's books ever written. Mary Summer Rain believes that "It is our spiritual responsibility to ensure that each child's understanding of the truths is as comprehensive as possible." Here is a simple, delightful, easy-to-read book, full of illustrations for coloring, which will help parents nuture the imagination and creativity of their children, and help the children understand where we all came from and who we, as human beings, really are.




A Prophet Has Appeared


Book Description

Early Islam has emerged as a lively site of historical investigation, and scholars have challenged the traditional accounts of Islamic origins by drawing attention to the wealth of non-Islamic sources that describe the rise of Islam. A Prophet Has Appeared brings this approach to the classroom. This collection provides students and scholars with carefully selected, introduced, and annotated materials from non-Islamic sources dating to the early years of Islam. These can be read alone or alongside the Qur'an and later Islamic materials. Applying historical-critical analysis, the volume moves these invaluable sources to more equal footing with later Islamic narratives about Muhammad and the formation of his new religious movement. Included are new English translations of sources by twenty authors, originally written in not only Greek and Latin but also Syriac, Georgian, Armenian, Hebrew, and Arabic and spanning a geographic range from England to Egypt and Iran. Ideal for the classroom and personal library, this sourcebook provides readers with the tools to meaningfully approach a new, burgeoning area of Islamic studies.




Church of the Wild


Book Description

2024 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner in "Religion / Spirituality of Western Thought" CategoryWinner of the Living Now Book Award, Church of the Wild reminds us that once upon a time, humans lived in an intimate relationship with nature. Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirituality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.




You Too Can Be Prosperous


Book Description

“I AM PROSPERITY” That’s it! You just took the first step towards a prosperous life. By saying these three simple words, you opened the window of prosperity in your mind. The energy your thoughts create as a result of this time-tested concept is so big, so powerful, and so irresistible that your life will become a magnet attracting success, employment, and wealth of every sort directly to you, where it belongs. The pieces to this puzzle are all at your fingertips, just waiting for you to make them fit. You don’t need to search any further for that one missing piece. The techniques in this guide and those three simple words are all it takes. That’s the beauty of this New Thought favorite. Once you start practicing these spiritual principles, it will soon become obvious that you too can be prosperous.




Christian Insight Meditation


Book Description

Despite the long history of mysticism within Christianity and its many and varied approaches to meditation and contemplative prayer, more and more Christians have turned to Eastern religions to find a kind of guidance for their interior life that they were not able to find in Christianity. Some have completely abandoned the religion of their childhood, believing they have found the "pearl of great price" in Eastern meditation. Christian Insight Meditation offers an ancient Buddhist meditation practice within a Christian prayer tradition, to teach readers a process of inner purification meant to lead to deeper Christian faith and to the direct vision of God. This wonderful, inspiring book offers reliable guidance and a way for any of us to begin to follow the footsteps of such towering figures as John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. Readers will soon discover for themselves the power of Christian Insight Meditation to bring inner peace and healing and to deepen and enhance their Christian life, and the inseparable connection between wisdom and compassion known for centuries to both Christian and Buddhist meditators.




Meet Me in the Meadow


Book Description

Meet Me in the Meadow is a 132-day devotional journal based on Roy Lessin's devotional of the same title. Each day contains an excerpt from the devotional which serves as a prompt for further reflection and meditation. There is also space to write a prayer for each day.




Redeeming Ruth


Book Description

Redeeming Ruth is the inspirational, true story of an abandoned baby, a devastating diagnosis, and the way God loves broken, hurting people through us—even though we may be broken and hurt, too. When Meadow met her, Ruth was a sixteen-month-old child that some church friends were hosting from an orphanage in Uganda. She had cerebral palsy and was so weak she couldn’t lift her head. Meadow had always felt a call to adopt, but was this what God meant? Part family drama, part travel adventure, and part memoir, Redeeming Ruth is a heartwarming, against-all-odds story about the most unlikely pairing of a normal American family and a physically handicapped orphan girl from Uganda. Much more than an adoption story, this book explores what happens when we sacrificially reach out and share God’s love with others. Ruth’s story will attract families considering adoption, people raising or teaching children with special needs, caregivers, and those grieving the loss of a loved one, ministering to people with disabilities, or striving to serve God despite their own wounded hearts and broken dreams. Features:Includes a Reader’s Guide at the end of the book for each chapter for group discussion or personal reflection.An eight-page insert with personal photos will be included.All personal proceeds from this book benefit an African missions organization.Meadow Rue Merrill is an award-winning journalist with two decades of published writing experience. She is also a contributing writer for “Motherlode,” a popular column of the New York Times. She began reporting for The Times Record, a daily newspaper in Brunswick, Maine, and spent the following eight years corresponding for The Boston Globe. Most recently she has written for Harvard University. She has regular columns with The Portland Press Herald, Maine’s largest newspaper and Down East magazine.