My Grandfather’s Blessing
by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.
Dr. Remen is a cancer physician and uses stories to tell how all of us give and receive life’s blessings everyday. Her grandfather, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi, taught her much about the blessings of life during her first seven years, until he died. Her parents, highly educated and secular, did not view life the same way. But as Remen lived life and grew as a doctor, she came to understand how deeply wise her grandfather was. He "taught her that blessing one another is what fills our emptiness, heals our loneliness, and connects us more deeply with life.”


What’s So Amazing About Grace
By Phillip Yancey
In this book, Phillip Yancey, discusses the simple, yet complex concept of God’s grace. “There is nothing that we can do to make God love us more. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less.” He uses many of Jesus’ parables to bring home the modern day concept of grace. C. S. Lewis said that the difference between the other religions of the world and Christianity, was that Christians know that works cannot earn your way to God, but only in accepting God’s grace can we come to the heart of God.

Spirituality

Awake My Soul: Practical Spirituality for Busy People
By Timothy Jones (New York: Random House, 2000)
Jones blends the ancient and contemporary into short meditations that bring spiritual nourishment and direction in a practical way for people who find themselves in busy lives. We are reminded that we don’t have to give up on our spirituality just because we don’t have time for extensive, time-consuming exercises. In addition, we are reminded that we don’t have to be a saint to find ourselves in tune with God. Our thoughts can turn to God in the ordinary, familiar and even routine. This book assists Christians who want to improve their spiritual well-being.

Dear Heart, Come Home: The Path of Mid-Life Spirituality
By Joyce Rupp (New York: Crossroads Publishing, 1999)
Joyce Rupp wrote this book especially for those who find themselves asking difficult questions at midlife. Although some might find the topics difficult, this book is especially helpful for those who are seeking meaning and finding their old maps of life no longer as useful as before. The book includes guided visualizations and journaling suggestions. This is not a book to read cover to cover, but rather a book that helps one’s own discipline of mediation.

Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight in Our Busy Lives
By Wayne Muller (New York: Bantam Books, 1999)
Wayne Muller invites us to reclaim the concept of Sabbath—a time of rest and renewal in our hectic modern lives. This time may not be an entire day each week, but it might be a short time set aside to enhance our sense of closeness to the divine. This book includes stories, poems, suggestions for practices, quotes, and questions to guide the reader into a greater sense of sacred rest. Through this rest, we are refreshed and restored.

Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth
By Robert J. Wicks (Notre Dame, IN: Sorin Books, 2000)
Robert Wicks believes that the search for a spiritual life begins no in some exotic, unreachable place, but right in front of us. This interfaith practical book provides meditation, reflection, and prompting questions to enhance a person’s spiritual development. Wicks integrates everyday experiences with the search for a spirituality that speaks to today’s hectic modern life.

Soul Tending: Life-forming Practices for Older Youth and Young Adults (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002)
This book stretches our definition of spirituality in creative and interesting ways. For the writers, Christian spirituality means moving closer to Jesus Christ. It encourages us to identify with Jesus, “seeing and hearing the world through God’s eyes and ears, entering the world as Jesus’ body and blood, until Jesus’ desires become our desires, his love becomes our love and his life becomes our life. The book includes Christian practices like prayer, hospitality, almsgiving, worship, bible study, spiritual friendship, solitude and much more. It invites “out of the box” reflective actions that bring the reader closer to God. This book is recommended for all ages, but especially young adults.

Soul Weavings: A Gathering of Women’s Prayers
By Lyn Klug (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1996)
Soul Weavings contains a wonderful collection of prayers that will touch a woman's heart and soul. The book also includes helpful suggestions for using written prayers as part of a person’s spiritual discipline. The book speaks in voices of a diverse group of women from different times, countries and religious backgrounds. Some of the authors include: Julian of Norwich, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Ann Weems, Christina Rosetti, Dorothy Day, and Miriam Therese Winter. Lyn Klug, the editor, writes, “My prayer is that some of these prayers will help you to discover and express truth about God and about yourself, and to live out threes truths in your everyday life.”

The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth
By Joyce Rupp (Notre Dame: Ave Maria Press, 1997)
Joyce Rupp shows us how ordinary cups can become sacred vessels that connect us with life and draw us ever closer to God. This book is a guide for individual and group prayer. It includes six weekly themes based on different images of the cup: the open cup, the chipped cup, the broken cup, the blessing cup. Each cup becomes a teacher in prayer. For each day, the author shares a short inviting essay, a wisdom saying, a scripture verse, a brief mediation, questions for journaling, and suggestion for keeping the theme close to one’s heart. In addition, there are suggestions for group sharing and rituals. This would be an excellent guide for a spiritual retreat.

The Rhythm of God’s Grace: Uncovering Morning and Evening Hours of Prayer
By Arthur Paul Boers (Mass: Paraclete Press, 2003)
Arthur Boers, a Mennonite pastor and seminary professor, invites the reader to discover the Christian tradition of morning and evening prayer. He describes how this ancient Christian practice can nourish a Christian’s spiritual life. The book includes practical resources for prayers and suggested readings.

HEADING??

Mental Health & Wellness Resources
Catalog by Wellness Reproductions & Publishing, LLC.
This catalogue contains curriculum, books, handouts, games, videos and much more. These resources are available to order from the catalogue. Topics include: mental health life skills, self-esteem, anger & forgiveness, relationships & family issues, relaxation & stress management, grief & loss, and social skills. This catalogue has short description of each item and provides access to professional materials for training and learning.

Sharing the Care-When Someone You Love Resides in an Adult Care Facility.
Bill & Lyn Roche, Journey Publications.
Too often families feel guilt and fear as they search for a caring community to provide for their loved ones. Bill and Lyn Roche advise families to join together with the care providers for the good of the residents. This book helps families and staff to think how they can work together to create a loving and caring community for those in adult care.

If Grace is True – Why God Will Save Every Person
Phillip Gulley & James Mulholland, San Fransisco: Harper.
Gulley and Mulholland describe their belief in a God who has boundless love and extravagant grace. They reject the common notion that God saves some and rejects others. As Quaker pastors, both authors describe their own faith journey and proclaim this message hoping that Christians will understand that all will be saved through God’s perfect grace.

God Knows About Joy: Biblical Reflections to Life Up the Heart
Sister Mary Christelle Macaluso.
Sister Mary Christelle brings inspiration and wit together to help us search the Bible for verses reflecting the theme of joy. Known as the “Fun Nun,” she uses God’s word and her inspiration to look at the issues of joy, happiness, merriment and laughter. This book will put a smile on your face.