Books

I have appreciated the book lists which were posted by Phil and Greg; many of which I have read and found equally insprational and influential.

I would like to encourage people to read the books they listed ,but also, add a few books that I believe might inspire or encourage. They were great to read as I began a journey initiated by Jesus calling me off the Christian Bandwagon and placing me under his yoke where I belong. The books are an honest, very non-academic, down to earth spirituality. I have listed them and some quotes.

Soul Survivor: How My faith Survived the Church ,Philip Yancey: Talking about the thirteen people that helped him regain his faith (and what a host of individuals they are and were), Yancy writes, "I became a writer, I now believe, to sort out and reclaim the words used and misused by the Christians of my youth. These are the people ( the thirteen) who ushered me into the Kingdom. In many ways they are why I remain a Christian today, and I want to introduce them to other spiritual seekers.

Messy Spirituality, Mike Yaconelli: Spirituality is not a formula; it is a relationship. Spirituality is not about competency; it is about intimacy. Spirituality is not about perfection; it is about connection. The way of the spiritual life begins where we are now in the mess of our lives. Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws, but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. ( this man was so precious, he recently died in an auto accident.... I wish I had known him.)

Seeing God in the Ordinary; A theology of the everyday: Michael Frost ( I love this book and recommend it to other Bohemians especially ones bringing the poerty of the gospel to dark places): " The gospel is......a truth widely held, but a truth greatly reduced. It is a truth that has been flattened, trivialized and rendered inane. Partly, the gospel is simply an old habit among us, neither valued or questioned. But more than that, our technical way of thinking reduces mystery to problem, transforms assurance into certitude, quality into quantity and so takes the categories of biblical faith and represents them into manageable shapes. (Frost quoting Brueggemann).

Oh and by the way......the fog is lifting