Through The Wilderness: Following Jesus in the 21st Century ~ Marlena Graves

Sharpening perceptions of reality and providing spiritual guidance for those in the crux of wilderness experiences. Substantial spiritual nourishment for those who know or sense that Christ is anything but shallow. Encouraging readers to radically (which to Christ is normal) serve God and others. The author is teaching herself and others to read the world through the lens of the gospel and to become active participants in the local and worldwide body of Christ.

Dec 18, 2008

Monk Habits for Everyday People

I just finished reading Monk Habits for Everyday People by Dennis Okholm. My husband picked it up for me at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological/ Philosophical Society in Providence, RI. It is a very insightful book. In it, Okholm demonstrates why Benedictine Spirituality (St. Benedict's Rule) should be appropriated in the Protestant context. I remember reading through St. Benedict's Rule in seminary and I found it very helpful. Okholm does a good job of persuading the reader of the benefits of following Benedictine habits. These habits are nothing new, they are habits that I believe should be part of the everyday Christian life--thus the title.

Thank you Dennis and thank you Roman Catholic brothers and sisters for showing us another way in which to follow Jesus more closely.

Read Old Books. They Expand Our Souls.

One excellent way to see how much our culture's passing weather patterns have influenced us is to read old books. If you recieve all your information from contemporary writers, Christian or secular, you will never perceive whole concepts that people in other generations could see. (For example, earlier generations of Christians perceived a power in sexual purity that eludes us completely; we can only fall back on "don'ts"). Every Christian should always have at his bedside at least one book that is at least fifty years old--the older the better.

Frederica Matthews-Greene