People look for God's presence in many places. They gather in the basilicas of Rome or at the red rocks in Sedona. I find God's presence quite nearby-in the magnificent complexity of the human person. -Dominic Grassi We bump into God's grace every day in all kinds of humorous, serious, mysterious, random, and sometimes completely unlikely ways. This charming collection of thirty-five stories reveals one person's myriad encounters with God in both the mundane and extraordinary moments that make up our days. This is not a book about ideologies, but about people. . . . There are miracles and ordinary moments to celebrate, grace and joy to share, silly folk and saints to relish. -Dominic Grassi A natrual storyteller, Dominic Grassi invites readers to share his warm memories of life in Chicago over the past five decades. He shows how God is reflected in the people we meet every day: a butcher, a bookstore owner, a short-order cook. With rich and often funny descriptions of human triumphs and struggles, laughter and tears, youthful pranks and quiet maturity, Grassi uncovers grace in the most unexpected places. Stories such as Wisdom Teeth and Window Washers and Thumping Watermelons help us see not only moments of grace in Grassi's life but also times when we too have unexpectedly bumped into God.

In this book the authors use stories to take you on a journey that explores the strategies God uses to ensure that we come His way. The stories are often gentle, portraying, for example, the innocence that can occur only in childhood, or the pure joy that is experienced when a child recovering from a brain tumor comes home to stay. But the stories can also be graphically disturbing as is seen in the description of a factory co-worker whose arm is crushed in a massive press or the horrific depiction of the senseless beating of an adolescent child. However, all the stories will show how God acts directly or indirectly in our lives. As you read, you will see Gods unexpected presentation of Himself in the form of a Chicago beggar and His warm presence in the eyes of a younger brother. Other stories reveal that God never gives up on us, placing in our lives people who teach us about the strength, wisdom, compassion, and courage needed to love and finally come home to Him. Unlike what some of us may have been taught about a God of vengeance and power, this book focuses upon a God of compassion and boundless love and upon the patient heart of the Father aching for response, the Lover who without reciprocation continues to love. Chapter after chapter, examples are given to show how God is constantly sweeping and making clear our path to Him. From the time of our birth, we are all on our journey home. In the opinion of the authors, those nudges and bumps we feel on the way are never accidental. They are the prodding and pushing of a God who simply refuses to let us go, a God who is the consummate lover.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight. — Psalm 19:14 Do you long to deepen your intimacy with the Lord? To find a sense of soul-steadying peace? To develop emotional strength? Then you will need to pause long enough to be still and know He is God. Trusted Pastor Robert Morgan leads us through a journey into biblical meditation, which, he says, is thinking Scripture—not just reading Scripture or studying Scripture or even thinking about Scripture—but thinking Scripture, contemplating, visualizing, and personifying the precious truths God has given us. The practice is as easy and portable as your brain, as available as your imagination, as near as your Bible, and the benefits are immediate. As you ponder, picture, and personalize God’s Word, you begin looking at life through His lens, viewing the world from His perspective. And as your thoughts become happier and holier and brighter, so do you.

Thirty-five entertaining and touching stories that show how family moments can bring the greatest spiritual rewards. We find everything we need for spiritual growth as we picnic with the children, go to the grocery store, and pick up the morning paper. The author's intimate approach invites us to recognize the grace that exists within our own lives. We needn't pull over and look for enlightenment; the divine is always present, even in the carpool lane.