What does a Christian life lived "by the Spirit" look like? For many Christians throughout history, fulfilling Paul's command in Galatians 5:25 included a form of contemplation and prayer that leads to spiritual formation. But in large part, contemporary Christians—perhaps especially evangelicals—seem to have lost or forgotten about this treasure from their own tradition. Bringing together scholars and practitioners of spiritual formation from across the Protestant spectrum, this volume offers a distinctly evangelical consideration of the benefits of contemplation. The contributors draw on historical examples from the church—including John Calvin, Richard Baxter, Jonathan Edwards, and John Wesley—to consider how contemplative prayer can shape Christian living today. The result is a robust guide to embracing contemplation that will help Christians as they seek to keep in step with the Spirit.

Meditations and Reflections to Help End Codependence “In 200 short, straightforward daily lessons illustrating the many forms that detachment can take in one’s life. Casey’s latest is an easy reference guide for those seeking recovery or peace.” —Publishers Weekly #1 New Release in Personality Disorders and Twelve-Step Programs Do you ever feel like you might be giving other people too much power over your mood? Do you find yourself feeling immobilized by expectations and demands? The cure for facing codependence, says Karen Casey, is detachment. Control your life by letting go. When we remove codependent behavior from our lives, we discover a life of balance and freedom. Whether you find yourself tempted to become enmeshed in other people’s problems or rushing to their rescue, Casey reminds us to stop controlling behavior —that we cannot control anyone or anything beyond ourselves. What is codependency and detachment? Inside, you’ll find gems of insight for every stage of your codependence recovery journey. Through 200 recovery meditations and reflections, Casey explores how to set boundaries, control emotions, face attachment issues in adults, and more. Inspirational and easy to read, Let Go Now guides us away from taking care of others, and toward taking care of ourselves. If you’re looking for a codependent book or an attachment book —like Melody Beattie books,The Power of Letting Go Codependent No More, or TheLanguage of Letting Go book —you’ll love Let Go Now.

GodÕs love for us breaks every boundary. So should our love for each other. Mihee Kim-Kort is a wife, a mom, and a Presbyterian minister. And she's queer. As she became aware of her queer sexuality, Mihee wondered what that meant for her spirituality. But instead of pushing her away from God, her queerness has brought her closer to Jesus and taught her how to love better. In Outside the Lines, Mihee shows us how God, in Jesus, is oriented toward us in a queer and radical way. Through the life, work, and witness of Jesus, we see a God who loves us with a queer love. And our faith in that God becomes a queer spirituality--a spirituality that crashes through definitions and moves us outside of the categories of our making. Whenever we love ourselves and our neighbors with the boundary-breaking love of God, we live out this queer spirituality in the world. With a captivating mix of personal story and biblical analysis, Outside the LinesÊshows us how each of our bodies fits into the body of Christ. Outside the lines and without exceptions.

A well-known spiritual mentor shares some practical and theological insights for the deepening spiritual journey.

Evangelization & Contemplation: The Gifts of Pope Francis and Saint Teresa By: Reverend Tracy O’Sullivan, O. Carm Over the centuries, indeed from the Gospel story of Martha and Mary (Lk. 10:38-42), Christians have struggled to integrate prayer and action. This book is a fresh look at the perennial problem in the context of evangelization and contemplation. In all things Christian and otherwise, the final measure of reality is how genuine is our experience God. This text looks to Pope Francis and St. Teresa of Avila for direction in the search for God and a balance in our prayer and action. These seemingly very different persons offer much clarity for our call to proclaim the Good News of a loving God to a world floundering in a search for meaning and direction. In both The Joy of the Gospel and The Interior Castle, we find a vast font of wisdom to guide us on our pilgrimage to God in the confusion and brokenness of our lives and of our world. Both the Jesuit Pope and the saintly Carmelite never tire of telling us to keep our eyes and our heart fixed on Jesus. Both agree that one of the major consequences of this continual encounter with Jesus will be a new and inviting awareness of the poor in our midst.

2021 Illumination Book Awards, Gold Medal: Spirituality What is the “inner chapel”? The place within where God meets us. We can trust God—and we can trust in God’s promises to us, including: We are never alone. We are loved--unconditionally. We have a companion in our suffering. Each of us has a unique call. But how do we experience all that God has given us? By going to the inner chapel, that sacred place within each person where God waits to love us unconditionally. There, God gives us all we need to find our way to a life of hope instead of despair, peace instead of continued restlessness, and joy instead of anxiety. Becky Eldredge offers readers down-to-earth stories, prayer experiences to try, and enthusiastic encouragement for spiritual growth and a deeper friendship with God. The Inner Chapel will inspire individuals but also provide excellent material for small groups and people going on retreat.​

Interest in mindfulness and contemplative thought is growing among Christians, and it's time to consider the place of contemplative prayer within the field of counseling. Can contemplative prayer be integrated into therapeutic work? Can it in fact serve as a foundation on which to build a new approach to counseling? In Contemplation and Counseling Gregg Blanton presents a new paradigm for integrating contemplative prayer with counseling practice. He contends that contemplative prayer can illuminate the purposes of counseling and suggest interventions that help us accomplish these goals. This paradigm builds an alliance between science, theology, and Christian contemplative thought to create a dynamic approach to counseling and balance various dimensions of the human person: emotion, cognition, and action. And by recognizing the power of both words and silence, it harmonizes their functions. Based on this integrative foundation, Blanton offers eleven fundamental interventions to fit the needs of clients (including silence, empathy, and teaching contemplative prayer) and a practical four-stage process for helping clients change, using examples from his own counseling experience and from the Bible. Ultimately, contemplative prayer leads us to the healing power of love. How we view our clients, the ways that we relate with them, and the strategies that we use to help them change are all informed by our loving search for God in contemplative prayer. Particular topics include how Christian contemplation compares with therapeutic uses of mindfulness insights from interpersonal neurobiology understood in light of Scripture psychological and spiritual benefits of lectio divina and centering prayer how practicing contemplative prayer can help counselors develop traits that correlate with positive client outcomes when and how to teach contemplative practices to clients the role of the body, emotions, conscious and unconscious mind, and behavior in contemplative practice and counseling Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS) Books explore how Christianity relates to mental health and behavioral sciences including psychology, counseling, social work, and marriage and family therapy in order to equip Christian clinicians to support the well-being of their clients.