Books

This anthology addresses the experiences of third-wave feminists in the construction and reformulation of spirituality. It is a useful resource for any course on women and/or feminism and religion.

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Here is an illuminating modern English translation of The Book of Margery Kempe. With its comprehensive endnotes and indices, this volume takes account of the most recent findings in the field of fourteenth- and fifteenth-century affective devotion. While there are a number of articles and chapters in books, theses, and dissertations on various aspects of Margery Kempe's spirituality, this translation presents a synthesis of Margery's many diverse spiritual practices, contextualizing these in time to such inspirational early thirteenth-century texts as the Ancrene Wisse, as well as transnationally to her contemporary mulieres religiosae, who often formed their identities as they remained in the world, living as devout laywomen across Europe. Luke Penkett's introduction provides a scholarly yet accessible way to The Book of Margery Kempe. Luke Penkett is a prolific writer with over ten books published, in addition to many articles, and innumerable reviews in several international academic journals. He is currently the honorary secretary of the Margery Kempe Society, curator of the Margery Kempe Collection at King's Lynn Minster (known in Margery's day as St. Margaret's), and book reviews editor for the journal Medieval Mystical Theology. +

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The world is imbued with a life force, a thrumming relational energy of creativity. That life force is Eros, and connecting with the erotic opens up a world full of possibility, sensuality, and creativity. For far too long we have relegated the erotic to the bedroom, when in reality it is a fundamental energy that helps us connect more deeply with ourselves, each other, the earth, and the creative potential within us. We also live in a world that equates our productivity with our worth, leaving us feeling overtaxed, exhausted, burned out, and completely disconnected from ourselves and others. In Turned On, artist and musician Brie Stoner redefines the erotic, stating that it is more than just human intimacy; it can be the antidote to feeling anxious, disconnected, and uninspired. By reframing Eros as the energy of life and creativity itself, Stoner invites us to reawaken presence, playfulness, and possibility as the gateways to transformation. Just as physical relationships are contingent upon the right context, good communication, and embodied presence, Stoner offers a similar contextual shift and the tools needed for us to access creativity through the body and in the present moment. Fittingly, she explores how the erotic has been minimized and misunderstood in modern life. She then offers practical applications of how an erotically enlivened life is a creatively fulfilling one, in which our relationships, parenting, work, and creativity flourish. For those of us who yearn for life to be more inspired, adventurous, and sensual, Turned On is our guide to relighting the spark within us.

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"Anne Lamott is my Oprah." -Chicago Tribune From the bestselling author of Help, Thanks, Wow comes an inspiring guide to restoring hope and joy in our lives. In Dusk, Night, Dawn, Anne Lamott explores the tough questions that many of us grapple with. How can we recapture the confidence we once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly bleak? As bad newspiles up--from climate crises to daily assaults on civility--how can we cope? Where, she asks, "do we start to get our world and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back . . . with our sore feet, hearing loss, stiff fingers, poor digestion, stunned minds, broken hearts?" We begin, Lamott says, by accepting our flaws and embracing our humanity. Drawing from her own experiences, Lamott shows us the intimate and human ways we can adopt to move through life's dark places and toward the light of hope that still burns ahead for all of us. As she does in Help, Thanks, Wow and her other bestselling books, Lamott explores the thorny issues of life and faith by breaking them down into manageable, human-sized questions for readers to ponder, in the process showing us how we can amplify life's small moments of joy by staying open to love and connection. As Lamott notes in Dusk, Night, Dawn, "I got Medicare three days before I got hitched, which sounds like something an old person might do, which does not describe adorably ageless me." Marrying for the first time with a grown son and a grandson, Lamott explains that finding happiness with a partner isn't a function of age or beauty but of outlook and perspective. Full of the honesty, humor, and humanity that have made Lamott beloved by millions of readers, Dusk, Night, Dawn is classic Anne Lamott--thoughtful and comic, warm and wise--and further proof that Lamott truly speaks to the better angels in all of us.

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This is a contemplative reflection on the spirituality of healing, the fruit of the author's lifetime in conducting spiritual direction and psychotherapy, drawing on his lessons from Thomas Merton and study of the mystical path. It is largely written in the form of a memoir of his own recovery from the traumatic wounds of his early life (abusive father, abuse by his confessor in the monastery, a dysfunctional marriage, and his road to healing and wholeness. But it is not just about his story--it is an invitation to the reader to reflect and resonate with the lessons that apply to their own stories.

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New York Times BestsellerThe renowned and beloved New York Times bestselling author of An Altar in the World and Learning to Walk in the Dark recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world's religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations. Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in Leaving Church of finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In Holy Envy, she contemplates the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students' eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques. Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions--even those whose truths are quite different from hers. The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God--a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.

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Blossoming Upward is a step-by-step account of one man following an extraordinary spiritual teacher, becoming a disciple and the miraculous ways this can transform a person. His story moves from the Bronx to India and on to Greece, Afghanistan, and Hawaii; from student activist to chiropractor; and from swami to husband and father. At every step, Steven Auerbach felt drawn, as if led by an invisible hand to his next adventure.This is the story of a man who, through a regimen of service and meditation, realizes the fundamental teaching that God exists in every human heart-and who later seeks to apply this truth in his family life and his work as a doctor. It is a story of spiritual integration.

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ECPA BESTSELLER - The creators of the wildly popular Girls Gone Bible podcast walk alongside you in your hardest seasons, with daily encouragement to reconnect with God and his Word to bolster your faith. "Each page is a personal invitation to explore the promised land of God's living, breathing Word."--Lisa Bevere, New York Times bestselling author, speaker, co-founder of Messenger International When you find yourself in a wilderness season, it can feel as if God has abandoned you. Angela Halili and Arielle Reitsma, creators and hosts of the Girls Gone Bible podcast, learned through their own struggles that the hardest parts of your journey might just be where you draw closest to God--and where you discover your greatest sense of purpose and joy. In this encouraging devotional, Ang and Ari share stories from their spiritual journeys, enriched by Scripture, biblical insights, and guided prayers. With the same authenticity that makes Girls Gone Bible so popular, Out of the Wilderness explores - what it means to find our identities in Christ- why surrendering to God brings our greatest sense of security- how to let go of the mistakes made in the past- ways God uses wilderness seasons to draw us closer to him- how to find God's comfort in loneliness and loss Out of the Wilderness contains thirty-one devotions for all the moments you seek God but feel like he doesn't hear you. Join Ang and Ari in finding the peace, hope, and connection that only a relationship with God can bring.

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