A Spirituality For Brokenness

Christians are encouraged to heed the words of Jesus by embracing the practice of dying to self as the key to spiritual fruitfulness.

A gentle, clear guide to finding hope and help in troubled days. “When you begin to understand what brokenness means, you will be armed with information that empowers you to take the steps that can turn your leaden feelings into opportunities for health and happiness. When you can accept (and perhaps even celebrate) your brokenness, you can cease your endless search for ‘healing’ and get on with your life, scars and all.” —from Chapter 1 We each have broken areas of our lives. Whether from things that happen to us or as consequences of our own choices, there are times and situations where our very souls feel fractured. With wisdom and profound personal experience, Terry Taylor guides you through a compassionate yet highly practical process of facing, accepting, and finally integrating your brokenness into your life—a process that can ultimately bring mending. He offers a clear-eyed, kindhearted method based on teachings and practices from many religious traditions, including: Ancient Christian practice of Lectio Divina to face our brokenness Tibetan practice of tonglen to generate compassion for ourselves Jewish tradition of Sabbath-keeping to give us the space we need to mend Muslim practice of hajj—pilgrimage—to bring the journey full circle No matter your faith tradition, you will find lovingkindness and wise counsel in this useful, step-by-step guide to transforming these moments of supreme vulnerability into opportunities for reflection and spiritual growth.

Explores biblical spirituality and the challenging gifts of brokenness.

This book is not a before-and-after story. Our culture treats suffering like a problem to fix, a blight to hide, or the sad start of a transformation story. We silently, secretly wither under the pressure of living as though suffering is a predicament we can avoid or annihilate by working hard enough or having enough faith. When your prayers for healing haven't been answered, the fog of depression isn't lifting, your marriage is ending in divorce, or grief won't go away, it's easy to feel you've failed God and, worse, he's failed you. If God loves us, why does he allow us to hurt? Over a decade ago chronic illness plunged therapist and writer K.J. Ramsey straight into this paradox. Before her illness, faith made sense. But when pain came and never left, K.J. had to find a way across the widening canyon that seemed to separate God's goodness from her excruciating circumstances. She wanted to conquer suffering. Instead, she encountered the God who chose it. She wanted to make pain past-tense. Instead, God invited her into a bigger story. This Too Shall Last offers an antidote to our cultural idolatry of effort and ease. Through personal story and insights from neuroscience and theology, Ramsey invites us to let our tears become lenses of the wonder that before God ever rescues us, he stands in solidarity with us. We are all mid-story in circumstances we did not choose, wondering when our hard things will end and where grace will come if they don’t. We don't need to make suffering a before-and-after story. Together we can encounter the grace that enters the middle of our stories, where living with suffering that lingers means receiving God's presence that lasts.

Every great movement of God is preceded by a season of humility and repentance and a time of tearing down walls, of getting honest with God and others about your true spiritual condition.It may be hard. It may hurt. But in the end, God will use your brokenness to restore your 'first love' for Jesus, rekindle your spiritual fire, reconcile your relationships, and repair your life.A richer, deeper, more God-filled life is waiting for you. And it all begins with Brokenness.The Revive Our Hearts Trilogy - Now in Paperback!This bestselling series by Nancy Leigh DeMoss has sold well over 80,000 copies! All three titles now include study questions at the end of each chapter, making them ideal for personal or small group study.

Only 2 in 10 Americans under 30 believe attending a church is important or worthwhile. Well over half of young adults raised in the Church have dropped out with many having a strong anti-Church stance, many even believing the Church does more harm than good.Fr. Josh Johnson was one of these people. In Broken and Blessed he tackles the harsh realities facing the Church in the 21st century. With charity and courage he speaks to his own generation of Catholic “Millennials,” who often feel their needs and concerns are not being addressed by the Church, or who simply do not believe the Catholic Faith has any relevance to their lives. Using his own experiences, both as a former struggling young Catholic and as a priest, Fr. Josh offers an inspiring witness of how he came to know God, rather than just knowing about him—and presents practical ways for us to truly know God as well. Broken and Blessed: Addresses head-on Millennials’ most pressing issues with the Catholic Faith Presents powerful and inspiring stories from Fr. Josh’s own faith journey Shows how one can truly encounter Jesus in a personal way Offers practical insights on how to overcome habitual sins Discusses the nature of prayer, as well as the challenges to prayer and how to overcome them

"BROKENNESS," by Professor Fomum, is a real classic for walking the Christian life with total abandonment to the Lord. After the new birth, a man's spirituality is not measured by his capacity to preach great sermons, to cast out demons, or to heal the sick. Such capacities could be the manifestation of spiritual gifts, which are received from God, regardless of who the person is. Such a person may be totally unrecognizable at the slightest provocation, be selfish and self-centred, love sin, hide or blame others for his mistakes and failures, get worried when faced with the least problem, and act before he has prayed about it, etc. This talks of an unbroken life in which, unfortunately, most believers who truly confess the name of the Lord, find themselves several years after conversion. The purpose of God in the new creation is to produce people who attain spiritual maturity, by quickly attaining the stature of broken men and women. God does it through the cross, to break and destroy the natural man and, by the work of the Holy Spirit, to build the character of Christ in the believer. Brokenness therefore depends on the degree to which a person has allowed the cross and the Holy Spirit to work in him. Taking Jacob's life as a basis, the author shows how one can go from the state of the natural man (unconverted) to that of a carnal believer (unbroken), then to that of a spiritual believer (broken); that is, a life in which the believer belongs totally to the Lord, allows free access to God in the minutest details of his life, no longer presents any obstacle to God. Read this book. It will challenge you and help you to make progress on the pathway of brokenness, to such an extent that you will soon be able to confess with apostle Paul, "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me."

The Pathway to Spiritual Power and Maturity "Verily, Verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die. It abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24) There is more to being a Christian soldier than attending Weekly Church Programmes. Brokenness is a pre-requisite for being a true Christian Soldier. This book teaches you result-oriented ways of escaping from spiritual stagnancy and its attendant frustrations. Brokenness is a good Spiritual thermometer for every child of God because at the end of the day, the requirement is that "He must increase, But I must decrease" (John 3:30) Why? So "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God" (Eph 3:19). You are encouraged by the Spirit of God, to read and study this book so that you can be at the spiritual height God expects you to be and not remain a Lilliputan all through your life. This is a challenge worth taking.