Sharing In God S Presence

The Practice of the Presence of God is a spiritual classic written by Brother Lawrence, a 17th-century Carmelite monk. This small but impactful work is a compilation of letters and conversations attributed to Brother Lawrence, offering profound insights into cultivating a continuous awareness of the presence of God in everyday life.

Mothering is messy. Our joy and hope in raising children doesn’t change the reality that being a mom can be frustrating, stressful, and tiring. But just as God is using us to shape our children, God is using our children and motherhood to shape us. In The Better Mom, author Ruth Schwenk, herself a mother of four children, encourages us with the good news that there is more to being a mom than the extremes of striving for perfection or simply embracing the mess. We don’t need to settle for surviving our kids’ childhood. We can grow through it. With refreshing and heartfelt honesty Ruth emboldens moms to: Find freedom and walk confidently in purpose Create a God-honoring home environment Overcome unhealthy and destructive emotions such as anger, anxiety, and more Avoid glorifying the mess of mom-ing or idolizing perfection Cultivate life-giving friendships At the heart of The Better Mom is the message that Jesus calls us to live not a weary life, but a worthy life. We don’t have to settle for either being apathetic or struggling to be perfect. Both visions of motherhood go too far. Ruth offers a better option. She says, “It’s okay to come as we are, but what we’re called to do and be is far too important to stay there! The way to becoming a better mom starts not with what we are doing, but with who God is inviting us to become."

As a mom, you want to give your best to your family. Motherhood is incredibly rewarding, yet its challenges can leave you feeling anxious, inadequate, and overwhelmed with mom guilt. Trusted author Ruth Schwenk of Pressing Pause and The Better Mom blog will help you learn to give yourself grace as you grow in wisdom with The Better Mom Devotional. As a busy mom of four kids, Ruth understands the stress of raising a family and trying to do it all perfectly, but she has uncovered a secret: becoming a better mom doesn't start with what you are doing but with who God is inviting you to become. In The Better Mom Devotional, 100 devotions filled with Scripture, prayers, and reflection questions will help you discover: How God uses motherhood to change you from the inside out Intentional ways to deepen your faith in any season of parenting The true calling of motherhood: training, disciplining, and loving your children well The life-giving impact of honest, loving friendships This devotional is a great fit for: Mothers of small children and teenagers Small groups, women's Bible study groups, and personal daily reflection Mother's Day, birthdays, and holiday gifting With Ruth's encouragement, you can overcome mom guilt, stop trying to be the perfect mom, let go of the endless to-do list of motherhood, and experience the most challenging but rewarding adventure yet--becoming The Better Mom.

Sharing in God's Presence means far more than "getting saved" and experiencing God's blessing in our lives. As believers, his presence becomes a very personal part of who we are and what we do--God actually shares himself with us! The language that we use often fails to capture the depths of God's nature penetrating ours, the fullness of his Spirit permeating our hearts, and the innermost infusion of his presence in our lives. But the truth couldn't be more intimate: "The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him" (1 Corinthians 6:17)! This book is an invitation to share in God's presence by allowing God to share himself with you. God wants everyone to share in his embrace. As we accept our responsibility for prayer, ministry, and even revival, we share in the very precious dynamic of give and response that's involved in an intimate walk with Jesus Christ. For a general readership, this book is a reworking of material from the second half of the author's academic work God's Absence and the Charismatic Presence.

For too long the Christian community has been told five, ten, fifteen minutes with God is enough, but God wants to stir within us ways to worship him anew. This book will help you accelerate your relationship with Christ, where living in the presence of God is a lifestyle. You will gain a fresh understanding of how to seize every opportunity to be immersed in Gods presence and where the focus is to worship the Creator, not the created. Through dreams and visions, see firsthand how God taught Teresa new ways of spending time with her Lord. Follow her journey as she learns how worshipping anew opens the windows of Heaven into the tangible presence of God, where miracles began. The treasures within the pages of this book will help you appreciate and embrace what it means to worship God and stop the cycle of a stagnant walk with him. As you read, experience what can happen in the physical and spiritual world when we surrender our entire being and are submerged into the beautiful, supernatural presence of God.

Sharing in God’s Presence means far more than “getting saved” and experiencing God’s blessing in our lives. As believers, his presence becomes a very personal part of who we are and what we do—God actually shares himself with us! The language that we use often fails to capture the depths of God’s nature penetrating ours, the fullness of his Spirit permeating our hearts, and the innermost infusion of his presence in our lives. But the truth couldn’t be more intimate: “The person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him” (1 Corinthians 6:17)! This book is an invitation to share in God’s presence by allowing God to share himself with you. God wants everyone to share in his embrace. As we accept our responsibility for prayer, ministry, and even revival, we share in the very precious dynamic of give and response that’s involved in an intimate walk with Jesus Christ. For a general readership, this book is a reworking of material from the second half of the author's academic work God's Absence and the Charismatic Presence.

An essential feature of religious experience across many cultures is the intuitive feeling of God's presence. More than any rituals or doctrines, it is this experience that anchors religious faith, yet it has been largely ignored in the scientific literature on religion. Starting with a vivid narrative account of the life-threatening hike that triggered his own mystical experience, biologist John Wathey takes the reader on a scientific journey to find the sources of religious feeling and the illusion of God's presence. His book delves into the biological origins of this compelling feeling, attributing it to innate neural circuitry that evolved to promote the mother-child bond. Dr. Wathey, a veteran neuroscientist, argues that evolution has programmed the infant brain to expect the presence of a loving being who responds to the child's needs. As the infant grows into adulthood, this innate feeling is eventually transferred to the realm of religion, where it is reactivated through the symbols, imagery, and rituals of worship. The author interprets our various conceptions of God in biological terms as illusory supernormal stimuli that fill an emotional and cognitive vacuum left over from infancy. These insights shed new light on some of the most vexing puzzles of religion, like the popular belief in a god who is judgmental and punishing, yet also unconditionally loving; the extraordinary tenacity of faith; the greater religiosity of women relative to men; religious obsessions with sex; the mysterious compulsion to pray; the seemingly irrepressible feminine attributes of God, even in traditionally patriarchal religions; and the strange allure of cults. Finally, Dr. Wathey considers the hypothesis that religion evolved to foster reproductive success, arguing that, in an age of potentially ruinous overpopulation, magical thinking has become a luxury we can no longer afford, one that distracts us from urgent threats to our planet. Deeply researched yet elegantly written in a jargon-free and accessible style, this book presents a compelling interpretation of the evolutionary origins of spirituality and religion.