BOOK GIVEAWAY!!

The great thing for YOU when we get aggravated at having too many books is that we end up giving away really awesome stuff. We’ve pulled 254 titles from our collection… some are from lifetimes and careers long past, some just deserve to be read more, some are duplicates because can’t keep track of what we already have!

Most will go to the Friends of the Louisiana State University Library for their annual amazeballs book bazaar. But I know the religion books in particular may hold interest for friends of mine. Here’s a look at the religion section, with a couple of subdivided categories. Now, ownership on our part should not be taken as endorsement. We certainly haven’t read all of these. But many titles are dear friends. Let me know if you’d like more info about any of them. Every book except one is represented both in a picture and in the text list.

There’s no charge for any of them. If you’d like to contribute to shipping, I’d be delighted to give you a Paypal account to donate to. I’ll be shipping USPS media mail from Louisiana, US. But please don’t let lack of funds stand between you and a book you’d give a good home to.

Click pics for a closer look!

(Claimed titles have a line through them.)

Emergent section

Emergent section

EMERGENT
The Evolution of Faith by Philip Gulley
Insurrection by Peter Rollins
Becoming the Answer to our Prayers by Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
Inside the Organic Church by Bob Whitesel
A Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren
Reimagining Church by Frank Viola
More Ready Than You Realize by Brian McLaren
Fall To Grace by Jay Bakker
The Boundary-Breaking God by Danielle Shroyer
An Emergent Manifesto of Hope by Doug Pagitt and Tony Jones
The Jesus Creed by Scott McKnight
A Christianity Worth Believing by Doug Pagitt
Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell

Pastoral interest: counseling, curricula, denominational, textbooks

Pastoral interest: counseling, curricula, denominational, textbooks

PASTORAL
The Equipping Pastor (Alban Institute) by R. Paul Stevens and Phil Collins
Basic Types of Pastoral Care and Counseling by Howard Clinebell
A Handbook for Today’s Disciples by D. Duane Cummins (Christian Church/Disciples of Christ)
We Believe: An Interpretation of the United Church Statement of Faith by Roger Shinn and Daniel Day Williams (United Church of Christ)
Feminist and Womanist Pastoral Theology by Bonnie Miller-McLemore and Brita Gill-Austern
Introducing Feminist Pastoral Care and Counseling by Nancy Gorsuch
Religion in Politics and Society by Kelly and Messina
The New Testament Background by Charles Barrett
Crossing the Racial Divide by editors of Sojourners (curriculum)
20 Prayer Lessons for Children by Wezeman and Fournier (children’s sermon resource)
Prayers for a Sojourning People by Susan Gregg-Schroeder (prayers for pastoral care with lens of process theology)
America’s Original Sin: A Study Guide on White Racism by editors of Sojourners
Understanding the Bible by Stephen Harris
NOT PICTURED: The Whispering Word: A Theology of Preaching by Marjorie Suchocki (process theology)

General religion (including a small handful of religion and sexuality)

General religion (including a small handful of religion and sexuality)

GENERAL RELIGION
Coming Out Spiritually: The Next Step by Christian de la Huerta
Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith by Debra Kolodny (anthology)
The Political Meaning of Christianity: An Interpretation by Glenn Tinder
Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller
The Guide for the Perplexed by Moses Maimonides
The Growth of the Early Church by W. A. Carleton
Biblical Perspectives on Evangelism by Walter Brueggemann
Companions in Christ Participant’s Book
Sacred Space: The Prayer Book 2011 by the Irish Jesuits
Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko (fiction)

General religion

General religion

GENERAL RELIGION
The People’s Mass Book (1975)
Talking about Genesis: A Resource Guide by Public Affairs Television (companion publication to Bill Moyers’ tv series on Genesis)
The Jesus I Never Knew by Philip Yancey
What’s So Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey
Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon
God’s Grace and Man’s Hope by Daniel Day Williams
The Song of the Seed by Macrina Weiderkehr
Simply Christian by N.T. Wright
Preparing for Christmas: Daily Meditations for Advent by Richard Rohr
Enduring Issues in Religion by John Lyden
Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth by Mohandas Gandhi
The Talmud and the Internet by Jonathan Rosen
The Divine Library by Rufus C. Camphausen

General religion

General religion

GENERAL RELIGION
Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism by Anonymous
Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu translated by Burton Watson
A Modern Shaman’s Guide to Reality Selection by Alli and Wilson
Rituals for our Times: Celebrating, Healing and Changing Our Lives and Our Relationships by Evan Imber-Black Ph.D. and Janine Roberts Ph.D.
From Beginning to End: The Rituals of our Lives by Robert Fulghum
All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum
Awareness by Anthony de Mello
Sadhana: A Way to God by Anthony de Mello
Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion by James C. Livingston
Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour
The Evidential Power of Beauty: Science and Theology Meet by Thomas Dubay
The Religions of Mankind by Hans-Joachim Schoeps

Oversized Religion and Pastoral

Oversized Religion and Pastoral

RELIGION OVERSIZED
Kundalini Coloring Book
Augsburg Historical Atlas of Christianity in the Middle Ages and Reformation
The Fall of Freddie the Leaf by Leo Buscaglia, Ph.D.

Published in: on January 16, 2014 at 9:28 pm  Leave a Comment  

Learning Goals for 2014

My 2013 goals either went wildly well til the end, or crashed spectacularly at some point in the year of health surprises. I’m pleased with all I got done. I’ll keep what stuck. I’m revamping what didn’t, and I’m adding another idea or two.

I should add that I don’t intend this as an unchangeable plan for 2014. I don’t think of changes that arise as failures to keep “resolutions”. In fact, I have a book I’ll be reading soon on developing our own rule of life, and the experience of reading that may well significantly change my plans. But for now, I’m pursuing these specific activities, with particular time goals (to give a sense of accomplishment and a concrete measure of success on rough days/weeks).

Reading Life – continuation of old goal
I loved how this goal last year opened me up to new stories and new ideas. It felt nourishing and felt like it kept my attention on knowledge and stories that I intentionally chose (rather than whatever visual media happened to be close by).

I finished the year right at 60 books read (with an intentional push to move to 60 from 56 near the end). But I DON’T want to focus on number of books, as alluring as that is. When it’s a number, it becomes a chore; books become things to complete rather than time to enjoy. It also narrows my book selection process and discourages me from trying more intimidating titles. No, an amount of time spent reading each week is best.

3 hours a week, any combination

Life of Movement – new structure to goal
Last year I had workout goals, specifically because working out made me feel good.
Movement is a lot more complicated now, with a mobility issue. But in the confusion of finding exercise that works for me, I don’t want to forget how good it feels to simply move… not moving to get my heart rate up, or moving to increase muscle mass, or moving to turn somebody on. Those can be enjoyable, but they all restrict movement beyond what simply feels good.

So.

Intentional movement. Whatever feels good. No one watching. (Stillness counts, if it feels good and is done intentionally.). 10 minutes a day.

Prayer Life – new goal
It’s been ages since I pursued prayer time. Really, ages.

The key is finding my current ideal balance of structure and chaos.

For now, I want devotional time each week that is part reading, part silence/contemplation (in a lectio divina style, if you’re familiar with it). The reading can be psalms, but no other scripture (the rest too easily leads me to textual study, not spiritual reflection). The reading can be other books of a devotional nature too (Gabe just got me two wonderful ones).

Slowness of reading is encouraged, so there’s no required length of text (like a daily Bible reading plan might have). It’s about savoring and letting the reading sink in.

1 hour a week for now (60 minutes at once, or in 20 or 30 minute intervals throughout the week)

Creative Life – new goal
I get in my own way of making things, pretty relentlessly.

I hope this year I can push myself a bit to make stuff – and *complete* making stuff! – regularly.one g
But again, there’s a balance to strike, between encouraging completion of projects, and making room to work on said projects nonlinearly. I don’t want to get fixated on results/volume, but I do want to push myself to try arts and crafts that I delay and postpone. I want to unblock my own relationship to my own imagination, and find a disciplined approach to imagining.

I think 90 minutes a week sounds like a reasonable chunk. This is the goal where parameters don’t feel adequate yet. I’m hoping in practicing the goal, I will refine it.

Published in: on January 1, 2014 at 11:59 pm  Leave a Comment