Windows of the Soul: Experiencing God in New Ways by Ken Gire
“We reach for God in many ways. Through our sculptures and our Scriptures. Through our pictures and our prayers. Through our writing and our worship. And through them he reaches for us.
“His search begins with something said. Ours begins with something heard. His begins with something shown. Ours, with something seen. Our search for God and his search for us meet at windows in our everyday experience. These are windows of the soul.
“But we must learn to look with more than just our eyes and listen with more than just our ears. We must be aware, at all times and in all places, because windows are everywhere, and at any time we may find one. Or one may find us. Though we will hardly know it ... unless we are searching for him who for so long has been searching for us.”
Toward Holy Ground : Spiritual Directions for the Second Half of Life by Margaret Guenther
The second half of life – which we can enter at any age – is that time when we undertake the tasks essential to a mature faith. This part of life has a depth and spirituality all its own: a tolerance of ambiguity, an exploration of limitation and mortality, discipline and simplicity, fruition and fulfillment.
With wisdom gained through years of experience and prayer, Margaret Guenther explores the practical aspects of spirituality in midlife: intercessory prayer, the need for community, light-heartedness, detachment and stripping down, preparing for aging and “a good death,” and crafting a rule of life.
When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life's Sacred Questions by Sue Monk Kidd
Blending her own experiences with an intimate grasp of spirituality, Sue Monk Kidd relates the passionate and moving tale of her spiritual crisis, when life seemed to have lost meaning and her longing for a a hasty escape from the pain yielded to a discipline of “active waiting.”
The Cup of Our Life: A Guide for Spiritual Growth by Joyce Rupp
Anyone thirsting for a more intimate and disciplined life of prayer will find a rich wellspring in The Cup of Our Life. In this original and practical book Joyce Rupp shares how the ordinary cups that we use each day can become sacred vessels that connect us with life and draw us ever closer to God. She explores how the cup is a rich symbol of life, with its emptiness and fullness, its brokenness and flaws, and all of its blessings.
This creative guide for individual and group prayer offers six weekly themes based on different images of the cup. The open cup, the chipped cup, the broken cup, the blessing cup ... each in turn becomes a teacher in prayer. For each day the author offers a short inviting essay, a wisdom saying, a scripture verse, a brief meditation, questions for journaling, and a suggestion for keeping the theme close to one's heart throughout the day. The reflective art that accompanies each theme offers yet another inspiration for prayer. It can also be used with groups that meet regularly for spiritual growth. Simple, helpful suggestions for group sharing and ritual are provided for each of the six weeks.
Trustworthy Connections: Interpersonal Issues in Spiritual Direction by Anne Winchell Silver
Although God is at the center of the process of spiritual direction, the more readily visible participants are human beings. Like all other people, directors and directees are subject to relationship dynamics. Trustworthy Connections identifies some issues and challenges that can arise in spiritual direction relationships and offers resources for further consideration and reflection. The topics and examples are focused on traditional one-to-one, face-to-face spiritual direction, although some are also relevant to group direction and direction by correspondence. This book is designed for use as a reference and springboard for discussion for spiritual directors and anyone else who is interested in spiritual direction. Like the process of spiritual direction itself, this book is about asking questions, discussing ideas, and suggesting alternatives rather than giving advice or getting answers.
“Dark Night – Being re-patterned by God” by Sandra Cronk
Weavings – A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life – In the Watches of the Night
Volume XXIV, Number 1, January/February 2009
“The Elegance of Pachelbel” - Michael Maxwell
Somerset Entertainment
Meditative“In the Company of Angels” - Robin Miller
Higher Power Peoductions, Inc.
Meditative“Songs from Earth” - William Wilde Zeitler
Whole Wit Publishing
Meditative
Presence: An International Journal of Spiritual Direction
Published 4 times a year (March, June, September & December)
Grounded in the belief that God's active presence is revealed in human experience, this journal invites dialogue within the global learning community involed in spiritual direction and anyone who is interested in the journey of spiritual renewal.
www.sdiworld.orgWeavings: A Journal of the Christian Spiritual Life
Published bi-monthly. www.weavings.org