Tag: Catholic

Review: A Book of Uncommon Prayer

Posted January 21, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Review: A Book of Uncommon PrayerA Book of Uncommon Prayer by Brian Doyle
Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2014)
eARC (128 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2015 Alphabet Soup, Read 2015

Synopsis

Acclaimed, award-winning essayist and novelist Brian Doyle—whose writing, in the words of Mary Oliver, is “a gift to us all”—presents one hundred new prayers that evoke his deep Catholic belief in the mystery and miracle of the ordinary (and the whimsical) in human life.
In Brian Doyle’s newest work, A Book of Uncommon Prayer: 100 Celebrations of the Miracle & Muddle of the Ordinary, his readers will find a series of prayers unlike any of the beautiful, formal, orthodox prayers of the Catholic tradition or the warm, extemporized prayers heard from pulpits and dinner tables. Doyle’s often-dazzling, always-poignant prayers include eye-opening hymns to shoes and faith and family. In Doyle’s words, “the world is crammed with miracles, so crammed and tumultuous that if we stop, see, savor, we are agog,” and the pages of his newest book give voice and body to this credo. By focusing on experiences that may seem the most unprayerful (one prayer is titled “Prayer on Seeing Yet Another Egregious Parade of Muddy Paw Prints on the Floor”), he gives permission to discover the joys and treasures in what he often calls the muddle of everyday life.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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Review: Loved as I Am

Posted January 15, 2015 in Faith, Reading, Review / 0 Comments

Review: Loved as I AmLoved as I Am by Miriam James Heidland
Publisher: Ave Maria Press (2014)
eARC (128 pages)
Via: NetGalley
Rating:
Reading Challenges: Read 2015

Synopsis

When Sr. Miriam James Heidland’s life as a successful college athlete proved unfulfilling, she went searching for something deeper and ended up falling in love with Jesus. By charting her own journey toward wholeness, Heidland invites young Catholics to pursue their own relationship with Jesus.
Although originally full of athletic ambition and goals for a career in sports news, Heidland was transformed in a very slow but deep way during her undergraduate years, moving from party girl to bride of Christ. In
Loved as I Am: An Invitation to Conversion, Healing, and Freedom through Jesus, Heidland helps readers learn from her experience of seeking love in the wrong places and instead finding it in Christ. She shares her struggles—learning she was adopted, battling alcoholism, and healing from childhood sexual abuse—as signs of hope that anyone who desires to know Christ can find him and be loved intimately by him in return. By bringing readers into Heidland’s healing process, Loved as I Am provides a gentle and subtle template for finding peace and freedom in Jesus.

Find the book: Goodreads, Amazon, Book Depository

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2015 Reading Challenges

Posted January 1, 2015 in Reading / 10 Comments

My 2016 Reading Challenges can be found here.

If you can’t tell by now, I like to read. A lot. I stumbled across some of these book challenges and I think some would be pretty cool. I figured it would probably be beneficial to put a post together of the book challenges I have decided to participate in for 2015.

I basically just keep adding to this list every time I hear about a new challenge that I think I can do. Since I have a slight book addiction (yes, I think I’m in denial), this list will likely get longer.

I give you My 2015 Reading Challenges List, listed in the order in which I became aware of them:

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December 2014 Monthly Wrap-Up

Posted December 31, 2014 in Faith, Reading / 2 Comments

Since it is the end of another month, I have decided to do a monthly wrap-up post. Behold, my month in bulleted lists.

Things that Happened in December

Books I Read in December

the elitesnowthe miracle of lourdesmockingjay
time's edgean introduction to the vocation of consecrated virginity lived in the worldchastity is for lovers
esther: royal beautythe case for Christmassplinteredblood of a stone
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