Skip to main content

Practice Makes Perfect (52 Weeks of Books Challenge Week Eighteen)


Still a week behind, but I am working on catching up. I promise.

The Practice of the Presence of God
Brother Lawrence. 1982, Whitaker House


Summary:
The Practice of the Presence of God, considered by many to be a Christian classic, is a collection of recorded conversations with, letters from, spiritual maxims spoken by, and short biography of Brother Lawrence. Brother Lawrence was a lay brother at a Carmelite monastery in Paris in the 17th century. He worked in the kitchen of that monastery, and he caught people's because of the intimacy of his relationship with God. This was developed through hours spending practicing being in the presence of God.

Why I Read It:
On my first mission trip outside of America, my team spent a month early on in New Zealand. Our ministry contact was a rad American like us, and he shared a couple of chapters out of this with us. It had enough of an impact at the time for me to want to finish the entire book at some time in the future.

Opinion:
In terms of effect, The Practice of the Presence of God has been huge for me. There's a lot to take away and I am still processing what I've learned, but I plan to write a post about it soon.

On a more practical reading level, the updates to more modern language usage was helpful because it was easier to understand. The conversations, letters, and spiritual maxims were each grouped together, which made it easier to read. It also helps that Brother Lawrence does not seem to take long to get to his points. It was a refreshing change from some of the books I've been reading this year. Don't get me wrong, because I love a well-layered and well-documented build-up to a point, but sometimes I need a writer to get to the point quickly.

Conclusion:
Brother Lawrence is known for his practice of being in God's presence. His example proves that while  seeking out the presence of God takes much time and effort at first, it will always be worth it to do so.

  
52 Weeks of Books Challenge? What is that? What book is Cat reviewing next week?
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Metaphors: Candles

I've recently fallen in love with candles. Since coming home from the World Race , I've bought at least one a month. My favorite candles are the ones that come in glass jars - because when they burn out, I can clean the remaining wax out and put the jars to other uses. Right now,  that means they get cleaned out and packed away in anticipation of my move to Flagstaff. But as I was lighting one tonight (vanilla spice... Thanksgiving smells? Yes, please!), I saw a metaphor for writing flickering away in the flame licking at the wick and melting the wax. I suppose it could be a metaphor for life in general, but since the theme of this blog is writing... Well, you do the math.
Post a Comment
Read more

Book Review: The Excalibur Alternative

Happy Thursday, everyone. Here is July's book review for general consumption. Since the book I am reviewing is the third in a series, a potential  SPOILER WARNING   is in effect if you have not read the Ranks of Bronze series. The Excalibur Alternative (Ranks of Bronze #3) David Weber, 2002, Baen Books Summary: It's just another day at war for Sir George Wincaster and the group of 14th-century English soldiers he leads until they are abducted by aliens who are part of the Galactic Federation. Stuck in outer space and used as mercenaries to conquer the populations of low-tech planets, they wonder if they will ever make their way home. An unexpected opportunity comes their way when a member of another alien race, who is also being subjugated by the Galactic Federation, approaches Sir George with a proposition to take over the ship and win back their freedom. Will he take them up on it, and what will the consequences be? Opinion: I confess, I did i...
Post a Comment
Read more

[Five Minute Friday] Purpose

Fiber bars, strewn along the side of the road. There had to be at least a dozen of them, still in their wrappers and completely unopened. No box in sight. Really? That's about the reaction my younger sister and I had when we stumbled on them on our early morning run. Really? along with disgusted sighs about the wastefulness of it. These were the expensive ones, not a generic store brand that kind of tastes and kind of looks the same sometimes. So, when we weren't keeping an eye out for their box, we speculated about what had happened. And wondered how many more we were going to see before the end of our run. "Maybe they took one bite and thought they were gross," my sister said. "So they threw them out because they didn't want them anymore." I let out one of those disgusted sighs and nodded along with her theory. "Yeah, or they got in a huge fight, and threw them out in a fit of rage." "That's a possibility." And...
9 comments
Read more