Finding God in Ordinary Time
()
About this ebook
Take a wide-eyed look at your life—the commonplace, joyful, and even heartbreaking events—and discover the presence of God, hidden in plain sight. Forget bowing your head and closing your eyes. The secret to prayer is what happens when you’re not trying to pray.
This is the invitation of Christine Eberle’s Finding God in Ordinary Time. Each daily reflection contains a true story and a nugget of spiritual insight, accompanied by thought-provoking questions and a memorable Scripture quote. Together they reveal a God who is playful and affectionate, merciful and compassionate, and always relevant. Warm, accessible, and surprisingly funny, Christine offers spiritual nourishment to people skeptical or weary of religion, while still giving the faithful something to chew on.
Simple enough to be devoured in one sitting, this intimate little book is best enjoyed slowly. Each piece deserves to be savored and revisited through the unfolding of each ordinary, extraordinary day.
Related to Finding God in Ordinary Time
Related ebooks
The Passionate Journey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Lot of the Way Trees Were Walking: Poems from the Gospel of Mark Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrdinary Blessings for the Christmas Season: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 1662 Book of Common Prayer: International Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWhere the Eye Alights: Phrases for the Forty Days of Lent Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dipping into Life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReconciliation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsChurch Beyond Walls: Christian Spirituality at Large Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHearing God in Poetry: Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Flying Yellow: New and Selected Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKneeling in Jerusalem Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Gift of Compassion: A Guide to Helping Those Who Grieve Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsJourneying with Luke: Reflections on the Gospel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsConsider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Journeying with Mark: Reflections on the Gospel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBeyond Words: Daily Readings in the ABC's of Faith Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Funeral for a Stranger: Thoughts on Life and Love Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Psalms of Unknowing: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLast Call: From Serving Drinks to Serving Jesus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAbiding: The Archbishop of Canterbury's Lent Book 2013 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Gathering of Larks: Letters to Saint Francis from a Modern-Day Pilgrim Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Meeting God in Mark: Reflections for the Season of Lent Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Long Letting Go: Meditations on Losing Someone You Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bright Field: Readings, reflections and prayers for Ascension, Pentecost, Trinity and Ordinary Time Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVulnerable Faith: Missional Living in the Radical Way of St. Patrick Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSoon Done with the Crosses: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOrdinary Time: Poems Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSurprised by Hell: Unexpected Discoveries in the Bible and Church History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Book of a Thousand Prayers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLetters to Martin: Meditations on Democracy in Black America Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Christianity For You
Girl, Wash Your Face: Stop Believing the Lies About Who You Are so You Can Become Who You Were Meant to Be Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Winning the War in Your Mind: Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love that Lasts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Bible Recap: A One-Year Guide to Reading and Understanding the Entire Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mere Christianity Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Good Girl's Guide to Great Sex: Creating a Marriage That's Both Holy and Hot Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Uninvited: Living Loved When You Feel Less Than, Left Out, and Lonely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wild at Heart Expanded Edition: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Holy Bible (World English Bible, Easy Navigation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Brain's Not Broken: Strategies for Navigating Your Emotions and Life with ADHD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Workbook: When to Say Yes, How to Say No to Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Book of Enoch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Boundaries Updated and Expanded Edition: When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Four Loves Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Screwtape Letters Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Changes That Heal: Four Practical Steps to a Happier, Healthier You Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Lead When You're Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Stories We Tell: Every Piece of Your Story Matters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'll Start Again Monday: Break the Cycle of Unhealthy Eating Habits with Lasting Spiritual Satisfaction Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Less Fret, More Faith: An 11-Week Action Plan to Overcome Anxiety Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Finding God in Ordinary Time
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Finding God in Ordinary Time - Christine Eberle
Copyright © 2018 by Christine Marie Eberle.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Printed in the United States
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
GREEN WRITERS PRESS is a Vermont-based publisher whose mission is to spread a message of hope and renewal through the words and images we publish. Throughout we will adhere to our commitment to preserving and protecting the natural resources of the earth. To that end, a percentage of our proceeds will be donated to environmental activist groups and the author’s charity of choice, My Place Germantown (myplacegermantown.org). Green Writers Press gratefully acknowledges support from individual donors, friends, and readers to help support the environment and our publishing initiative. GREEN PLACE BOOKS curates books that tell literary and compelling stories with a focus on writing about place.
Giving Voice to Writers & Artists Who Will Make the World a Better Place
Green Writers Press | Brattleboro, Vermont | www.greenwriterspress.com
Praying
from the volume Thirst by Mary Oliver, published by Beacon Press, Boston. Copyright © 2006 by Mary Oliver. Used herewith by permission of the Charlotte Sheedy Literary Agency, Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-7320815-3-6
COVER DESIGN BY ASHA HOSSAIN
PRINTED ON PAPER WITH PULP THAT COMES FROM FSC-CERTIFIED FORESTS, MANAGED FORESTS THAT GUARANTEE RESPONSIBLE ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC PRACTICES BY MCNAUGHTON & GUNN, A WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESS CERTIFIED BY THE WOMEN’S BUSINESS ENTERPRISE NATIONAL COUNCIL.
Contents
INSPIRATION from PEDRO ARUPE, SJ
Origins And Observations
The Four Terrains
PART ONE: AWAKE TO SEE
1. FINDING GOD IN THE MORNING SKY
2. FINDING GOD IN PLAIN SIGHT
3. FINDING GOD IN THE BACKYARD
4. FINDING GOD IN THE COMPOST BIN
5. FINDING GOD IN STILLNESS
6. FINDING GOD AT THE CAMPSITE
7. FINDING GOD AFTER THE STORM
PART TWO: MESSENGERS OF GRACE
8. FINDING GOD IN A FLOWERED HOUSEDRESS
9. FINDING GOD ON THE PHONE
10. FINDING GOD IN MERCY
11. FINDING GOD IN MY ARMS
12. FINDING GOD IN THE CAFETERIA
13. FINDING GOD IN SMOKY FUR
14. FINDING GOD ON THE ONCOLOGY FLOOR
PART THREE: FAR FROM HOME
15. FINDING GOD ON HOLY GROUND
16. FINDING GOD IN AN OUTSTRETCHED HAND
17. FINDING GOD IN UNCERTAINTY
18. FINDING GOD IN FORGIVENESS
19. FINDING GOD IN A FOREIGN TONGUE
20. FINDING GOD IN THE GRIKES
21. FINDING GOD AT MY FEET
PART FOUR: WORKING IT OUT
22. FINDING GOD IN IRREVERENCE
23. FINDING GOD IN IMPERFECTION
24. FINDING GOD IN FAILURE
25. FINDING GOD IN THE YES
26. FINDING GOD IN PURE GIFT
27. FINDING GOD AT THE WATER’S EDGE
28. FINDING GOD IN A FORTUNE COOKIE
PRAYING
BY MARY OLIVER
QUESTIONS FOR GROUPS
SCRIPTURE INDEX
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Nothing is more practical than finding God,
that is, than falling in love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination,
will affect everything.
It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you will do with your evenings,
how you will spend your weekends,
what you read,
who you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in love,
stay in love
and it will decide everything.
—PEDRO ARUPE, SJ
Origins and Observations
I’m really glad I’m always able to pray so well,
said no one, ever.
In my quarter-century of spiritual conversations with young and not-so-young adults, one theme has come up over and over again: people of faith are anxious about prayer. We know we should pray, and often we try, but we don’t think we’re very good at it, and we’re sure other people are better. We yearn to feel close to God, but most days, we just feel clueless.
It doesn’t help that some people reach adulthood with way too much religious baggage—images of God that are problematic yet persistent—while others arrive with suitcases nearly empty, having gotten through adolescence without acquiring a scrap of religious vocabulary. Whether we start by struggling to erase the picture of God as an angry old white guy with a beard, or by staring at an alarmingly blank piece of paper, moving into a mature relationship with the living God is both a challenge and the work of a lifetime.
The people of Jesus’ day were not so different. If they were, he wouldn’t have had to resort to so many similes. Just think of all the things Jesus said the reign of God was like: an old woman; a new wineskin; a merchant’s search for fine pearls; a mustard seed. Urgently he piled simile upon metaphor upon analogy—anything that could reveal the ways of God in the language of ordinary experience.
I did not always understand this. The particular flavor of my Roman Catholic upbringing didn’t dwell on experience and metaphor; it emphasized answers and rules. In matters of faith, it was important to know the right answers and abide by the rules. And so I did. I was a good daughter, a good student, a good Catholic (or so I thought)…and unbearably self-righteous.
It wasn’t until the fifteenth year of my Catholic education that I realized there was more to faith than doctrinal certainty. At Saint Joseph’s, Philadelphia’s Jesuit university, I majored in English but