Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes!
Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world.
"…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore."
Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God.
The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.
Mary Lou Redding is interested in many disciplines-art, literature, music, science, philosophy, religion, politics. She is a writer, thinker, feminist, loving mother and grandmother, as well as an outspoken and direct person. One of seven children, Mary Lou is the mother of an adult daughter and grandmother of two nearly perfect granddaughters. Before becoming an editor and writer, she taught basic and advanced prose writing and business communication on the college level. Teaching about writing and the Bible is one of her great loves. Mary Lou has a master of arts degree in rhetoric and writing and worked professionally as a writer and editor for many years, retiring as editorial director of The Upper Room daily devotional guide in 2012.