Although much smaller than other children her age, Suryakala, also known as Surya, held a huge place in my heart. She made a tremendous impact on me and everyone who met her. Her soft, quiet voice was sing-song perfect. Her eyes were beautiful and full of life. Her smile was tender,…
Click on the title for a very short video from Richard Rohr and the Work of the People.
With colorful candor and timeless truth, Lyons’ vulnerable story-telling captivates the reader from the first page. Invited into the darkest, hidden recesses of the author’s personal journey gives the reader courage to embrace her own story. Reading Freefall feels like having coffee with a good friend. With every unfolding page, the reader is resolved to dare to freefall off her own cliff of discontent and learn to fly. There are few authors who can help readers navigate the pain and joy of being human. Lyons is just that author—a welcome guide for 21st century seekers.
Click on the title for a very short video from Richard Rohr and the Work of the People.
A new book for women everywhere.
EVERYONE who purchases Freefall to Fly will receive three awesome gifts: An original chalk art print by chalk artist, Dana Tanamachi, a $5 TOMS gift card, and a Freefall to Fly digital soundtrack. (I really did say everyone. Swoon!) Image attached to use in posts
Anyone who subscribes to Rebekah’s blog will have a prelude and 1st chapter of Freefall to Fly delivered to their inbox.
Click on the title for a very short video from Richard Rohr and the Work of the People.
As I finish my time with the Marin Foundation, I’ll be writing posts based on chapters from Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community byChristopher Heuertz, a friend of mine and of the foundation.
How a community handles failure—the failure of the group or the shortcomings of an individual member—demonstrates more than anything the strength of that community. And nothing can destroy a community faster than a spectacular failure handled poorly.
Oh, how true this is. In my time with the church, both as a member and in leadership positions of different sorts, I’ve seen how well, and not so well, the body of Christ handles the reality of failure. I’ve seen what it looks like when communities that are supposed to be oriented around grace forget themselves and engage in ways that are cruel, damaging, hurtful, and downright ugly….
Chris Heuertz’s new book Unexpected Gifts is about community, and since Bo White (@bomwhite) and I read it around the same time, he asked if I’d like to review it together. The first half of the review, presented in interview form, appeared on his blog yesterday. The second half is below.
Bo, I’m sure you came into this book already having an understanding of what community means and what it looks like. How did this book challenge that understanding?
Most books avoid topics like betrayal and transition and I found these contributions to be the highlight for me. I read a ton and so there’s always some article, blog, or book mulling around in my head, but I cannot recall too many times that betrayal is actually taken on or the importance of transitions. When my parents divorced, my family (the first community I entered) was devastated in many respects and the transition from a family of four to four individual, but related families has taken quite some time.I believe that the idea of transition is often overlooked and that’s unfortunate. How many sermons have you heard on the ascension of Christ? In my experience, I can count them on one hand, but that is one serious transition. As a father of two, transitions impact my children as well. The challenge that this book brought to light is that transitions and betrayal are more common than we’d like to admit, but our avoidance of those topics is all too common to our detriment…
Click on the title for a very short video from Richard Rohr and the Work of the People.
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