A gentle, clear guide to finding hope and help in troubled days. “When you begin to understand what brokenness means, you will be armed with information that empowers you to take the steps that can turn your leaden feelings into opportunities for health and happiness. When you can accept (and perhaps even celebrate) your brokenness, you can cease your endless search for ‘healing’ and get on with your life, scars and all.” —from Chapter 1 We each have broken areas of our lives. Whether from things that happen to us or as consequences of our own choices, there are times and situations where our very souls feel fractured. With wisdom and profound personal experience, Terry Taylor guides you through a compassionate yet highly practical process of facing, accepting, and finally integrating your brokenness into your life—a process that can ultimately bring mending. He offers a clear-eyed, kindhearted method based on teachings and practices from many religious traditions, including: Ancient Christian practice of Lectio Divina to face our brokenness Tibetan practice of tonglen to generate compassion for ourselves Jewish tradition of Sabbath-keeping to give us the space we need to mend Muslim practice of hajj—pilgrimage—to bring the journey full circle No matter your faith tradition, you will find lovingkindness and wise counsel in this useful, step-by-step guide to transforming these moments of supreme vulnerability into opportunities for reflection and spiritual growth.

Christians are encouraged to heed the words of Jesus by embracing the practice of dying to self as the key to spiritual fruitfulness.

When Jesus asked the lame man at the pool of Siloam if he wanted to be whole, his question embodied the entirety of God's promise. While representative of the ideal state of physical health, wholeness in minds, body and spirit is also the foundation of God's health promise. In order to fully embrace this phenomenon, it is necessary to understand its meaning. This book engages the reader in easy-to understand spiritual and medical concepts, while systematically outlining wholeness in five succinct chapters. Each chapter builds upon the succeeding one and culminates with the reader celebrating God's promise of prospering in health. This book speaks to individuals through God's word, promotes personal reflections as the truth of the word unfolds and awakens a spirit of "blessed assurance" in the validity of God promises. Read it and be blessed.

Inspiration, encouragement and spiritual practice from across faith traditions for all who seek hope and wholeness through letting go. We all carry wounds that can bind up our hearts and keep us from fully loving―and fully living―in the present. Our pain may come from devastating trauma or unconscious resentment from accumulated everyday grievances. No matter the depth of the hurt, in the warmth and wisdom of this inspiring guidebook readers will find courage to face the past and begin the process of letting go. Contributors active as spiritual directors, clergy, religious scholars and retreat leaders draw on the depths of their own spiritual practice, religious traditions and sacred texts to offer hope and encouragement for the journey of forgiveness. They provide a rich variety of practices for cultivating an open and forgiving heart, both toward ourselves and others, as well as step-by-step guidance in the process of forgiveness. They share their insights on: Healing ourselves through forgiveness Overcoming obstacles to forgiveness Letting go of resentment, blame and anger Forgiving ourselves Deciding whether to restore relationships Asking for and accepting forgiveness Receiving Divine forgiveness Fostering mercy in our hearts Seeking peace and reconciliation in our communities For use by individuals as well as groups in worship or counseling settings, this wide range of perspectives, offered with grace and compassion, will gently move readers toward the wholeness and freedom that come from true forgiveness. Contributors: Nancy L. Bieber • Rev. Carolyne Call • Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell • Nancy Barrett Chickerneo, PhD • Paul Wesley Chilcote, PhD • William Cleary • Nancy Corcoran, CSJ • Linda Douty • Rabbi Ted Falcon • Marcia Ford • Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune • Tamar Frankiel, PhD • Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL • Caren Goldman • Rev. Steven Greenebaum • Judy Greenfeld • Kent Ira Groff • Diana L. Guerrero • Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar • Kay Lindahl • Rabbi David Lyon • Pastor Don Mackenzie • St. Maximos • Ron Miller • Diane M. Millis, PhD • Rev. Timothy J. Mooney • Rev. Dr. John Philip Newell • Linda Novick • Rev. Larry J. Peacock • Gordon Peerman • M. Basil Pennington, OCSO • Jan Phillips • Susan Quinn • Imam Jamal Rahman • Marty Richards, MSW, LCSW • The Rev. Canon C.K. Robertson, PhD • Rev. Nanette Sawyer • Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper • The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori • Aaron Shapiro • Rami Shapiro • Louise Silk • Rev. Susan Sparks • Aaron Spevack, PhD • Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz • Molly and Bernie Srode • Tom Stella • Sohaib N. Sultan • Terry Taylor • Yoland Trevino • Rev. Jane E. Vennard • The Rev. Peter Wallace • Cynthia Winton-Henry

Have you ever been broken? Keep on living and you will encounter some form of brokenness. But what do you do when you are broken? How do you feel? How can you get healed and whole again? In B-r-o-k-e-n, every knock is another boost! You will learn about some strategies you can use to go from brokenness to wholeness. Life is not over just because you are broken. You can be whole again, you will be whole again but there are certain steps to regain a new sense of wholeness. Let’s get started on our journey back to wholeness!

In today's frenetic society, people rarely develop intimate friendships. Instead, they spend their lives essentially disconnected from others, rushing through life content with brief visits and casual conversations. But what if one were to develop a community, a spiritual community, of people who walked with and supported each other through life's journey? A community of real friends who listened to each other's personal tragedies without merely trying to fix the problems, who encouraged and nurtured each other's strengths, and who accepted people for who they really are, instead of the image they try to portray. In Becoming a True Spiritual Community (formerly titled The Safest Place on Earth), Larry Crabb explores such a place, where God can heal disconnected people and allow them to reconnect with each other and, ultimately, with Him.

Does my life have any deeper meaning? Does God really care about me? How can I find and follow my moral compass? What do I do when my faith is shaken to the core? Spiritual trials, doubts, or conflicts are often intertwined with mental health concerns, yet many psychotherapists feel ill equipped to discuss questions of faith. From pioneers in the psychology of religion and spirituality, this book combines state-of-the-art research, clinical insights, and vivid case illustrations. It guides clinicians to understand spiritual struggles as critical crossroads in life that can lead to brokenness and decline--or to greater wholeness and growth. Clinicians learn sensitive, culturally responsive ways to assess different types of spiritual struggles and help clients use them as springboards to change.

We may not all be broken in the same ways, but it doesn’t take long to feel the brokenness all around us. Sickness strikes, careers come to an end, dreams are shattered, relationships crumble, marriages fall apart, and children rebel. If we are not careful, we allow the brokenness to define us. Peace in the Brokenness is where the truths of Scripture and the brokenness of life collide, bringing hope to the reader that soul-resting peace is not only available but can be found in the midst of our most shattering circumstances.

Broken, just to be made new is a thesis on the often avoided topic of brokenness. It addresses the issues that lead to it and the questions that arise concerning whether it is a method used by God to mature us or a tool of the devil to defeat us. Does God really want brokenness? Do we really have to become vulnerable to failure in order that we might become powerful in the eyes of God? And finally, where do we go after we've experienced brokenness? Finding your way back to the place of refreshing after one has suffered great loss both of the physical and the spiritual type.

Can the phenomena of the human mind be separated from the practices of spiritual formation? Research into the nature of moral and spiritual change has revived in recent years in both the worlds of psychology and theology. Rooted in a year-long discussion held by Biola University's Center for Christian Thought (CCT), this volume bridges the gaps caused by professional specialization among psychology, theology, and philosophy.