To construct for yourself a refuge

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April 22, 2020 Writing about the importance of reading for pleasure, English playwright and novelist W. Somerset Maugham noted that “to acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge.” Maugham said he always kept on hand a book of poetry in case he was in the mood for it, and next to his bed was one of those books into which you can dip at any place. Do you have a book or two that you can slip into at some point during the week? I’ve collected a short list of recommendations below: BARCLAY PRESS 211 N. Meridian St. #101 Newberg, OR 97132 503.538.9775 www.barclaypress.com

Consider the moments in this collection—a mother is buried, a son is born, Alaska melts—each event a signpost. Reflect on the signs of rest and restlessness, simplicity and complexity, life given and taken and throbbing. This is the way of faith. We watch for truth’s brilliant appearance, and in the midst of our heartbreak-while-waiting, we pray. Jeffrey Johnson’s poems listen to the angels, they sing the doxologies, they pay loving attention to life. They are prayers. They will help you feel the power of life. They will teach you to pray. Our Life is Love describes the transformational spiritual journey of the first ­Quakers, who turned to the Light of Christ within and allowed it to be their guide. Many Friends today use different language, but are still called to make the same journey. Focusing on ten elements of the spiritual journey, this book is a guide to a Spirit-filled life that affects this world. It was 1970. Fighting between the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization had been escalating, but a Quaker serving at a school for Palestinian children in Ramallah reported that things were quiet. That quiet would come to an end just days later, and that Quaker, Max Carter, a conscientious objector who would return to the Middle East again and again over the years, reflects on his travels in the region and the lessons he learned from his growing network of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim friends in this memoir covering the time from 1970 through the second Intifada. When you have an experience and tell the story of that experience to someone, something sacred happens inside of you. And as you store up all those stories and share them, you grow your world’s boundaries. Glory Happening is a book of stories and prayers that remind you to take a closer look at your everyday circumstances, to find the magical beauty in everyday experiences. It is an invitation to live deeply into every moment with the expectation that something good will find you at the end of the day. And once you experience glory, you have words to speak, a prayer to pray, and a story to tell. Copyright © 2020 Barclay Press, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list