Unforced Rhythms of Grace

Note: I received access to an extended excerpt of this book as part of the HarperOne as a member of the launch team.   In the year 2000 I did the Jesus prayer thing and started figuring out next steps.  One of the first things I did was purchase the TouchPoint bible at the church I was attending at the time.  It is written in the New Living Translation (NLT).  The NLT is a very readable version of the bible although it is not known for being the most accurate translation. I have purchased a number of bibles in other translations since then but, that TouchPoint bible remains my favourite.  At the time I loved it because it had bible promises for every issue I could think of.  Look up anger at the Helpfinder and it gives you a bunch of questions to think about and several verses like: "Stop your anger!...Do not envy others -- it only leads to harm."  Psalm 37:8, NLT I think I like it now because it is old and familiar...  and it is the ...

When I tell people that I have been exploring faith questions and that has lead me to leave the church community I was going to, the automatic question is something like 'so are you questioning your belief in God?'  They want to understand what I mean.  At the beginning I wasn't even sure what I meant.  I momentarily experimented with the idea of not believing in God.  I remember the moment in my car.  I was waiting for the light to change at the corner of St. Anne's and Bishop Grandin.  The experiment didn't last the light cycle.  Before the light turned green, I was back to believing in God.  I couldn't imagine life without believing in something bigger than me.  I believe that a higher something has some positive impact on the world. My big sticking point was the concept of sin.  I have found that by trying to avoid sin, I just made myself miserable.  The things I was doing that I labelled as sin were really just coping mecha...