Description
Welcome to Loving God, Loving Others: 52 Devotions to Create Connections that Last, weekly Scripture, reflections, and questions for women who want to understand how to have better and healthier relationships founded on theirs with God.
We wrote this book on relationships, opening our hearts and memories to show you how God has challenged and consoled us. Every twist and turn, He is using to bring us deeper into a relationship with Him.
Six rungs of relationship explored include:
God // How is my relationship with God, and how have I accepted His invitation to grow in our relationship? // eight stories in contrasting pairs to examine the relationship which feeds all the others.
- on a time of distance and closeness in church community
- a time of desolation and consolation in prayer
- disconnected and intimate sacramental life
- dry and fruitful introspection
self // How do I relate to myself as made in God’s image and likeness? // eight stories in contrasting pairs to examine the way we understand and know ourselves as women of God.
- discouragement with and confidence in my personal appearance
- perceived flaws and a belief in my gifts and abilities
- a challenging and a joyful relationship with food
- feeling trapped in a life path and taking a leap of faith
family of origin // How do I define myself based on who and where I came from? // ten stories in contrasting pairs examining the profound impact on how we define ourselves.
- suffering and joy in family
- sadness in differences and happiness in similarities
- poor habits and good habits
- entanglement and individuation
- conflict and resolution
loved ones // How do I grow in my capacity to love despite and through the challenges of love and family life? // ten stories in contrasting pairs examining the family we make and choose.
- young and unconditional love
- focusing on self and then on others
- neglecting and learning self-care
- communicating from past wounds and a place of love
- feeling disconnected as a family and then connecting together
friends // How do those around me reinforce or impact my identity as God’s beloved daughter? // eight stories in contrasting pairs to examine the gift of being known and knowing another person as a friend.
- interdependence and independence
- peer pressure and peer leadership
- poor and powerful examples of friendship
- lost and restored friendships
work // How does my work help me give honor and glory to God? // eight stories in contrasting pairs to examine what work and calling are and how they change over time in different seasons of life.
- finding my identity in work and then glorifying God in my work
- the pursuit of glory and the pursuit of God
- wrongly ordered priorities and rightly ordered priorities
- grudging discernment and prayerful discernment.
Published in collaboration with Harper Collins // Thomas Nelson
Authors: Beth Davis, Megan Hjelmstad, Nell O’Leary, Bonnie Engstrom, Sarah Elizabeth, and Emily Stimpson Chapman with a foreword by Jenna Guizar
Theological Editor: Susanna Spencer, MA in Theology
Design: Ash Ulmer
Check out Made New: 52 Devotions for Catholic Women!