Page Turners - A book giveaway 📚

Gratitude, hope and connecting with your divine self This is a busy time of year, so this month’s Page Turners is simply a brief “thank you.” Thank you for supporting the Outlook with your subscriptions, “clicks,” and donations. Thank you for reading Page Turners and responding with thoughtful e-mails and suggestions for books to review. And thank you to the brave souls who write books and for the attentive publishers who bring them into the world. I’m grateful.   I’ll close 2023 with two final suggestions: If you’re seeking a book for your church’s small groups, check out our “Book of the Month” below. And if you like to jumpstart your own growth in the new year, you’ll want to pre-order What Makes You Bloom, this month’s giveaway.   May you have found that “just right” book under the tree this Christmas, and may you find plenty of time to read it!   Happy Reading,   Amy Pagliarella Outlook Book Review Editor P.S. If you’ve recently experienced a loss, you should have some extra support this season. I recently received a beautiful little book, Winter Grief, Summer Grace by James E. Miller. It includes poems, Scripture and tidbits of encouragement. I also appreciate Ash and Starlight by Arianne Braithwaite Lehn. It’s a collection of poetic prayers that speaks to all life’s struggles. This is the book I’m giving to those in need of comfort this Christmas. Peace. BOOK OF THE MONTH Hope is Here! Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community Luther E. Smith Jr. Westminster John Knox, 175 pages Published November 7, 2023 In an interview with Ta-Nehisi Coates, talk show host Stephen Colbert asked if Coates had hope for our country. “No,” Coates replied. "But I’m not the person you should go to for that. You should go to your pastor. Your pastor provides you hope.”   I was shocked, but perhaps not surprised by Coates’ blunt assessment. And yet I was grateful that Coates thought pastors – and churches – were the ones to lead with hope in our current climate. Luther E. Smith Jr. proclaims that Hope is Here! as he invites us to practice and pursue justice in our churches and communities. And because he already experiences hope, his thoughtful work for individual (or preferably group) study is energizing and engaging.   Smith begins with contemplative practices, such as prayer, before describing communal practices, such as being neighborly, transforming conflict and celebrating community. Each chapter is chock full of stories of churches who have renewed hope by engaging whole-heartedly in these practices as well as theological insights and thoughtful questions.   The publisher’s website includes a free guide for small groups that helps bring Smith’s words into worship, reflection and action — it’s a useful addition, particularly for churches eager to turn their studies into mission and outreach. QUOTE OF THE MONTH “Love is obvious. So is hate. Stop acting like this is hard to understand and start trusting your Body. Changing your beliefs is as easy as changing your mind, and the reality is that change can only occur on the level of thought. Once that is healed, everything else naturally aligns with your most authentic Self.” What Makes You Bloom: Cultivating a Practice for Connecting with Your Divine Self Kevin Miguel Garcia Broadleaf Books, 218 pages January 9, 2024 Book Giveaway!  Congratulations to last month’s winner Katherine Scott-Kirschner. Thanks to our generous partners at Eerdmans, they received Tiffany Eberle Kriner’s In Thought, Word, and Seed: Reckonings from a Midwest Farm.   Our friends at Broadleaf are kindly providing a copy of this month’s quoted book, What Makes You Bloom. A fortunate Outlook reader will be randomly selected to receive a copy! If you're reading this note, then you're all set! Know someone else who should be reading Page Turners? Send them this link and they'll get entered for a chance to win, too. The contest closes on January 21.   OTHER READS A Is for Alabaster: 52 Reflections on the Stories of Scripture by Anna Carter Florence, reviewed by Jo Forrest The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl, reviewed by Amy Pagliarella Fall 2023 devotional recommendations reviewed by Amy Pagliarella Five devotions to consider this new year reviewed by Amy Pagliarella