Table of Contents
1 Creating Calm Amid the Chaos 1
Desperately Seeking Serenity 2
An Undercurrent of Mindfulness 7
The Grace to Be a Beginner 11
Two Steps Forward 13
2 Building a Spiritual Foundation 17
A Few Prayer Essentials 18
Private Devotions 24
Ancient Traditions 28
3 turning chores into Spiritual Practice 33
Minding the Mundane 33
The Little Way 35
The Habit of Prayer 36
Labors of Love 38
The Waiting Game 43
4 Bringing Your Body into Prayer 47
Two Halves of the Same Whole 48
Body in Motion, Spirit in Stillness 49
Exercise as a Path to Spiritual Growth 51
In Sickness and in Health 61
5 The Work of Your Hands 67
Finding God in the Kitchen 67
Talent as Prayer Treasure 76
Taking God to Work 81
Using Technology to Pray 85
6 Sounds and Signs of the Spirit 89
Sacred Spaces and Sacramentals 89
Finding God in Nature 95
Praying Through Song 102
Outward Signs of Inward Movement 105
7 Silence, Simplicity, and Solitude 113
Setting Life to a Sacred Rhythm 113
Decluttering Your Home and Soul 117
Cultivating Silence in a Noisy World 121
Everyday Hermits 126
8 Dark Nights and Dry Spells 131
Is Anybody Out There? 131
Looking Beyond Answers 137
Learning to Persevere 140
Becoming a Fool for God 143
9 Pilgrimage of the Heart 147
Walking the Way of Faith 149
Physical Journeys on the Spiritual Path 150
Interior Pilgrimage 159
10 All of Life as Prayer 161
Transformed from the Outside In 162
One Day at a Time 166
On the Breath of God 170
Making Every Moment a Prayer 173
Appendixes
A Favorite Prayers 177
B Prayer Practices 190
C Everyday resources 197
Index 203