Description
How can anything be ordinary if we find the glory of God there?
Whatever might be said of life's most thrilling or transformative moments, most of our time is spent in ordinary things. We spend a third of our lives sleeping. In our adult lives, perhaps a quarter to a third of each week is spent at work. And then there's more of the common stuff: eating, waiting in line, bathing, getting dressed, and watching TV. So it is that our seventy, eighty, or ninety years go by in common ways, and we have no idea where they've gone.
Is there glory in any of this? Where is the abundant life of which Jesus spoke? In this inspiring new work, J. Ellsworth Kalas says that the glory is found not just in the ecstasy of love or victory but in all of life, whether ecstatic or ordinary. Kalas believes it is possible to live with such joy and gladness of hearts that we find our ordinary lives graced by the pleasure of God. He offers a guide to spiritual contentment in the midst of busy lives, showing us the meaning in those seemingly small aspects of every day.
Reviews
"Ellsworth Kalas does it again! As only Ellsworth can do it, he shows us how God touches every fiber of our being and every facet of our lives. Kalas explores how twenty-two ordinary, everyday activities can be unique opportunities to serve and honor God as we 'do everything heartily as unto The Lord.'"
—James W. Moore, best-selling author and minister in residence at Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas, TX
"Ellsworth Kalas gives us the gift of seeing the everyday with fresh eyes, until the ordinary shines with the extraordinary. He takes the moments like eating, commuting, sleeping, shopping, and being interrupted, and turns them over in the light until they shine in new ways. Throughout this book I found myself wanting to pay closer attention to the boring moments of life to see if they really would bear weight, and to `do small things with great love.' as Mother Theresa put it. This book brings the gifts of hidden insight and hope for all of us walking through the everyday."
—Jessica LaGrone, Dean of the Chapel, Asbury Theological Seminary, and author of Broken and Blessed: God Changes the World One Person and One Family at a Time
"Dr. Kalas reminds us how to seek and experience God's pleasure in the most ordinary and mundane things of life—from walking and sleeping to reading and cleaning. This book is sure to be a treasured companion for readers in every season of life!"
—Missy Buchanan, speaker and author of Voices of Aging: Adult Children and Aging Parents Talk with God