Joy in Divine Wisdom: Practices of Discernment from Other Cultures and Christian Traditions (Enduring Questions in Christian Life) - Hardcover

Dawn, Marva J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0787981001 ISBN 13: 9780787981006

Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 2006

Synopsis

In Joy in Divine Wisdom Marva J. Dawn introduces readers to different and intriguing ways of discerning reality and making choices. She asks us to look outside ourselves, our own cultures, and our own brands of Christianity to new ways of listening for the voice of God in our lives. As an international speaker and teacher, she has encountered much wisdom both in Christian tradition and in the many places and people she has visited around the world. In showing us these refreshing new insights about discernment, she also gives us a deeper understanding of grace, community, honesty, humility, wholeness, forgiveness, trust, suffering, and faith.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? How do we make wise decisions in our lives? How do we "discern" the right thing to do (or the right way to be, or the right path to take)? How do we listen for God in all the hubbub of our daily lives?

In Joy in Divine Wisdom Marva J. Dawn introduces readers to different and intriguing ways of discerning reality and making choices. She asks us to look outside ourselves, our own cultures, and our own brands of Christianity to new ways of listening for the voice of God in our lives. As an international speaker and teacher, she has encountered much wisdom both in Christian tradition and in the many places and people she has visited around the world. In showing us these refreshing new insights about discernment, she also gives us a deeper understanding of grace, community, honesty, humility, wholeness, forgiveness, trust, suffering, and faith.

Through the inspiring stories of people from all over the world, Marva Dawn shows us the habits that impede good decision making and elaborates on those practices and elements that encourage more prayerful thoughtfulness. Her stories remind us that although we may feel unsure about the big decisions in our lives, we will find solace when we learn to surrender to God who shares our burdens and joys. We are not alone, wrestling to figure out who we are and what we are to do. God is with us; in the end discernment is more about grace, about trusting our identity as persons enfolded in the love of others, especially the love of God.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Joy in Divine Wisdom

"'What do I do now? What on earth (or in heaven!) does God have in mind?' Our questions get bogged down in consumerist considerations and calculating individualism. America, as it turns out, is a most uncongenial, isolating culture for discerning wisdom in these matters. Marva Dawn pulls us out of this 'miry clay' and sets us down in African, Asian, and Latin American cultures where discernment is a community affair. Her lively stories, fresh and always personal, make us at home in an expansive, inclusive world of Christian brothers and sisters where it is not all 'up to me.'"
—Eugene H. Peterson, translator of The Message; professor emeritus of spiritual theology, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia

Edition details

• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0787981001
• ISBN 13: 9780787981006
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 320