Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love [Paperback]

Mike Mason (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 19, 1999

In the deepest part of our hearts and souls is the desire to love well. Yet in our struggle to do so, we learn that, as Mike Mason puts it, "We are not born with love; it is something we must learn." Now, in Practicing the Presence of People, he helps us launch that learning process. Mason points the way to fresh knowledge and fresh experience, showing how we can discover new things about those we love, understand them from the inside out, tenderly identify with their weaknesses, and celebrate that they too were lovingly made by the hand of God.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

In the deepest part of our hearts and souls is the desire to love well. Yet in our struggle to do so, we learn that, as Mike Mason puts it, "We are not born with love; it is something we must learn." Now, in Practicing the Presence of People, he helps us launch that learning process. Mason points the way to fresh knowledge and fresh experience, showing how we can discover new things about those we love, understand them from the inside out, tenderly identify with their weaknesses, and celebrate that they too were lovingly made by the hand of God.

About the Author

Mike Mason is the author of the best-seller The Mystery of Marriage and The Gospel of Job. A full-time writer for fifteen years, he attends Pacific Community Church. He and his wife, Karen, a M.D. in general practice, live in Langley, Brittish Columbia, Canada with their daughter.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: WaterBrook Press (October 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1578562651
• ISBN-13: 978-1578562657
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,854 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Relationships > Friendship

More About the Author

If you go to my website at mikemasonbooks.com, you'll see my tag line: "Purveyor of Fine Sentences." I write sentences, not books. Someone once said that a writer's job is to make good sentences and the rest will take care of itself. So I try to make every sentence true and beautiful. As the sentences accumulate and start heading in a direction, books happen. (Maybe my website should be mikemasonsentences.com?)
This is not just a philosophy of writing but of life. It's moments that count, more than the grand scheme. Live great moments and the rest will sort itself out.
My first great moment happened in 1952 when I came into the world in Peterborough, Canada. By age eleven I wanted to be a writer, and although I got many things wrong in life, one thing I got right was to hang onto the writing dream and pursue it single-mindedly. After earning an M.A. in English from the University of Manitoba, I spent my twenties doing odd jobs to support my writing, from garbage-collecting to journalism to library work.
In 1982 I married Karen, a family doctor. We spent our first year of marriage studying theology at Regent College in Vancouver, and we've lived in British Columbia ever since. We have one daughter, Heather, born in 1987, who is pursuing dance studies in Toronto.
In nearly three decades of writing, I've published five devotional books, two collections of short stories, and now a pair of fantasy novels, The Blue Umbrella and The Violet Flash. I'm currently working on a collection of my Christmas stories, and also on a book of a very different sort, an account of heavenly visions entitled Adventures in Heaven.
Turning to novel-writing at age fifty has meant a radical change. In many ways I had to learn my craft all over again and work through many fears and insecurities. The result, however, is deeply satisfying, and now with more novels on the way I have a renewed sense of challenge and joy in my work.
All in all I enjoy a simple life filled with family and friends, our dog Shelby, books, music, and prayer.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, June 18, 2004

By 

A. Guzewicz "StereophonicSound" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love (Paperback)

Besides the bible, no other book has had a more positive impact on my life than Practicing the Presence of People. In first choosing to read this book, I desired to love people better. I was on a mission's trip and wanted to bless those I was serving. This book broadened my vision for reaching others and filled me with more of God's love than I'd ever experienced before. Each chapter drew out different nuances to my understanding of God's will for my life. I began to understand why some of my relationships had gone awry or were stifled. What struck me the most was Mason's claim that God's deepest desire for us is to see God's beauty in others. Not in a moralistic "oh they're perfect" kind of way, but in practical ways that improved the fruit of my relationships as a mentor, friend, disciple, etc.

Mason's book is not for Christians who think, "It's simple, the bible is black and white." But if you want to learn more about God's desire for us, Mason illustrates the heart of the bible with craft! For example, the bible is showered with verses of praise describing the glory of God in people (praising God for loving us enough by sending Jesus to die for us and draw out that glory more). Practically, our heart should overflow. But it won't until God saves us personally. We only begin to see the glimmer of God's glory in others when we've dealt with the frustrations of trying to be in good relationship with God, our self, and others.

Scripture is clear. In Genesis, we were created in God's image and were in sweet communion with God, and then there was the fall of humanity with Adam and Eve's choices. From there, fortunately for us, God sent Jesus and the Holy Spirit, to continue our story and relationship with him. We walk this journey every day towards or away from a relationship with God, and people. Again, it's solid theology to think that God's glory is waiting to be unlocked in all of us. Furthermore, if you study Jesus' life thoroughly, relationships are critical. Here's a few verses from the bible that Mason draw's out in his book, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind," "Love your neighbor as yourself," and even "Love your enemy's." And finally why? "Because God first loved us." For Christians to actually take the "greatest commandment" (love the lord and your neighbor) seriously would revolutionize how the world actually views Christians. Sure, I completely believe the bible when it brings testimony to Jesus dying for our sins, but the proof is in the pudding. How do you make disciples of all nations? Well we don't need any more Christians hitting people over the head with the bible, that's for sure. What we need is love. Friendship is the vehicle for deeper compassion.

Lastly, I find Mason's insight into God's heart for us captivating. I may not know 100% that God actually prays for us, but what's wrong with thinking that he might? What if I phrased it the opposite way by saying God never prays for us. Which do you actually think is true? I think we need to ask ourselves tougher questions than only what the bible says. We need to step out of linear thinking and grasp what the bible means. I am confident that Mason's book gives a healthy, Godly look at our relationship with our self, others, and God.

1 Corinthians 13:1 says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."

"Forgive the dream crusher and your dreams will never be crushed again." -Mike Mason, Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Learning to love the way God intended us to love....., October 2, 2000

By 

Jim C. (Fort Wayne, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love (Paperback)

This book does more than challenge us to love the way God intended us to love; it shows us the way. It's easy to love from a distance, in "Practicing the Presence of People", Mike Mason shows us how to love close up. Maybe I needed that lesson; my copy is worn and tattered. Buy this book...no, buy two and give one to a friend!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Captures the Heart, September 6, 2001

By 

Jean V "Jean" (Adams, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Practicing the Presence of People: How We Learn to Love (Paperback)

Every word in this wonderful book rings true. As the song says, "What the world needs now is love, true love; that's the only thing there's just to little of...". This is a book that puts shoe leather to that pretty saying. Want to really understand people? Want to build stronger relationships? Then this is the book for you. The bonus is that Mike Mason is an accomplished writer who chisels every sentence. I have purchased three copies and given them to each of my college-age children. Now I need to get another for myself!