Restless in Christ: Answering the Call to Spiritual Commitment [Paperback]

Sarah Stockton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2004

In today's society, people are turning to meditation and prayer in record numbers, pursuing the promised benefits of a contemplative life-peace, quiet, tranquility, and rest. But what about grief, restlesness, and other stirrings of the soul? In Restless in Christ, Stockton speaks about her own experiences as a seeker and her training as a spiritual director. As she progressed on her path, she came to realize that restlesness belongs to the very essence of the spiritual life. Her insights into restlessness have helped the lives of countless seekers and teachers, and will help you too.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At first glance, it's not easy to tell what this book is about. Is it a collection of reflections on spiritual restlessness, a call to faith commitment, a wisdom book for antsy Christians or perhaps a memoir? All of the above figure in Stockton's loose gathering of short essays, written while she was an intern in a three-year program on spiritual direction: "a discipline by which those who encounter God in the fabric of their daily lives act as an attentive presence for others seeking a similar encounter." The training program requires intense self-examination, and the book's 40 chapters often sound like journal entries as they explore Stockton's feelings on topics ranging as widely as insomnia, her father's spiritual journey, Harold the predatory music teacher, marginalization, Christ as a teacher who embodies the Buddha, divorce, children who can't focus, various books she has found valuable, pros and cons of being Catholic, singing, decision-making, loving, the primacy of feeling over intellect and what she is learning about herself as she prepares to be a spiritual director. Stockton, a writer, teacher and creative consultant, writes gracefully, and her home-grown illustrations are appealing. Her self-confessed restlessness is evident in the book's lack of focus, though readers already involved in giving or receiving spiritual direction may not mind her string-of-pearls approach.
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From the Publisher

In today's society, people are turning to meditation and prayer in record numbers, pursuing the promised benefits of a contemplative life-peace, quiet, tranquility, and rest. But what about grief, restlesness, and other stirrings of the soul? In Restless in Christ, Stockton speaks about her own experiences as a seeker and her training as a spiritual director. As she progressed on her path, she came to realize that restlesness belongs to the very essence of the spiritual life. Her insights into restlessness have helped the lives of countless seekers and teachers, and will help you too.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: The Crossroad Publishing Company (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0824522532
• ISBN-13: 978-0824522537
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,930,340 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Book Worth Reading, April 10, 2004

By 

Kay Porterfield - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Restless in Christ: Answering the Call to Spiritual Commitment (Paperback)

In Restless in Spirit: Answering the Call to Spiritual Commitment, author Sarah Stockton writes about the challenges she faces as she trains to be a spritual director.

Stockton does not offer easy answers in these well-crafted essays. She explores restlessness as both a pathway to a deepening commitment to God and as a sign of God's presence in her life. As those of us who experience it know, restlessness can have sharp edges. "Acknowledging my restless spirit meant confronting my self and god," she writes. "As I did, my heart opened up, seeing inner doubts, hurts, and fears." This opening, which she explores with depth and honesty, leads her to recognize and to understand the graced moments in her life.

Reading this book has helped me to see and to know my own graced moments. I would recommend it to anyone who is experiencing discomfort in their spiritual journey and who could use a companion willing to share the wisdom she has learned along the way.