Sacred Ordinary, The: Embracing the Holy in the Everyday [Paperback]

Leigh McLeroy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

The first day of school. A dinner party gone wrong. The chore of changing a light bulb or facing up to the junk drawer. Life is full of ordinary people, places, things, moments, and words. But underneath the ordinary we can find glimpses of an extraordinary God. In her lyrical style, Leigh McLeroy peels back the layers of regular life to offer modern-day parables that connect us in a tangible way to God. The Sacred Ordinary captures those moments where, if we linger, we will see that the earth really is full of heaven and that every common bush is afire with the beauty of God. Perfect for individual use as devotional reading or use in a small group, The Sacred Ordinary offers a deeper level of reflection on life and God than many of us have in our very ordinary lives.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Have you ever glimpsed the sacred in your ordinary life? God places his divine beauty all around us, as Leigh McLeroy demonstrates through these truth-filled devotional reflections. Her captivating descriptions and stories bring to life the holiness hidden in the ordinary places, people, things, moments, and words of our lives: in a junk drawer, a sidewalk concert, a box of crayons, a child's bedtime prayer. Each entry includes a brief Scripture passage with questions or reflections for you to personalize her insights. McLeroy writes with honesty, insight, and an artist's perspective, illuminating the beauty, truth, and holiness woven throughout everyday life. The Sacred Ordinary will guide you on this journey through the seemingly insignificant moments and help you recognize the divine in your ordinary days. Leigh McLeroy is a contributing writer for several books and the author of The Beautiful Ache and Moments for Singles. A frequent conference and event speaker, she is also the creator of Wednesday words, an email devotional with a life of its own. Leigh is a graduate of Texas A&M University and makes her home in Houston, Texas.

About the Author

Leigh McLeroy writes and speaks with a passion for God and has a keen eye for his presence in everyday life. She is the author of The Beautiful Ache and is a contributing writer for several books. She is also a feature writer and the creator of Wednesday Words, an e-mail devotional with a life of its own. A frequent conference and event speaker, Leigh makes her home in Houston, Texas.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Revell (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800731433
• ISBN-13: 978-0800731434
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,030,744 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Leigh McLeroy writes and speaks with a passion for God and a keen eye for his presence in everyday life. As an author, blogger, conference speaker and Bible teacher, Leigh fully engages in the moment - and tells the truth, but "tells it slant" - sharing the reality of God's love and grace a way that beckons, woos, resonates and compels.

A former corporate marketing executive and mega-church staffer, Leigh now devotes the majority of her time to writing, speaking and collaborating on various creative projects. "I want to be available to go where God calls, and to do what God wants done. The assignment will look a little different for me every day - but I celebrate the beautiful uncertainty of this Christ-following journey called life."

From her home base in Houston, Texas, Leigh can be found teaching in her inner-city church, City of Refuge Evangelical Presbyterian, traveling to various women's conferences and other events as a keynote speaker, working on one of her books, or writing Wednesday words - a weekly e-devotional she launched six years ago that she says "has taken on a life of its own."

Her books include Moments for Singles (NavPress 2004), The Beautiful Ache (Revell, 2007), The Sacred Ordinary (Revell, 2008) and Treasured (WaterBrook, 2009). She may be reached at www.leighmcleroy.com, and www.wednesdaywords.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very special devotional, January 25, 2008

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Ordinary, The: Embracing the Holy in the Everyday (Paperback)

What do a junk drawer, an iPod and a Broadway musical have in common? They are all instruments to see God, if you so choose.

In The Sacred Ordinary, Leigh McLeroy gives us 112 daily meditations based on everyday things. You don't have to be in a stained glass-covered cathedral to hear from God, He is present in even the most ordinary things if we will only look. I especially enjoyed her take on the iPod. That no matter how much we try to compress God into "randomly ordered samplings," there is no way we can ever comprehend Him.

The Sacred Ordinary is composed of sections of Ordinary Places, Ordinary People, Ordinary Things, Ordinary Moments, and Ordinary Words-and nothing is so ordinary as to not be mentioned. She also includes an appropriate scripture and a thought for you to apply the passage to your life and circumstances.

I think what is special about this devotional, is that it trains us to see God in OUR ordinary lives, not just hers. It challenged me to continually be on a mission to see and hear from God in my most frustrating moments as well as the "holy" ones. This isn't a devotional to work through and then shelve; rather it is one to keep on the end table and page through on a regular basis. Be challenged. Your ordinary can be extraordinary.

Armchair Interviews says: Great gift for yourself or someone you love.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great gift!, January 31, 2008

By 

anonymous (Houston, Texas United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sacred Ordinary, The: Embracing the Holy in the Everyday (Paperback)

this is a wonderful book with a very cool feature in the back...a guide for a 5-day personal retreat. i used it recently on vacation and was so blessed by it. it really helped to give some structure and focus to a time of solitude. i highly recommend this book for a thought-provoking, inspirational read.

5.0 out of 5 stars The Sacred Ordinary, January 20, 2009

By 

Celeste W. Letchworth (Hendersonville, NC) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sacred Ordinary, The: Embracing the Holy in the Everyday (Paperback)

Another excellent book by Leigh McLeroy. As with her book, The Beautiful Ache, I'm sure I will be handing out copies of this one.