The Shape of Living: Spiritual Direction for Everyday Life by David F. Ford

 I already wrote something in my freewrite yesterday about this book:

I am almost finished with The Shape of Living: Spiritual Directions for Everyday Life. It is good. I can see why they switched to Sacred Rhythms instead of this book though. This book is more philosophical in nature rather than necessarily practical, and Sacred Rhythms has a wonderfully practical component to it that people will need for helping them write their Rule of Life (Customary) for the Order of the Mustard Seed. 

 All that to say that this book is deeply reflective. He talks of the many "overwhelmings" common to us all - love and pain, grief and joy, a fear of the future or a dread of the past. He talks about the common way we cope with being overwhelmed: "We struggle against drowning in the bad overwhelmings and often feel guiltily responsible for not being on top of our situation" (p.19). 

He asks the basic question; "How, in the midst of all our overwhelming are our lives shaped?" He purports that this is done by stretching our minds, hearts, and imaginations in trying to find and invent shapes of living" (p.21). It is all in how we respond to the "overwhelmings." His chapters cover:

1. Faces and Voices: Shaping a Heart - Who are the faces and voices that concern us daily? Who are the people from our past? How is the heart of our identity shaped by these people? 

2. Vocations and Compulsions: Life-Shaping Desires. This is about longings, callings, passions, obsessions, and long-term orientations that are leading themes in our lives. What are our deepest desires? 

The first two chapters so lined up with the Imago Christi Discovery Event I just completed because our timelines revealed who those people were who shaped our lives, and there was a whole week devoted to developing a "longing" statement.

3. Power, Virtue, and Wisdom: The Shaping of Character. This asks about the secret of real goodness. It addresses how we are transformed. It was deep! I have to say that it reminded me of Dallas Willard's writings here. 

4. Secrets and Disciplines: Soul-Shaping. This is a chapter all about the "disciplines" that foster intimacy with God and as an overflow shape our soul and transform our lives. This is what the Sacred Rhythms book that replaces this book does in the Order of the Mustard Seed, and I think it was a good switch because it focuses on this more.

Ford talks about "practices of excess that go beyond the routine and try to plunge into and explore the infinite secret riches of God":

• Praying as Long as It Takes - open-ended prayer.
• Intensive Time Away with Other People
• Giving Generously and Secretly
• Music
• The Jesus Prayer
• Bible Study 
• Silence

5. Leisure and Work: Shaping Time and Energy. It is a good discussion of our addiction to "urgency," and the importance of sabbatical time. 

6. Knocked Out of Shape: Evil, suffering, and death. So interesting because I had just had a discussion with one of my directees about the purpose of suffering. It can be a great teacher if we surrender to God's purposes in it. In the midst of reading this, I had my own reemergence of suffering that has been off and on for over 30 years, and it was beautiful how God used this chapter. "Deep in the darkest moment of the passion the light forces its ways under the door. True it is Good Friday but it is also Great and Holy Saturday, Christ is dying but he is also rising" (p. 179, quoting Sheila Cassidy, Good Friday People, p. 170). I came through on the other end of that with Resurrection Sunday!

7. Kaleidoscope: Resurrection, Joy, and Feasting. "Jesus Christ is our joy" (p. 185). I have a whole talk I did about 20 years ago about joy meaning "Jesus Over You." It was about my father's death and that being the deepest experience of joy I had ever felt with God up to that point (it was 37 years ago this month). Then one of my directees asked me to do a podcast on JOY. So it was nice to read this chapter. What do I say about that? It is not something you can manufacture, but it is a commitment to a journey with JESUS, allowing him to be over you. :) 

Well, this review was more than I probably wanted it to be. I liked the book, but I can see where it would not be for everyone!