• Helps bridge the gap between love of God and love of nature
• A separate Facilitator’s Guide accompanies the book for small group usage
Many people experience God most strongly in nature but do not know how to incorporate this experience into their spiritual life. Others question whether Christianity has room for nature at all and seek alternatives elsewhere, often leaving Christianity entirely. This book addresses this crucial issue by providing a resource for fostering a closer relationship with God and creation.
With a step-by-step approach, this book provides a framework integrating asceticism with the contemplation of nature. Each chapter contains a “take it home” section for applying the lessons learned outdoors to everyday life, connecting God and nature as seamless components of spirituality. Topics include gratitude, delight, appreciation, wonder, discernment, reverence, mortality, love, beauty, humility, silence, and hope.
Introduction
Journey One: Waking Up
Chapter 1 Reorientation
Chapter 2 Noticing
Note: Being Embodied
Chapter 3 Delight, Surprise and Wonder
Chapter 4 Appreciation and Respect
Chapter 5 Concentration: Getting in Touch
Note: On Expectations: Letting Go
Chapter 6 Thanksgiving
Note: Discernment and Diamonds
Journey Two: The Road to Kinship
Chapter 7 Facing Our Mortality
Chapter 8 Reverence
Chapter 9 Hospitality
Note: Prying Open the Door of Our Heart
Chapter 10 Humility: Turning Outward
Chapter 11 Sharing Creation’s Pain
Chapter 12 Settling into Silence
Journey Three: Encountering the Burning Bush
The Love Exercises
Chapter 13 Giving in Love
Chapter 14 Responding in Love
Note: Dancing with David: Prayer Revisited
Chapter 15 Returning God’s Love
Chapter 16 Beauty
Note: Healing Prayer
Chapter 17 Radiating Beauty
Chapter 18 Revealing the Children of God
Chapter 19 Faith, Vision, and Hope
Chapter 20 Who is My Neighbor?
Appendix
Initial Reflections
Thinking about Prayer and Water
Prayer and Water Management: Creating a Life Framework
Resources on Prayer
"This is a beautiful book. Reading it is like climbing to the top of tree and looking out at the wondrous radiance of life. It is simple and yet profound, drawing the reader to reflect, gaze and wonder, for in each moment of life, God is shining through."
––Ilia Delio, OSF, Connelly Chair in Christian Theology, Villanova University
"Living in an Icon is a must read! It opened me up in new ways to the beauty of creation and the wonder of being in a loving relationship with God and others, through deeply experiencing God's creation personally."
––Connie Hanson, Director of Christians Caring for Creation, Pasadena, California
"Through a disciplined program of spiritual instruction, Gottfried and Krueger show us how to open God's books of nature and scripture together. Those who wish for a deeper connection with the source of life will find new hope and energy in this book."
––Rev. Dr. Owen Owens, co-chair of the National Religious Coalition of Creation Care
"Living in an Icon: A Program for Growing Closer to Creation and to God is an extremely well written and highly accessible book about spirituality for both beginners and those with more advanced experience in the area of spirituality. The authors lay out a clear and detailed program for developing spiritual practices in line with the ancient Christian tradition and established theological foundations. Living in an Icon presents clear, precise, and accurate instructions on the timeless Christian practices of meditation and contemplation, as well as step-by-step directions on how to engage the natural world as a means of discovering the divine presence in the God's created order. By teaching us to engage ordinary experience and the natural environment with a deep sense of mystery and awe the authors succeed in demonstrating how the spiritual practices and attitudes once the exclusive domain of monks and hermits can be translated into the daily lives or ordinary believers. Designed for both individuals and small communities (there is a separate handbook for group facilitators or retreat guides) this work provides a welcome resource for all those who are interested in awakening their own spiritual lives, continuing to deepen their own journey, or are working with others on developing and deepening theirs."
––Fr. John Markey, Professor of Theology and Director of the PhD in Spirituality Program at Oblate School of Theology
