June Book Club Selection

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Product Description

God is in the details, but sometimes we just overlook him. Nancy Ortberg encourages readers to see God in this very personal, very engaging series of essays that will bring God into focus and allow you to grow deeper in your relationship with him than you had ever imagined.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #79692 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781414313320
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
A former teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church, Ortberg presents a candid compilation of personal essays on finding God in the most unlikely times and places. Ortberg, wife to bestselling author and pastor John Ortberg, opens her highly amusing and refreshingly transparent text reminiscing about bygone years as a young mom who couldn't make time for a quiet time. Recalling those nonstop, hectic early parenting seasons, Ortberg admits to feeling guilty pressure from the church at large until she experienced God's presence while sitting on a park bench, watching her kids play. She realized that particular God encounter counted as much as any quiet time did. From that moment on, Ortberg discovered a multifaceted God who delights in creating and displaying diversity from one end of creation to the other. Ortberg challenges Christians to examine their tendency to compare themselves with others, teaching them to have the courage to reach out to others selflessly and to view work as a blessed conduit to excellence. Every single offering Ortberg presents feels both beautiful and true. Christians will find themselves inhaling these fragrant written reminders of God's intimate care only to then exhale Christ's love to others in holy response. (Mar.)
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From the Inside Flap

Nancy Ortberg on LookingforGod

We get so prescriptive with the spiritual life. We prepackage it, duplicate it, mass-produce it, insist upon it, and brag about it. We make it a formula. As a result, we tend to see God from such a narrow perspective. We box God up and compartmentalize Him into thirty minutes each morning. But in reality, He is waiting for us to realize that He invades all the parts of our days . . . if only we would just pay attention.

That is what LookingforGod is all about.

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In her long-awaited debut title, Nancy Ortberg will inspire you to break away from the bland, formulaic approach to Christianity and embrace the often unexpected, at times unnerving, but always extraordinary power of God’s grace. As you journey with Nancy, you’ll come to discover God in places you would have never dreamed of looking, and you’ll experience faith on a deeper level than you ever imagined possible!

From the Back Cover

Advance praise for Nancy Ortberg’s LookingforGod

“Wow. Whether you’re a theologian, a regular churchgoer, a nominal Christian, or just curious about this Jesus guy everyone is talking about, Looking for God will overwhelm you. It is remarkably profound, poignant, and insightful, and written with an uncommon and inspired sense of joy. I couldn’t stop reading it. Amazing.”
Patrick Lencioni, bestselling author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

“For years, Nancy has been leading seekers to a relationship with God. In this book, not only does she do that, but she also finds the seeker in all of us believers too, and leads us to finding more of Him. I recommend it!”
Dr. Henry Cloud, bestselling author of Boundaries

“Nancy Ortberg’s winsome reflections on the life of faith—and the struggles that inevitably attend that life—have been, simply, balm for me. I know I will return to this book.”
Lauren F. Winner, author of Girl Meets God and Real Sex.

“Nancy Ortberg shows her beautiful storytelling ability in these pages. Her stories range from funny to poignant and from gritty to tender as they explore the spirituality of elation, depression, normalcy, regret, sacrifice, teamwork, creativity, and more. Each story is like a clue in a quest for God, and through them, readers can experience what Nancy calls ‘reconversion.’”
Brian McLaren, author/speaker (brianmclaren.net)

“Nancy Ortberg is not like Most-of-Us. At least she’s not like the Most-of-Us that experts tell us we are supposed to be. Because she’s not like Most-of-Us, she’s got something to say to All-of-Us, and it is this: Most of us are not like Most-of-Us and it’s okay not to be like Most-of-Us. Nancy’s turned her wit and wisdom and rugged honesty into a new level of authenticity. Time passed me by as I read this book.”
Scot McKnight, Ph.D., author of The Jesus Creed

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Customer Reviews

My Life
I wonder how Nancy got inside my head to know exactly what I was going through. If you have ever felt like you were not connecting with God, this book will remind you that we are NEVER NOT connected to Him. I will never again look at a sunset, the faces of my children, a mountain range or the stars the same way. Amazing book. This is a MUST read for everyone!

A great read, but also a bit frustrating
I enjoyed this book. It's deep and satisfying, but it is also a book that can be placed in a briefcase or tote bag, to be picked up and put down as time allows. Chapter 16, "Longings, Aches, and Pains," especially spoke to me. In this chapter, Mrs. Ortberg writes about how God is often most real to us when we are in difficult places. She cites as an example, the difficulty she had in moving to Chicago from her childhood home in California. After discussing idolatry of place, she concludes with a beautiful meditation on John 16.

Although I enjoyed the book, I found the first chapter, "The Problem With Quiet Time," to be very frustrating. Now, I in no way disagree with the concept of our meeting God in each and every one of our daily experiences. But, is that a replacement for quiet time? Do we ever outgrow the need for a daily encounter with the Word? This book soars not in the places where Mrs. Ortberg relates her daily experiences of God, but, rather, in the places where she filters her daily experiences through the lens of Scripture. And, she is only able to do that filtering because the Word has been written on her heart during years of daily quiet times. Evangelical and contemplative spiritualities should be viewed as "both/and" not "either/or." As an evangelical, I have much to learn from contemplatives about experiencing God in the midst of daily life. But, contemplatives have much to learn from the evangelical tradition about how to ground the interpretation of those experiences - and, hence, the knowing of God - in the Word. In this book, Mrs. Ortberg shows us how to do this by example. I wish she had been less apologetic about her evangelical background, because that background is critical to the book's success.

loved this book
"Looking for God" grabbed me, and I couldn't put it down until I reached the last page. However, it's not just a quick read. It's a well of deep truths about the wonder of God and the sometimes surprising ways that he reveals himself to us. While humor and hope permeate Nancy Ortberg's stories, my favorite chapters are 11 & 16 - about finding God in our failures and hearing his voice in the midst of our longings, aches and pains. This is real truth for real people.