“This book has wonderful and valuable things to say. I won’t soon forget them.”–Frederick Buechner
Have you ever had a conversation that went far deeper than the words spoken or an experience where you felt you had participated in something sacred–that you had been part of the unbidden activity of God? Although these situations may seem rare and unexplainable, they are reminders that God’s grace surrounds us constantly and shows up in manifold ways to those who have eyes to see the sacred in everyday life. “These sacramental moments are the bursts of revelation that give spiritual order to our otherwise disordered lives,” says veteran journalist Dean Nelson. In this colorful, story-driven introduction to sacramental living, Nelson offers all Christians a way to see the presence of God amid the chaos and monotony of daily life. Each chapter emphasizes a different kind of sacramental moment, showing how it can be a lens through which we can see more of God.
Pre- order here: http://www.amazon.com/God-Hides-Plain-Sight-Chaotic/dp/1587432331/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1246561204&sr=1-2
Endorsements
“Dean Nelson has a lively, conversational writing style, and this book has wonderful and valuable things to say. I won’t soon forget them.”–Frederick Buechner, author of Listening to Your Life
“In a world where so much miraculous is perceived as ordinary, Dean Nelson points out the places where we see God in our everyday lives, helping us understand that the mundane might actually be holy. In a wonderful narrative, Nelson weaves the sacred presence of God through his text, and reveals that thread also running through our own lives. A lovely read.”–Donald Miller, author of Blue Like Jazz
“The church has long used the concept of sacraments—outward signs of inward grace—to name the spaces where God meets us in an especially present way. But for many Christians, that language seems abstract, even (sadly) foreign. Dean Nelson lovingly explores those spaces of encountering God; his luminous book has helped me see the sacred in the ordinary anew. I am grateful.” – Lauren Winner, Duke Divinity School, author of Girl Meets God
“Dean Nelson is God’s spy, looking for God in all the times and places most of us would never think to explore. He doesn’t miss much. Nelson combines a journalist’s gift for involving us in the stories that are happening all around us with a professor’s attentiveness to the sacramental nature of this God-created, Christ-redeemed life in which we are immersed. Combining the readability of excellent writing and the reliability of sound scholarship, God Hides in Plain Sight is better than a spy novel.”–Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message, professor of spiritual theology emeritus, Regent College, Vancouver
“Dean Nelson writes beautifully. And no less wonderful, he sees beautifully and knows how to help us see what he sees. In God Hides in Plain Sight, he will help you spot what is most worth seeing (and very easily missed): the beauty of God camouflaged in the sacrament of your daily experience, around you, right now, whoever and wherever you are.”–Brian McLaren, author, activist, brianmclaren.net
“If God is indeed hidden in the world around us, then we’re blessed to have a warm, entertaining tour guide in Dean Nelson. He leads us through the sacraments with humor and creative insight, expertly pointing out the places–and the Presence–most of us miss along the way.”–Jason Boyett, author of Pocket Guide to the Bible and Pocket Guide to the Afterlife
Just finished reading God Hides in Plain Sight– What a beautifully blended work of what is most precious in life. Dean Nelson has gotten it right. Pain…God…Joy…God…Loss…God…Hope…God.
Real life with God in the very middle of it all.
A reader from St. Louis wrote this to me: “Just finished your new book and was deeply touched. I’ve had this ‘sacred in the ordinary’ thing on my heart all year and am now teaching a class at my church: Faith Meets Life. I would love to include God Hides in Plain Sight in our reading list. Thank you for sharing your heart with the world – in both your words and your work.
A reader in Michigan sent this comment to me: Just finished reading your latest book.I cried, I winced (the vulture scene!) and laughed out loud. I related to a lot of the stories you shared:helping school kids not feel invisible; the heart-wrenching moments of learning to ‘let go’; and, of course, experiencing the painful death of loved ones. (It’s funny because when I was reading some of the stories where you wrote about your neighbors, etc., I wondered if they ever ending up reading what you wrote…and then you shared the story about the one who confronted you that one day! Hilarious!) I also enjoyed reading the parts about knowing who we are in Christ, without the titles, roles, the masks!I love focusing on who I am as a beloved child of God, looking at myself through HIS grace-filled eyes and not through my own distorted and tainted view. Just knowing I’m enough, just as I am, to be loved by God. Anyway, that must have been quite an undertaking writing this book—it’s obvious how time-consuming and arduous a task it was at times—but ‘thank you’. It’s certainly given me a better perspective on my own life’s circumstances and now I tread a little more lightly throughout my day and take a little more time to witness the sacred going on all around me. It’s like my ‘sacred radar’ has been given a tune up! I’m looking forward to reading “The Power of Serving Others,” now…with the anticipation that God is going to touch my heart once again.
A reader from Phoenix sent this comment to me:
“I have a bit of a confession … I’ve been trying to plow through the book but can’t seem to go very fast because I keep getting wrecked!… If it’s any indication I’ve been reading for a week and I’m only in chapter 3… GREAT STUFF! I shared some of it with our prayer group last week and people were in tears when they recognized how close God was to them in their normal lives. We’re doing a new exercise where we give testimonies on a weekly basis and we’re calling it God in the miraculous and mundane. THANKS for writing this book.”
I read your book from cover to cover and it is the first book that I have ever completed. I laughed and I cried and God touched me deeply through your words. You opened my eyes again to how simple it is to see that God is with us in everything we do, we all just need to take the time to look. This is a book that should be required reading for anyone who belives that God works in the lives of ordinary everyday people.
This book got me my first 100% on a theology paper. Dean has an amazing way of making the ethereal real without watering down truth to the level of Jr. High devotionals. Thanks for being so vulnerable and honest in this book. Merton would be proud.
Wow! Congratulations! Thank you for your kind assessment. And I am proud of you for what must have been a great theology paper!
Will seek and find. Would pay triple for an audio book version, complete with a few tangential anecdotes.
Audio book? Really? Just call me and I’ll read to you over the phone.
That would be a hoot, my good man. Hope all is sunshine in your world.