|  Hearing With the Heart
A Gentle Guide to Discerning God’s Will for Your Life
What does God wish for you in your life? How do you listen for God’s gracious guidance as you face daily decisions, both big and small? And how do you know that what you are hearing comes from God—and not your ego or simply your own wishful thinking?
Only through learning to hear with our hearts tuned closely to God can we discern how we should find our way through the crowded and confusing thickets of our lives. In Hearing with the Heart, popular writer and retreat leader Debra Farrington leads you through a gentle process for discovering how to invite God’s presence into every aspect of your daily life. Her story-filled discussions of key practices such as prayer, meditation, reading, reflection, and attention to your body, studies, and your relationship with friends and family, help you discover how to be open to discerning God’s will. Hearing with the Heart gives you the practical help you need to bring you closer to God. As you put these suggestions into practice you will find yourself opening more and more to God’s infinite possibilities for you.
Hearing with the Heart samples a broad range of stories taken from the Bible, classic and contemporary literature, and everyday experiences. It can be an indispensable resource for discerning how to proceed at major crossroads and navigate life’s challenges—at work, in relationships, or during crisis situations—and how to truly be partners with God in creating your life. This gentle and compassionate companion for helping to reveal God’s hopes and desires for you will not only bring joy to your life but also to the lives of others and to a world where peace, love, and charity can flourish.
Reviews
“Farrington’s touch is indeed gentle as she guides readers through the steps of discernment. Rather than relying on cautionary tales of the bad things that will happen if people fail to discern God’s will, Farrington emphasizes God’s love throughout the book. She makes the case that God’s will for humanity matches perfectly with the heart’s deepest desires and enables people to do the most good for those around them. Her emphasis on the positive is enhanced by her balanced use of scripture, personal anecdote, and stories from the lives of Christians throughout history, such as the Desert Fathers and the Society of Friends (Quakers). Perhaps most impressive is Farrington’s ability to use scripture and Christian orthodoxy as the primary basis of her insights…but at the same time honor less orthodox and even non-Christian traditions…Farrington’s final section invites readers to go through the process of discernment, but one need not be at a crossroads to appreciate this book.”
—Starred review in Publishers Weekly, December 23, 2002
“Even as Farrington prods the reader with practical exercises to discern God’s will, Farrington appreciates the mystery of faith, which prevents her advice from becoming formulaic. She strikes a commendable balance between the practical and the mystical. A potential classic.”
—Christianity Today “Rich with tradition and wise in counsel, this guide for the perplexed provides prayerful and practical guidance for all of us who yearn to live our lives as the persons we are made to be.” —Marcus Borg, author of Reading the Bible Again for the First Time
“The perfect handbook for anyone seeking a direction in life: practical information combined with grace-filled writing and a thorough explanation of the discernment process. Highly recommended for church discernment groups.” —Nora Gallagher, author of Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith and Practicing Resurrection: A Memoir of Discernment
“This book eases us into discernment so skillfully—with stories, prayers, and simple practices—that by the end we are eager to listen for all the ways God speaks in our lives.” —Kathleen Fischer, author of Transforming Fire
“‘Gentle’ is the operative word of this title. In her hospitable and deceptively simple book Debra Farrington serves as a wise guide on the path toward discernment of God’s will for us. Her highly practical suggestions and exercises are in themselves an accessible and valuable resource for anyone who has heard God’s call to go deeper.” —Margaret Guenther, author of Holy Listening: The Art of Spiritual Direction
“Whether we are searching for signs of God’s activity in our daily lives or looking for divine guidance on the eve of making important decisions a knowledgeable spiritual guide is an indispensable resource. By teaching us accessible, time-honored tools of discernment Farrington trains our hearts to ‘hear’ and our eyes to ‘see’ the tug of God’s often gentle yet customarily persistent presence in our lives.” —Joseph D. Driskill, author of Protestant Spiritual Exercises
“Having led many retreats, Farrington knows how to communicate with those new to spiritual discernment. Profound and delightful stories—ancient, biblical, contemporary, and personal—illustrate various modes of discernment, while very do-able practices guide readers as they start down their own paths.” —Cynthia Crowner, Director of Kirkridge Retreat Center
“Wise, thoughtful, gentle, honest—Debra Farrington is exactly the kind of companion we are hoping to find to travel with us on our journey home.” —Robert Benson, author of Living Prayer
“This book on discernment of spirits will be of most help to spiritual seekers within Christian traditions who desire to be led by God as a way of life. Spiritual directors will want to recommend it to their directees as a valuable aid to grasping for themselves the central principles of discernment in highly accessible, everyday language that speaks across denominational differences. The suggested exercises for reflection are extremely helpful.” —Dr. Janet K. Ruffing, Fordham University
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