Rick Mathis currently manages medical policy for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. In his fourth book, he explores the streams of grace which lift us up and carry us through our days. Mathis is a fan of Brother Lawrence's The Practice of the Presence of God and Jean-Pierre De Caussade's The Sacrament of the Present Moment, which both describe the essentials of Christian spirituality. In various chapters, Mathis probes being hopeful, self-control, mustard seeds, community, and holiness.
His central understanding of grace is the experience of God's love in our daily lives. Mathis suggests that hope can be kept alive in our souls through a positive attitude, prayer, and reading. He wants us to see self-control as a fruit of the Spirit and something we incarnate as one of God's blessings. In a chapter on mustard seeds, Mathis points out how small actions can have big consequences. A little deed of kindness can turn a person's life around. The grace of God can also speak to us through community and holiness but we must stay awake and alert to these possibilities. The spiritual practices described in this paperback are evidence of our faith and signs of the Spirit moving within and through us.
