The holiday season offers us many opportunities to nurture and inspire each other through the spiritual practice of gift-giving. This is a time to use our creativity, imagination, appreciation for beauty and meaning, sense of wonder, and playfulness in service of others — our friends and families. Our kindness and sense of justice is also exercised when we make end-of-the-year donations to charities working on our favorite causes on behalf of others.
• From what we've reviewed in 2007, we culled some recommendations: spiritual books, novels, children's books, and DVDs. See below for details and links to our full reviews. Visit our S&P Gift Store to purchase these items.
• To share many moments of inspiration about spirituality and practice, give the Spiritual Literacy DVD series; individual volumes on 4 - 5 practices (for example, Vol. 2 covers Enthusiasm, Forgiveness, Gratitude, and Hospitality) are $24.95 each; the entire series of 26 half-hour programs is $125.00. Visit the Spiritual Literay Project pages to order the Spiritual Literacy DVDs, view clips, and see resources available on the series.
• Give an end-of-the-year donation to Spirituality & Practice. We are currently raising money to upgrade our e-course system to allow more flexibility in scheduling courses and private practice circles. We also would like to have a E-course Scholarship Fund for those on fixed or limited incomes who would like to take our courses. You will have an opportunity to contribute for these purposes or in general support of Spirituality & Practice ("anything you need most") on the donation page on our secure server. Visit this page to Donate Now or for the address to send a check.
From Our Reviews: Holiday Gift Suggestions
Books Novels Children's Books DVDs
• Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy by Donald Kraybill, Steven Nolt, and David Zercher — A soulful and thought-provoking meditation by three scholars on the Amish understanding and practice of forgiveness and loving one's enemies.
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver, Steven L. Hopp, Camille Kingsolver — Makes a good case for farmer's markets, locally grown food, and the kitchen as the hub of family life.
• The Bible: Genesis, Exodus, The Song of Solomon illustrations by Marc Chagall — A gift edition of three books of the Hebrew Bible illustrated by some of Marc Chagall's most imaginative paintings.
• Breaking the Drought: Visions of Grace by Stephen Levine — A collection of 81 spiritual poems.
• Chasing Joy: Musings on Life in a Bittersweet World by Edward Hays — An exuberant guidebook to joyful living that celebrates laughter, love, patience, hope, singing, smiles, and happiness.
• A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted by Will Bowen — The story of a campaign for a complaint-free world that mushroomed into an international phenomenon.
• Dirty Wow Wow and Other Love Stories by Cheryl Katz and Jeffrey Katz — Photographs and stories about 50 treasured companions including toys and stuffed animals.
• Fabulous Friendship Festival: Loving Wildly, Learning Deeply, Living Fully with Our Friends by Sark — A charming and frolicsome look at the joy and creative expressions of friendship.
• Finding God in a Tangled World: Thoughts and Parables by Juris Rubenis and Maris Subacs — A soul-stirring collection of parables and imaginative reflections by two Christians in Latvia..
• Furry Logic: Wild Wisdom by Jane Seabrook — A fine gift book for animal lovers with a sense of humor.
• Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott — Another quirky and appealing collection of essays on her journey of faith in our crazy world.
• The Lost Spiritual World - Mark by Ruth Rimm — A beautifully designed interfaith work using the Gospel of Mark as a launch pad for meditations on a spirituality that is open, hosipitable, and flexible in its outreach.
• Make Room for God: Cleaning Away the Clutter by Susan Rowland — Tips and spiritual practices to help clear away the clutter in your life so you can make room for God and beauty.
• Notes on the Need for Beauty: An intimate Look at an Essential Quality by J. Ruth Gendler — An enthralling, poetic, and creative meditation on beauty and the important role it plays in our lives.
• One City: A Declaration of Interdependence by Ethan Nichtern — A rich and multidimensional presentation of connections as an important Buddhist spiritual practice.
• Porch Talk: Stories of Decency, Common Sense, and Other Endangered Species by Philip Gulley — A relaxed and edifying collection of stories demonstrating the art of everyday spirituality with pieces on family, marriage, friendship, simplicity, and more.
• Prayers for the Domestic Church: A Handbook for Worship in the Home by Edward Hays — A wonderful collection of prayers, blessings, and rituals that can be used in the home as expressions of everyday spirituality.
• Rumi: Bridge to the Soul: Journeys Into the Music and Silence of the Heart by Coleman Barks — A splendiferous new collection of 90 poems by Rumi translated by Coleman Barks.
• Sightings: Extraordinary Encounters with Ordinary Birds by Sam Keen — Twelve well-written and creative essays designed to draw out our wonder and respect for the beauty and mystery of birds and other creatures.
• Shoe Fleur: A Footwear Fantasy by Michel Tcherevkoff — A gift book with creative and playful images of shoes and bags made out of flowers and leaves.
• The 100 Best Vacations to Enrich Your Life by Pam Grout — Many value-laden ideas for those who want to spend their leisure time in meaningful ways.
NOVELS
• Breakfast With Buddha by Roland Merullo — A salutary novel charting the spiritual process of transformation of a book editor traveling with a Buddhist monk.
• Life's Golden Ticket: An Inspirational Novel by Brendon Burchard — A spiffy parable set in an amusement park about a man on a quest for personal transformation.
• The Maytrees by Anne Dillard — A beautifully written novel that probes the mysteries of love and marriage in the lives of a Cape Cod couple.
• The Monk Upstairs: A Novel by Tim Farrington — An enjoyable read with interesting and engaging characters who spur us to think more seriously about love, faith, and death.
• The Prayer Chest: A Novel by by August Gold and Joel Fotinos — A spiritual adventure story about the power of prayer and the pluck it takes to surrender to God and welcome all that comes our way.
CHILDREN'S BOOKS
• The Blessing of the Beasts by Ethel Pochocki — A bright and wonderful children's book about two animal outcasts who are properly honored as being royal heirs in God's kingdom.
• Four Feet, Two Sandals by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed — A touching and edifying account of the friendship forged between two young girls in a refugee camp in Pakistan.
• Knitting Nell by Julie Jersild Roth — A sterling role model of a little girl who knits to serve others.
• My Travels with Clara by Mary Tavener Homes — A delightful true account of a rhinoceros's journey through Europe in the eighteenth century written for children eight years and older.
• Sky Sweeper by Phillis Gershator — An exceptional children's book set in Japan about the spiritual nature of work.
DVDS
• Amazing Grace — An enlightening drama about a zealous abolitionist in eighteenth century England who models for us a moral heroism.
• Charlotte's Web — A delightful and enchanting screen version of the children's classic by E/B. White about friendship, the awesome power of words, and the real life of the imagination.
• Freedom Writers — An inspiring drama about an idealistic teacher who breaks down the walls separating her students from each other and enables them to celebrate their unity in diversity.
• Hairspray — A jubilant, funny, and phantasmagorical movie musical about an outsider who finds a way to fulfill her dreams.
• The Namesake — An astonishing film about a Bengali family and their experiences in Calcutta and Manhattan as they deal with divided loyalties and yearn for love, freedom, and meaning.
• Stranger Than Fiction — An endearing comedy about the spiritual transformation of a rigid, shy, and lonely I.R.S. agent whose life is upended by forces beyond his control.
• Sweet Land — A tender and touching film about the blooming of love, the poignant tug of place, and the challenges of openness in a rural Midwest community in the 1920s.
• Year of the Dog — A comedy about a lonely young woman who follows her bliss and finds all she needs in the companionship of animals.
• 10 Items or Less — A light-hearted and feel-good independent film about two strangers who connect in a way that surprises them both and enriches their lives.