Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families: Living the Faith in Daily Life

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"Faith, as Garland understands it, is active, a matter of doing as well as believing. And this book about faith is active as well. In the end, this generous and appreciative account also delivers a challenge to families, urging them to disciplined engagement in the practices of faith." -- From the Foreword by Dorothy C. Bass "The research behind this book-- in-depth interviews with families in their home settings-- allows families to explain what faith means to them and how faith works in family life. A must-read for families and persons who work with families." -- Dr. Richard D. Sutton, director, Family Life Ministries, American Baptist Churches, U.S.A. "Diana Garland shares insights from the best of her many worlds . . . as a respected researcher and educator, as a profound writer, and as a wife and mother. These stories of faith have us smiling one minute and wiping tears the next as we, too, are moved to appreciate our own family stories." -- Dr. Bo Prosser, coordinator, Congregational Life, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship "When it comes to faith formation, Diana Garland has wonderfully moved us from counting heads in church pews to listening to families stories in their homes. Families find identity in the stories. Family life is the laboratory for faith formation, values development, resilience, and hope for the future." -- Dr. Dick Hardel, executive director, The Institute for Faith, Renewal, and Wellness "Emminently practical, deeply theological, biblically rooted, and spiritually affirming, Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families reminds us again and again that it is God who created families, God who defines family, and God who places people infamilies-- and God is not a cookie-cutter God." -- Arthur M. Kelly, coordinator, communications and publishing, Church of God Ministries, Church of God, Anderson, Indiana "Compelling stories of everyday family life that invite and guide the reader's own remembering with family members and living the faith journey with new or renewed vigor." -- Anne E. Streaty Wimberly, Professor of Christian Education, Director of the Youth Hope-Builders, Academy and the Ecumenical Families Alive Project, Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta, Georgia "This book gives credence to the importance of family story, of time spent with one another, of tradition-making and of survival during hard times." -- MaryJane Pierce Norton, team leader, Family & Life Span Ministries, The General Board of Discipleship, The United Methodist Church When families are faced with crises and challenges-- unemployment, the untimely death of a family member, natural disasters and chronic illnesses-- those who seem to weather the crisis best are often those who have an active spiritual dimension to their lives together. And in times of joy and celebration families with strong spiritual lives rejoice in deeper and more wondrous ways. But what exactly is it that characterizes faith and spirituality in family life? Identifying resilience, strength, and faith in the stories of all kinds of families, "Sacred Stories of Ordinary Families" motivates readers to think about how faith shapes their own family lives. Drawn from Diana R. Garland's extensive interviews with 110 families, this book includes stories from ordinary families whose lives together both reveal and rely on extraordinary faith.