Hello book club friends! Happy (almost) March! Another month means another book club choice and focus! Here are all the details:

March Focus: Spiritual Disciplines

What comes to mind when you think of spiritual disciplines? A to-do list to be checked off as just another item in your day? A legalistic part of Christianity? A good gift from our Heavenly Father? I’ve wondered through these same questions and somehow always ended up with believing a checklist would help me be a better Christian. If I can just do such and such… I’ve held strict quiet time schedules and worked through prayer journals and somehow expected them to be a magic formula for me. An equation that would end with me being better, closer to God, a good Christian. But it didn’t exactly work like that. Not to mention, it’s exhausting. I’m excited for this month’s focus and book choice because though we are talking about spiritual disciplines we will be learning that instead of being burdens for us to carry, or just one more thing to add to our already busy days, they can be the tools God uses to bring us closer to Him. It’s less about the equation and more about Christ-who is the author and perfector of our faith.

March Book Choice:

This month we will be reading “Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted” by Gretchen Ronnevik. Gretchen is a writer, mother, knitter, and mentor. On her website, she says the thesis of this book is that

“we need to look to Christ as the author and perfector of our faith. It’s not about getting our act together, it’s about learning to depend on Christ, and his sufficiency. While systems and checklists aren’t bad, the point is to depend on the Spirit to grow our faith, not a method. Legalism in this area of our life is equally as bad as apathy. The answer isn’t one or the other. It’s Christ.”

This is good news, isn’t it?! It’s not about how many hours we log reading our Bibles or praying or fasting but how much we learn to depend on Christ. It is easier (maybe) to check off a list but how much more freeing is it to truly lean upon our Savior? It’s this time of year when the shine of a new year has worn off that feels like the perfect time to study this topic and hopefully bring us into a great dependency on Christ.

TO DO:

*Purchase your copy of “Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted.” It is currently $5.99 for the Kindle version on Amazon!

*Read at your own pace and join us back on the blog on Friday, March 31st for the discussion questions.

*Enjoy!

Happy reading, friends!