I had the privilege of being part of the book launch team
for Bonnie Gray’s “Finding Spiritual Whitespace”. This book is a much needed oasis that
speaks truth into our hurried lives.
Bonnie weaves keen spiritual insights and revelations into her story of
a difficult childhood which led to unexpectedly dealing with PTSD and the
ravaging effect that had on her as a whole person. She speaks from a deep well of experience,
and relates definitive mile-markers of spiritual growth, where God divinely
showed her how much her soul desperately needed to seek Him, to slow down, to
rest.
She calls that “spiritual whitespace”.
I’ve also heard it referred to as “margin”. You know – that extra room on the side of a lined
piece of paper that is supposed to stay empty.
Have you noticed how that beautiful white, unfilled space on the page makes
the whole thing more readable? That is
exactly what whitespace is supposed to do – in art, in music, in life. As Bonnie tells us, if we don’t build it into
our lives, if we don’t plan for it, if we don’t arrange our day to make sure it
happens, if we don’t look for God along the way where He is showing up time and
again, life will surely take over our agenda and our calendar and we will not
naturally make room for Him in the process.
We must slow down, we must have eyes to see, we must let our soul feel
His stir.
If your soul needs rest and if you want to find ways to
incorporate God into your every moment, then Finding Spiritual Whitespace is a must read for you. The book also has questions at the end of
each chapter and journaling prompts, to further your study alone or with a
friend(s).
Enjoy!
As an editor, I like how you brought in the word "margin." I didn't originally think about that when I read the book, but it is a great comparison. Sometimes we fill our "page" of life so full that we have to decrease the margin in order to make everything fit. But a smaller margin is not the answer - clearing away some of the clutter (cutting copy) would be better. :) Thanks for sharing your post. I enjoyed it. Nina
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nina! Building margin into my life is something I work on constantly - I'm sure we all do to an extent. That's why her book resonated so much with me- she reiterates the necessity of that extra space!
DeleteI'm behind you in the review linkup. God has been speaking to me about soul rest for almost 2 yrs now. This book is so very timely. What a season it's going to be for us all. God bless.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by and reading Jeri. I agree with you - this is timely. And we all need soul rest- our lives are too packed. Saying "no" can be a good - and very spiritual! - thing. It allows us to say "yes" to God more.
DeleteI wrote a review also. it is a wonderful 'inspiring' challenging book.
ReplyDeleteGreat! I'll have to go read yours! I want to re-read the book and work on her journaling prompts and discussion questions this time- I believe there's more that God would want to show me.....
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