Search results for "tag:"Author Jane Sigloh""

Book SynopsisGracious Uncertainty: Faith in the Second Half of Life reflects on issues concerning everyone but which intensify as we grow older: loving more fully, dealing with loss, finding consolation, and having the courage to gaze (even while shaking inwardly) at the nearing reality of death. Jane Sigloh is a guide both witty and wise. She blends personal stories, Scriptural insights, and lessons drawn from years in ministry into insightful reflections on the beauty and challenges of aging. Gracious Uncertainty is an intimate, at times humorous, and often spirit-provoking guide through the unknowns of the later years.Trade ReviewIn simple, yet lyrical prose, Sigloh, a retired Episcopal priest, ponders a variety of existential and theological questions related to aging. Short chapters typically begin with descriptions of experiences, such as ‘When my mother was in her eighties, she started putting things in little plastic bags,’ which then unfold into a reflections on, for example, the longing for certainty: ‘Sometimes I wish I were a fundamentalist.’ Drawing inspiration from a range of sources, such as quantum physics, Joseph Campbell, poetry, movies, scripture, and her own personal experiences, Sigloh creates indelible images, as with her story of falling out of a boat into rapids after catching a fish and stubbornly clinging to the rod. Elsewhere she conveys how a church sanctuary stripped of its religious imagery on Maundy Thursday evoked the raw emotional wounds caused by her son’s death. Questions for reflection and discussion, such as ‘How has your name influenced your life?’ offer thought-provoking prompts on each chapter’s topic. Sigloh is an honest, intelligent, and companionable guide for readers wishing to bring grace into the process of aging. * Publishers Weekly *Jane Sigloh validates the statement, "God made human beings, because he loves stories." Her stories and reflections are personal, but as Carl Rogers says, "that which is most personal is most universal." Jane's memories and reflections are woven into a practical theology, and they are a sound basis to finding a footing in life's second half. In this book, Jane Sigloh extends a certain graciousness to the reader. -- J. Pittman McGehee, Episcopal priest, Jungian analyst, and author of The Invisible Church: Finding Faith Where You AreJane Sigloh is a woman of faith who can turn a phrase into poetry. In Gracious Uncertainty, she exudes a childlike naiveté in God’s creative embrace. Sigloh rests comfortably in the divine realm of ambiguity, a place where doubt strengthens faith. Her belief in the marvels of new physics strengthens foundational science where discovery lends relevance to scripture. Sigloh’s theology above all bespeaks an elevated consciousness of awe and wonder. -- Randall B. Robertson, founding director, GladdeningLightThis book is gracious indeed, and very helpful amid all the puzzlements of getting older. It will strengthen and delight not only those of us well into the second half of life, but also the next generation—perhaps these pages will help them make sense of us! -- Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, Episcopal priest, head of The Geranium Farm, and author of The Courage to Grow OldJane Sigloh’s Gracious Uncertainty seems like a sure bet to me. She has the wisdom that comes (if lucky) “at a certain age,” but a youthful spirit that doesn't settle for received wisdom or a stock response. She investigates experience across her own lifetime to share both what she has come to understand and what remains a mystery. The Bible is her companion throughout but by no means her only inspiration. Best of all, she makes you want to keep better track of yourself. God may be beyond knowing, but what are the hints and guesses that come to us if, like her, we pay attention to our lives? -- Peter S. Hawkins, Yale Divinity School

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Book SynopsisMany of us are fast approaching the "golden years" of retirement, wondering with fear — and hope — what the future holds for us. And you won't find a better companion for the journey of aging than Jane Sigloh. She's witty, perceptive, and wise. A retired Episcopal priest, she is possessed of both reverent awe and irreverent honesty about the facts and fantasies of growing old. She interweaves the insights of Scripture, poetry, fiction, and philosophy into her memories and reflections on the challenges and opportunities that maturity brings. Dip into any of these chapters and find a refreshing perspective, a humorous anecdote, or an intimate confession that will ring true to your own experience.Trade ReviewFor me, it's rare to read a work that is truly life-changing to the point that I think everyone I know should read it, but Jane Sigloh's Like Trees Walking is exactly that. Her writing is so conspicuously intimate . . . so rich with meaning and wisdom that I kept asking myself, 'Why am I only now learning about this author?' . . . A literary treasure that is uplifting and encouraging…and edifying and I think many of the people I know would be blessed to read it. * Reader Views *[Sigloh's] short essays are at times humorous, occasionally haunting, frequently memorable but always hopeful, and it is this rare mix that makes them so readable, so enjoyable, so quotable, so commendable. * The Dallas Morning News *It is a book to be read, savored, and given away. Each copy deserves a long life of being passed from caring friend to aging friend. . . . Each devotional essay is a well constructed composition characterized for candor, caring, and compassion. . . . By drawing from insights of scripture, poetry, fiction and philosophy, Sigloh challenges her readers to use 'the second half of life' to reinforce spiritual perspectives, to identify what really matters and look for what God is doing. Relish her insights, and then pass the book to a friend. * The Christian Librarian, Fall 2009 *Table of ContentsPart 1 The Pilgrim Path Chapter 2 Starting with Yes Chapter 3 Rest and Remember Chapter 4 Stepping Out Chapter 5 Lost and Found Chapter 6 Like Trees Walking Chapter 7 Going Somewhere Part 8 The Crossroads Chapter 9 The Blessing of Weakness Chapter 10 The Empty Nest Chapter 11 Holy Uselessness Chapter 12 Fishing For Fish Chapter 13 Fallow Land Chapter 14 Second Careers Chapter 15 Here I Am Part 16 A Slower Pace Chapter 17 The Sky's the Limit Chapter 18 Triple Sight Chapter 19 Original Joy Chapter 20 Tied with Silver Cords Chapter 21 Emptiness of Being Part 22 Looking Back Chapter 23 The Good Old Days Chapter 24 A Mark of Grace Chapter 25 Out of the Whirlwind Chapter 26 Growing Old Together Part 27 Under the Shadows Chapter 28 Sunshine Havens Chapter 29 God's Spies Chapter 30 Necessary Resistance Chapter 31 Sharing the Same Sidewalks

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