advantages of falling short

This was a delightful read. Jana Reiss sought to improve her spirituality by trying to focus on a different religious practice or principle every month for a year—including things like prayer, hospitality, generosity, keeping the Sabbath, etc.

Reiss discusses these things in a very humorous and relatable way. As the title of the book indicates, she was not perfect with any of her practices. To the contrary, the demands of life often required her to stop. And sometimes, both the details of the practice and the seeming lack of progress proved to be a frustration for her. But in the end, Reiss notes that her efforts did make her a better, more spiritual person. While, like the rest of us, she’s still far short of perfection, these practices and efforts enlarged her capacity to forgive, carved out sacred space, gave new perspectives and insights, and helped her draw closer to God.

People of any faith can find much to like and appreciate about this book. Reiss’ insights, practicality, and sense of humor make this a very easy read. And if, like me, you find yourself falling far short of perfection, you’ll particularly appreciate Reiss’ emphasis on simply becoming better rather than achieving perfection. ( )

Terrific! Like "The Year of Living Biblically," this is a fun, clever, funny and deceptively thoughtful book. Riess disarms you with her underselling herself (she's *been* to seminary, she IS a PhD - she's not as naive as she paints herself). It's a great travelogue through the world of devotional practice. And DON'T skip the Epilogue! It's the pot of gold at the end of this delightful rainbow. ( )

If you have ever tried practicing the spiritual disciplines and didn't quite perfect them, then this is the book for you. Jana Riess spent each month practicing a different spiritual discipline: fasting, hospitality, the divine hours, generosity, etc. In a twist to Richard Foster's renowned book on spiritual disciplines, The Celebration of Discipline, Jana's practice is far from perfect. She stumbles a good bit in most of the practices, but she also learns a lot and grows in her faith. When her faith is tested, she finds that the things she learned from practicing these disciplines bolster her up in a way that she hadn't experienced before. This book is a fantastic reminder that none of us is perfect and that we most likely will not practice these disciplines perfectly. But the point of the disciplines is that we keep trying, we keep practicing. And in the practicing, we discover things about ourselves and about God, and we grow deeper in our relationship with Him. This book is a great reminder to all of the perfectionists out there (myself included) that the point is not to practice the disciplines perfectly, but the point is just to practice them. They help us find new ways to meet God. And in so doing, we also learn who we are. ( )

"She's a bit perky," I said to my husband (who had recommended this book to me), after reading the opening bits. But her story of dipping her toe into 12 different ancient spiritual practices is a wonderful explanation & picture of the practices, as well as how they "feel" to the seeker. It's worth a read, especially for people looking for God, or a deeper knowledge of the Holy One. ( )