Gordon MacDonald (1) (1939–)

I was drawn to this book because it promised “practical advice on how to bring order to your every day.” Not the kind of order that Marie Kondo preaches, but for your inner world, to equip you to live life from the inside out, giving balance to your private world – the central point of a life in touch with God.

MacDonald asks questions we’ve all asked related to the importance of maintaining our inner world: “Is there a private world beneath the noise and action at the surface? A world that needs to be explored and maintained? Can strength and resilience be developed that will bear up under the growing pressure at the surface?”

MacDonald answers these questions with thoughtfulness and honesty, using his personal experiences and describing his spiritual growth and maturity. The book was first written in 1984 and has been updated in 1985, 2003 and 2017, so the references are current.

But this is more than a book about MacDonald’s spiritual growth. It’s a well-written how-to for the reader – how to maintain a balance between the chaos of our daily lives and the necessary peace of a spiritual relationship with God. This book contains many examples for readers to connect with, solid advice to consider and put into practice, and support in developing a strong spiritual life.

MacDonald encourages the use of a daily journal, including actually writing out prayers. He finds this technique to be a practical way to learn to listen to God speaking to him. The book concludes with a study guide that can be used alone or with a small group. Again, it’s another tool to remove ourselves from the commotion of outer life and move toward inner-directed living.

My favorite part of the book, which was full of encouragement and support, was the importance of cultivating real friends – “Capital-F Friends.” These are the people who know you best, who you can be totally honest with, those who know your heart, and you know theirs. Having these friends is part of what makes an ordered private world. I appreciated the prompting to cultivate real friends. I’m going to work on that one now!

This is a book I could read more than once, and continue to learn from with each reading.… (more)

Have you ever been too far from home to turn back yet too weary to want to continue toward your destination? "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion" looks at the journey we are on, as Christians, and poses just that question. All of us want to have the passion to be godly people. But too many times, having that passion is easier to talk about than to actually find or maintain. Do you have so many things to do, and do well, that you are unable to do them all? Are you tired and passionless about your spiritual journey? In "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion," Gordon MacDonald asks if there is a growing weariness of spirit among Christians and discusses what they can do to change that. Learn what is happening to you, why it is happening, and what you can do about it by "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion."… (more)

Have you ever been too far from home to turn back yet too weary to want to continue toward your destination? "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion" looks at the journey we are on, as Christians, and poses just that question. All of us want to have the passion to be godly people. But too many times, having that passion is easier to talk about than to actually find or maintain. Do you have so many things to do, and do well, that you are unable to do them all? Are you tired and passionless about your spiritual journey? In "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion," Gordon MacDonald asks if there is a growing weariness of spirit among Christians and discusses what they can do to change that. Learn what is happening to you, why it is happening, and what you can do about it by "Renewing Your Spiritual Passion."… (more)