July/August 2007

Amazing Grace -- Learn more about the movie and the Amazing Change campaign it has inspired. And just for fun, listen to 50 different versions of the hymn "Amazing Grace."

Animal Assisted Therapy -- Here's a directory of a hundred ways you can be involved in helping a variety of people benefit from the healing presence of animals.

Begin a Quest -- Step out in faith on a spiritual adventure to find the answer to a question or to make a difference in the world. Learn more about the practice of questing and about the cues, prayers, exercises, and even films that can help you along the journey.

Discover Your Gifts -- Take an online gifts inventory to help you discern your spiritual gifts and then consider how you might use your gifts.

Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disasters, and Survival -- Read a review of, an excerpt from, or the author's blog about this powerful new book by Anderson Cooper, the award-winning reporter who has covered the news in hot spots around the world for the last 15 years.

Get Help -- If you or someone you know needs help right away, check out the substance abuse hotline numbers and websites we have listed in Health & Help.

Ignatius of Loyola -- Read the biography of this young soldier who became a Christian and developed several spiritual exercises for sensing the presence of God, including the Prayer of Examen.

Meet Your Neighbors -- Learn more about your neighbors from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Burundi, and other parts of the world.

More about Suicide -- Find out why some young people are contemplating suicide, what you can do if a friend is talking about suicide, and where to get help for yourself or for a friend. If you have lost someone close to suicide, get support from Friends for Survival.

More on Nicole's Song -- Listen to "The Sinner's Prayer," or use the guitar chords to play and sing it yourself!

Pray the Examen Online -- Try an online version of the Prayer of Examen, which is also outlined on pages 21-23 of the July/August 2007 issue of devozine.

Prayers for Friends -- Each week, choose a different one of these "Meaningful Ways to Pray" as a way to remember your friends in prayer.

Read the "Letter of Joy" -- Read the Letter to the Philippians, the 11th book in the New Testament. Don't worry -- it's short!

Recovering from Trauma -- If you have experienced a tragedy, find out if what you are feeling is normal and what you can do to help yourself and others. If you want to get involved in disaster relief, ask your pastor what your church or denomination is doing to help -- or check out these programs the Mennonites and UMCOR are sponsoring.

The Bible in a Year -- Choose the order in which you would like to read through the Bible. Then each day, read or listen to the passages noted in order to cover the entire Bible in a year.

"Time for God" -- Created in 1965, this Christian organization seeks to enable people to grow -- professionally, personally and spiritually -- through full-time voluntary service in the UK and around the world.

Try the Ignatian Method --With this spiritual practice, Ignatius of Loyola encourages us to use our imaginations as we read scripture in order to enter into the passage as if it were a movie. Choose a scripture passage, follow the online steps, and discover what God has to say to you.

Twelve Step Program -- The 12-step approach was begun in the 1930s by Alcoholics Anonymous, who had the original list of 12 steps, and is now widely used by many other organizations for dealing with alcoholism, drugs, and other addictive and dysfunctional behaviors.

Understanding Addiction -- Find ways to overcome addiction by understanding more about the warning signs and risk factors, the symptoms of specific drug use, and the steps for getting help.

Working through Grief -- Learn more about the stages of grief and the things you may be thinking and feeling in each one.