The amount of days I spent reading this book neither indicates a massive size book nor an obtuse vocabulary. It is only 194 pages long, and the vocabulary is accessible (a well-used sentence in the book is "Huh?" in response to some weighty thought put forward by Dallas Willard).
In 2013 when Ortberg stepped in for Dallas, when Dallas's illness kept him from delivering the morning conference session, I heard Ortberg say, "I do Dallas for Dummies," not implying that we were dummies but referring to a set of books that turn scholarly topics into everyday language (Web Application Security for Dummies; Water Treatment for Dummies, etc.).
So consider this a book on soul keeping in everyday language. It took me two and a half months to read because mostly I read this book in the evening right before I fell asleep. I'm not sure if that led to a disjointed feel to it or reading it while I was sleepy or the fact that I had been taught much of the material in the book. For someone who has never heard or read the teachings in this book, you are in for a life changing read as Ortberg writes so well of "What the Soul Is," "What the Soul Needs," and "The Soul Restored."
In the middle of the book, I might have given the book 3 out of 5 stars, even knowing how important the topic of the book is. However, by the time I reached "The Soul Needs Blessing" and "The Soul Needs Satisfaction," I revised that rating to 4 stars. This is the type of book I'm glad I own because I will keep coming back to it, knowing that I can get a refresher read in easily accessible language and thought.
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
This section after the line of hearts is my "Regrets that I have which I hope will encourage both myself and the reader to choose differently, knowing that we all will have regrets, but still knowing that maybe we can learn from each other's regrets."
Dallas Willard was asked if he regretted anything. He replied, "I regret the time I have wasted." To which Ortberg responds: "Huh? If there is any human being on the planet who has not wasted time, it is Dallas. I don't think he'd know what a television was if one hit him on the head...But I think, maybe, this time I know what he means...The reason our souls hunger so is that the life we could be living so far exceeds our strangest dreams...I watched him and thought of what a redeemed soul can be:
* To be able to say yes or no without anxiety or duplicity
* To speak with confidence and honesty
* To be willing to disappoint anybody, yet ready to bless everybody
* To have a mind filled with more noble thoughts than could ever be spoken
* To share without thinking
* To see without judging
* To be so genuinely humble that each person I see would be an object of wonder
* To love God" (190-191).
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This section after the dotted line is my "spiritual formation practices" -- This book is filled with lots of great ideas to practice. I chose this one from page 166 as Ortberg quotes Dallas Willard:
"If you want to really experience the flow of love as never before, the next time you are in a competitive situation [around work or relationship or whose kids are the highest achieving or looks or whatever], pray that the others around you will be more outstanding, more praised, and more used of God than yourself. Really pull for them and rejoice in their success. If Christians were universally to do this for each other, the earth would soon be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God."
In 2013 when Ortberg stepped in for Dallas, when Dallas's illness kept him from delivering the morning conference session, I heard Ortberg say, "I do Dallas for Dummies," not implying that we were dummies but referring to a set of books that turn scholarly topics into everyday language (Web Application Security for Dummies; Water Treatment for Dummies, etc.).
So consider this a book on soul keeping in everyday language. It took me two and a half months to read because mostly I read this book in the evening right before I fell asleep. I'm not sure if that led to a disjointed feel to it or reading it while I was sleepy or the fact that I had been taught much of the material in the book. For someone who has never heard or read the teachings in this book, you are in for a life changing read as Ortberg writes so well of "What the Soul Is," "What the Soul Needs," and "The Soul Restored."
In the middle of the book, I might have given the book 3 out of 5 stars, even knowing how important the topic of the book is. However, by the time I reached "The Soul Needs Blessing" and "The Soul Needs Satisfaction," I revised that rating to 4 stars. This is the type of book I'm glad I own because I will keep coming back to it, knowing that I can get a refresher read in easily accessible language and thought.
💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
This section after the line of hearts is my "Regrets that I have which I hope will encourage both myself and the reader to choose differently, knowing that we all will have regrets, but still knowing that maybe we can learn from each other's regrets."
Dallas Willard was asked if he regretted anything. He replied, "I regret the time I have wasted." To which Ortberg responds: "Huh? If there is any human being on the planet who has not wasted time, it is Dallas. I don't think he'd know what a television was if one hit him on the head...But I think, maybe, this time I know what he means...The reason our souls hunger so is that the life we could be living so far exceeds our strangest dreams...I watched him and thought of what a redeemed soul can be:
* To be able to say yes or no without anxiety or duplicity
* To speak with confidence and honesty
* To be willing to disappoint anybody, yet ready to bless everybody
* To have a mind filled with more noble thoughts than could ever be spoken
* To share without thinking
* To see without judging
* To be so genuinely humble that each person I see would be an object of wonder
* To love God" (190-191).
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This section after the dotted line is my "spiritual formation practices" -- This book is filled with lots of great ideas to practice. I chose this one from page 166 as Ortberg quotes Dallas Willard:
"If you want to really experience the flow of love as never before, the next time you are in a competitive situation [around work or relationship or whose kids are the highest achieving or looks or whatever], pray that the others around you will be more outstanding, more praised, and more used of God than yourself. Really pull for them and rejoice in their success. If Christians were universally to do this for each other, the earth would soon be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God."
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