Best Books
An ancient Hebrew writer once proclaimed that the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof. Every valley and every hill, every city and every landfill belong to God. There is no place where God is absent, which means that every inch of the universe is graced by God’s presence and is inherently sacred. We may desecrate our surroundings, our hours and our souls, but they are still sacred territory. In the Christian faith, the mundane and the holy are merged. There is no “holy land,” no temple made with hands, no spiritual aristocracy. There are only ordinary children of God who live and breathe and have their being in a world saturated with God’s presence.
In his wonderful book, Every Moment Holy (Rabbit Room Press), Douglas McKelvey has given the people of God a beautiful gift. Filled with prayers and recitations, Every Moment Holy is designed to match the rhythm of our lives. There are liturgies for weddings and deaths, for times of hope and times of fear, for days of celebration and nights of lament. With his inclusion of prayers for preparing a meal, reading a book, or waiting in line, McKelvey pushes back on our instinct to separate the ordinary tasks and activities of life from the spiritual. There are liturgies for doing laundry, changing diapers, and washing windows. There are prayers for acquiring a new pet, going on vacation and finishing a beloved book. Every Moment Holy is a liturgy for the ordinary life.
McKelvey’s literary gift is premised on the understanding that a life of the Spirit is one in which God is recognized as an ever-present reality. Every day is the Lord’s day, every task is an opportunity to glorify God, and every person we encounter is someone whom God loves and intends to redeem. The whole earth is filled with God’s glory and every moment is graced by a God who, in Jesus, broke through his holiness to walk among us.
–Darrel Holcombe, Owner
Sanctuary Christian Books and Gifts
Colonial Promenade, Alabaster
205-663-2370
