A reassuring practical reader for those seeking spiritual meaning through the Bible.
A Christian perspective on what really matters in life.
Cummins begins with a challenging question: What should we make of the popular idea that everyone needs to discover a singular, defining purpose to lead a fulfilling life? The author draws on biblical scripture, personal insights, and theological exegesis to provide a Christian answer to this question. For Cummins, peace and meaning come not from chasing after a purpose but from contemplating and living out God’s promises. She argues that the relentless quest for purpose breeds widespread anxiety, confusion, and self-doubt; purpose should not be a destination but rather a daily invitation to love God and our neighbors in “a billion different ways.” The book is structured in three sections: the first explores the “Purpose Paradox”; the second investigates why we idolize purpose; and the final one offers guidance on living in God’s promises. Cummins refers to a wide range of Bible stories but also to some light psychological theory and real-life experiences to illustrate that an identity rooted in God’s promise is more sustaining than any specific role or goal. (Purpose shifts across the phases of your life, but God’s promises are eternal.) Every chapter of this meditative book closes with questions and prayers to help readers release the burden of purpose and embrace peace through divine assurance. Warmly written, compassionate, and demonstrating a deeply personal faith, Cummins’ book shares stories, provides spiritual mentorship, and challenges some of the cultural and religious norms around conventional ideas of identity and success. Chock-full of prayers and journal prompts, this book is written for both private contemplation and group study. Through force of sheer repetition, readers are encouraged to replace the pursuit of purpose with relying on God’s promises in the hope that doing so will offer theological and emotional relief to people who feel lost or inadequate.
A reassuring practical reader for those seeking spiritual meaning through the Bible.Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2024
ISBN: 9781961732247
Page Count: 290
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.
The late actor offers a gentle guide for living with more purpose, love, and joy.
Mixing poetry, prescriptive challenges, and elements of memoir, Heche (1969-2022) delivers a narrative that is more encouraging workbook than life story. The author wants to share what she has discovered over the course of a life filled with abuse, advocacy, and uncanny turning points. Her greatest discovery? Love. “Open yourself up to love and transform kindness from a feeling you extend to those around you to actions that you perform for them,” she writes. “Only by caring can we open ourselves up to the universe, and only by opening up to the universe can we fully experience all the wonders that it holds, the greatest of which is love.” Throughout the occasionally overwrought text, Heche is heavy on the concept of care. She wants us to experience joy as she does, and she provides a road map for how to get there. Instead of slinking away from Hollywood and the ridicule that she endured there, Heche found the good and hung on, with Alec Baldwin and Harrison Ford starring as particularly shining knights in her story. Some readers may dismiss this material as vapid Hollywood stuff, but Heche’s perspective is an empathetic blend of Buddhism (minimize suffering), dialectical behavioral therapy (tolerating distress), Christianity (do unto others), and pre-Socratic philosophy (sufficient reason). “You’re not out to change the whole world, but to increase the levels of love and kindness in the world, drop by drop,” she writes. “Over time, these actions wear away the coldness, hate, and indifference around us as surely as water slowly wearing away stone.” Readers grieving her loss will take solace knowing that she lived her love-filled life on her own terms. Heche’s business and podcast partner, Heather Duffy, writes the epilogue, closing the book on a life well lived.
A sweet final word from an actor who leaves a legacy of compassion and kindness.Pub Date: Jan. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9781627783316
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Feb. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2023
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