The Life You've Always Wanted: Spiritual Disciplines for Ordinary People (Expanded and Adapted for Small Groups)

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 272 pages
• Published by: Zondervan October 1, 2002
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0310246954
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0310246954
• Book Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1 inches
• Weighs: 15.2 ounces

Product Description
With a new chapter and study guide questions, this expanded edition presents readers with what it means to live as Jesus would on a day-to-day basis--one filled with new meaning, hope, change, and a joyous, growing closeness to Christ.

Back Cover Copy
You Can Live a Deeper, More Spiritual Life Right Where You Are.

An expanded edition with a new chapter on prayer and discussion questions

The heart of Christianity is transformation—a relationship with God that impacts not just our “spiritual lives,” but every aspect of living. John Ortberg calls readers back to the dynamic heartbeat of Christianity—God’s power to bring change and growth—and reveals both the how and why of transformation.

With a new chapter on prayer and added discussion questions, this expanded edition of The Life You’ve Always Wanted offers modern perspectives on the ancient path of the spiritual disciplines. But this is more than just a book about things to do to be a good Christian. It’s a road map toward true transformation that starts not with the individual but with the object of the journey—Jesus Christ.

As with a marathon runner, the secret to winning the race lies not in trying harder, but in training consistently—training with the spiritual disciplines. The disciplines are neither taskmasters nor an end in themselves. Rather they are exercises that build strength and endurance for the road of growth. The fruit of the Spirit—joy, peace, kindness, etc.—are the signposts along the way.

Paved with humor and sparkling anecdotes, The Life You’ve Always Wanted is an encouraging and challenging approach to a Christian life that’s worth living—a life on the edge that fills an ordinary world with new meaning, hope, change, and joy.

Reader Reviews
Usually, I find that books or sermons on 'Spiritual Disciplines' cause a short-term spurt of motivation, followed by longer-term disillusionment. Eventually I feel guilty for not measuring up, and finally I ignore the issues. Ortberg has a totally different approach, which had a very different impact on my life. Instead of telling us to work harder, pray more, get up earlier, etc, he shows us how to view the daily activities in our own lives as spiritual disciplines. He explains that the phase of one's life is no excuse for not growing spiritually. For example, a mother of small children might not be able to schedule large amounts of solitude and quiet time, but rather can learn to see her daily tasks as the "discipline of the mundane". The most ordinary situations of our lives contain spiritual activities. Reading this book made me feel more hopeful, because it did not equate spiritual growth with the ability to spend countless hours in solitary prayer, rather it describes how to train ourselves to use our own life circumstances as a path to maturity. The measure of a spiritual discipline is not how many chapters of the Bible you read, or how many hours you kneeled, but how much you grew in love.