Bits of Heaven. Russell J. Levenson Jr.

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Bits of Heaven - Russell J. Levenson Jr.


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      Copyright © 2020 by Russell J. Levenson Jr.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

      Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

      A version of this book was previously published as Summer Times by Insight Press.

      Church Publishing

      19 East 34th Street

      New York, NY 10016

      www.churchpublishing.org

      Cover image: Bar's Lilies, painting by Russell J. Levenson Jr. Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design Typeset by Denise Hoff

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Levenson, Russell J., author.

      Title: Bits of heaven : a summer companion / Russell J. Levenson, Jr.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2019046085 (print) | LCCN 2019046086 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640652712 (paperback) | ISBN 9781640652729 (epub)

      Subjects: LCSH: Summer--Prayers and devotions. | Summer--Religious aspects--Christianity. | Episcopal Church--Prayers and devotions.

      Classification: LCC BV135.S96 L48 2020 (print) | LCC BV135.S96 (ebook) | DDC 242--dc23

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046085

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019046086

       Dedicated with love and gratitude toMy Parents, Russell and LynneMy wife, LauraMy children and grandchildrenwith whom I have shared many, manyBits of Heaven

      Contents

       12 • Delighting in Rules

       13 • Crying, Laying, Waiting

       14 • A Refugium for Your Troubles

       15 • Healing the Hidden

       16 • Forsaken, But Not Forgotten

       17 • Holding Fast to the Shepherd

       18 • Seek and Hide

       19 • Meeting Your Desires

       20 • An Undivided Heart

       21 • Deserted Times

       22 • Hungering for Something More

       23 • “It’s Not What You Know . . .”

       24 • “And When You Pray . . .”

       25 • Doling It Out

       26 • Doing the Right Thing

       27 • Listen Up!

       28 • Kid Stuff

       29 • No Darkness at All

       30 • Good Wine

       31 • Missing the Mark and Hitting the Bull’s-eye

       32 • Everyone?

       33 • Have Love

       34 • Be Reconciled

       35 • What Do You Do with the Thorns?

       36 • Drawing Circles . . .

       37 • Imitation of a Life

       38 • Press On

       39 • Serious Business

       40 • Putting Your Gift to Work

       Afterword • The Safest of All Places

       Acknowledgments

       Scriptural Index

       Index of Authors Cited

      “Be still, and know that I am God!”

      —Psalm 46:10

      Be still. Be still. Those two words alone seem to be a calm oasis plopped in a time of rapid-fire busyness. Our forebears, only a century ago, would not recognize our world of emails, cell phones, texts, Skype, Twitter, and Facebook. Satellite radio, GPS, home audio systems, even shower televisions have made it possible never to be alone, even when you are alone. It is possible to fill all twenty-four hours of every day with noise, activity, work.

      The ancient world in which David would pen the above words had virtually no similarities to our own. Yet even then . . . yes, way back then . . . David beckoned the human heart to “be still.”

      This book is an invitation to be still and to consider. Consider what can be learned in moments of leisure, rest—stillness. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Donald Coggan, wrote, “I go through life as a transient on his way to eternity, made in the image of God, but with that image debased, needing to be taught how to meditate, to worship, to think.”

      In our multifaceted, multitasking world, we tend to forget that we are actually pilgrims on a journey


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