Barbara Cawthorne Crafton - Böcker

Everybody figures it out sooner or later: Even in a Botox world that promises eternal youth, some things—from aches and pains to wrinkles, from menopause to the empty nest—you just have to live with. But despite the challenges, those who are reaching middle age—yesterday’s Baby Boomers—might not want to turn back the clock. Instead, as their bodies change and their priorities shift, they’re looking to cull wisdom from their experience and find spiritual meaning in their re-examined lives. In Some Things You Just Have to Live With, author Barbara Cawthorne Crafton explores the “spilled milk” of our lives, the physical changes our bodies endure, and the new and energizing purpose we can discover by plunging into the middle of life in a deeper—and sometimes mystifying—relationship with God. A wonderful storyteller, Crafton writes with humor and pathos rather than a heavy hand, allowing readers to see themselves and their own lives in the unfolding pages. Some Things You Just Have to Live With is a source of inspiration—and smiles—to those navigating the turbulent waters of the middle of life.

Here is Barbara Crafton at her best—funny, warm, direct, honest, and vulnerable—on aging. “I think growing older is both funny and sad, but mostly it just makes me grateful to be alive and able to reflect. I have been an Episcopal priest for 33 years and have had extensive experience in ministering with the elderly. Now, I am growing old myself. I hate it when people are ashamed of being old. We should be proud!” she proclaims. Join her in this celebration of life!

Playing off the last chapter of her previous book, The Courage to Grow Old, well-beloved author Barbara Crafton looks at the world around us: what do we know about creation? What gift is there for us in the "also life" of stars and other organic and non-organic forms of existence? How might that shape the way we see our existence and the God who breathed that life into us? And what might life after death be like?

The life and ministry of a priest are two aspects of the same journey, and beloved author and priest Barbara Cawthorne Crafton approaches this journey in four sections, envisioned as embracing a clerical life. The first, “The Dream,” contains the early years of discernment, training, and youthful ministry. The second, “Desert,” deals with the terrible obstacles (self-created or inflicted from outside), that may end a ministry or wound it deeply. The third, “The Dance,” is that period of time in which you know who you are and how you serve, and the flow of life and ministry is effectively graceful. The last, “The Death,” deals with the priest’s physical decline and death. Crafton lays out this path with all of her usual warmth and humor, offering insights and a companion in the way, not just to priests but to all of us.

Join popular speaker and author Barbara Crafton as she explores forgiveness in this small group program.Like other programs, it features two components, purchased separately: (1) A DVD with five 10-15 minute presentations, followed by a video of the guest lecturer interacting with a small group as they discuss the issues, and (2) a participant workbook containing all the material needed by class participants as well as for the facilitator. It is a 5- to 10-week study for adults and young adults."Barbara Cawthorne Crafton, begins the study Embracing Forgiveness, with clarity that eases the guilt often associated with the lack of forgiveness by saying what it isn’t. It is not a job or task; it is not a conditional act to earn God’s love. It is, Crafton believes, a spiritual gift given freely by a God who simply wants to connect with us. Over the course of the study, she shows how forgiveness can remove the tumor of anger from our hearts to become a means of grace that gives us back our humanity. Crafton’s thoughtful insight allows participants to weigh the transforming power of forgiveness in their own lives." —Dorothy Linthicum, Instructor/Program Coordinator, Center for the Ministry of Teaching, Alexandria, VA"With wisdom, wit, and theological depth Barbara Cawthorne Crafton explores the perennial topic of forgiveness from the perspective of gift rather than duty. Along the way, she exposes patterns of resistance and popular understandings that undermine our ability to receive and share the gift with others. Her informal and accessible style, together with the questions and responses of those taking part in the video recorded sessions, open the way for groups, aided by the accompanying workbook, to expand the exploration with their own insights and reflections. This study is both timely and urgently needed in a world in which judgment again and again trumps forgiveness, and Christ’s work of reconciliation is held at bay." —Frank T Griswold, 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church