Letters from the Farm: A Simple Path for a Deeper Spiritual Life

(Paperback)

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Description

Becca Stevens extolls the power of love in this inspirational collection of letters.

Letters from the Farm describes a faith that strives for justice and peace through loving our neighbors. It began with the simple hope that love can help in the community. That hope led to a social enterprise called Thistle Farm and that led to learning that we reap a hundredfold the seeds that are sown into a loving community.

Accompanying each letter is a verse of Scripture and some questions for reflection so that this book can be used as a devotional guide, as well as a piece to inspire you in your faith and life.

"Becca Stevens has written a beautiful book demonstrating the power of God's healing love."-Jane Shaw, Dean for Religious Life and Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University

Reviews

"The book's subtitle is a 'path for a deeper spiritual life, ' but the book might better be described as a well-the benefit comes from dipping in here and there. Her letters perhaps unintentionally gloss over human pain, but they are also gentle reminders that lives unfold within a larger spiritual context of grace and restoration."
-Publishers Weekly

"Becca Stevens is an Episcopal priest who was looking for a way for her congregation to become active in social justice issues and the one she focused on was sex trafficking."
-Nicholas Kristof, from the documentary A Path Appears

"Becca Stevens writes as she lives and works and speaks: with a fierce tenderness and an extravagant trust in God's endless mercy. The letters in this book are written to all of us who long to cultivate such a life. They are an invitation to look for the bounty and beauty growing all around us, to find ourselves astonished and grateful for the presence of Grace . . . even in the weeds."
- Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Chicago

"Becca paints each letter with gentle brush strokes, reminding us of living truths long forgotten or drowned out by busyness and shame: truths old as the dirt that pierce our heart, awaken memories, and baptize us in tears. This is not a book to be skimmed or plowed through but sipped, savored, and even prayed."
- Mike Kinman, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis and board president, Magdalene St. Louis

"Becca Stevens has written a beautiful book demonstrating the power of God's healing love. Wherever you are in your faith journey, these letters, with their compassion for humanity and passion for justice, will encourage you to deepen your faith; and Becca's work with Thistle Farms will inspire you to open-hearted, generous living."
- Jane Shaw, Dean for Religious Life and Professor of Religious Studies, Stanford University

Author Bio

Becca Stevens is one of the premiere preachers and speakers in the United States, proclaiming love as the most powerful force for social change. She is an Episcopal priest and founder of Magdalene, residential communities of women who have survived prostitution, trafficking, and addiction. She also founded Thistle Farms in 2001, which currently employs nearly 50 residents and graduates, and houses a natural body-care line, a paper and sewing studio, and the Thistle Stop Caf. She raises millions of dollars annually for these organizations. Featured regularly in national and international media, she was named one of "15 Champions of Change" for violence against women in 2011 by the White House. She was recently inducted into the Tennessee Women's Hall of Fame and conferred an honorary doctorate by the University of the South. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.