Tara M. Owens

Forty Days on Being a Four

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“Forty Days on Being a Four by Christine Yi Suh made me feel both exposed and known in ways I most needed. As with all Fours, I tend to think of myself as so unique that no one else could possibly understand. Not only did this book show me I'm understood, it gave me and my fellow Fours a ladder to climb down from the isolating tower that the need to be 'special' traps us in. Inviting and creative practices engaged my feelings, yes, but also my mind and body in ways that were healing and holistic. And Christine's experience as a Korean American woman challenged me to change my comfortable assumptions about my behaviors and attitudes that she proved were less about being a Four and more about being part of the dominant culture. If you're tired of being trapped in the overwhelming reality of your vast emotional life and the need to feel special, as a fellow Four I highly recommend this book to you.”

Hold That Thought

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“I often hear people ask who the desert fathers and mothers, the abbas and ammas, are today. While they are few and far between, I am delighted to suggest Gem Fadling is one. As a spiritual mother, she guides readers skillfully and deeply into the inner landscape of the soul. Hold That Thought is the kind of resource I wish I'd had for myself twenty years ago. So, I adjure you: Be brave. Open these pages and confront your inner voices of shame, pain, and isolation. They will begin as enemies but end as friends on the holy journey toward wholeness.”

Imaginative Prayer

Children & Youth

“As a spiritual director, I understand the importance of formational experiences with Jesus rather than knowledge about Jesus. As a mother, I have struggled to find language and resources to transcend my own awkward efforts to help my daughter know right things about God and instead establish a real, lived relationship with God. Jared Boyd's work in Imaginative Prayer is a gift to my mother's heart and, I believe, a gift to the body of Christ as a whole. Our children aren't just the future of the church, they are the church right now. Jared's rooted, Scriptural, and deeply relational guidance is the kind of resource families and congregations simply must pick up if we are to journey together into all that Jesus has for us in this fraught and fractious time. Jared's words are wise, strong, kind, and godly—just like Jesus' when he said, 'the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these' (Mt 19:14).”

In the Low

Bible Studies & Devotionals

“As someone who has wanted to end it all in her own season of depression, and who accompanies many others in theirs, In the Low is the gift I ’ ve longed for . Too many words, attempts to fix, and ‘ helpful ’ prayers bruise and bind souls needing support and salve . In the Low’s words and images lean into each other in a structure of support, reminding readers of the tender and terrible gift of being human, and point toward the One who makes all this humaning have meaning, after all . I will be reaching for this resource for years to come .”

Irreverent Prayers

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“Prayer books often move me with their literary beauty or theological depth, but—as someone who has had two heart attacks and lives with a rare disease —they rarely strike me as my prayers. In Irreverent Prayers I find beauty and depth, plus a gift only companions in illness can offer—understanding. Still more, I find the words to pray the things sickness often robs us of the ability to articulate. These pages are like prayer beads to be thumbed over, held close, or thrown across the room in anger when needed most.”

Not Finished Yet

Children & Youth

“Since the beginning of time, we have been hiding from ourselves, from each other, and from God. In this gentle, brave, and winsome work, Sharon Garlough Brown calls out the encouraging question first spoken by our Loving Creator: 'Where are you?' The gift of this book is it offers a way for children (and the child inside of each of us) to answer that question honestly, vulnerably, and creatively—especially in their darkest places—allowing them (and us) to come out of hiding and into God's loving embrace.”

Shades of Light

Fiction

“Sharon Garlough Brown's Shades of Light is a rare and beautiful study in contrasts. Faith and doubt, control and surrender, acceptance and resistance—all are woven into the darks and lights of a story so real and provoking that you will find yourself aching, wondering, hoping, and even praying alongside her luminescent characters. The struggles of depression and anxiety, of parenting and being parented, of loving and losing aren't tied up in easy answers or simple narratives, but are lifted up for what they are: the beloved brokenness where God's light and love get in.”

Spiritual Wayfinding

Prayer & Spiritual Formation

“As a pilgrimage leader and spiritual director, I found Spiritual Wayfinding both practically grounding and spiritually transformative. Deborah Gregory's rare gift lies in making every practice genuinely inclusive for all abilities and neurotypes while honoring walking as one of our most essential spiritual disciplines. This is a book that will accompany me both in ministry and personal journey—each reflection bridges the practical and profound, inviting authentic encounters with God.”