Gain Access To Invitation To Solitude And Silence: Experiencing Gods Transforming Presence Compiled By Ruth Haley Barton Disseminated As Pamphlet

is a wonderful introduction to the practices of solitude, silence, and meditation, Very accessible and practical. Barton, along with other teachers, asserts that these spiritual practices, although difficult to access and demanding at times, are the most transformative and freeing of all spiritual habits.
I have found this to be true in my life, and I highly recommend this insightful guide!! This is not a book to be read, but to be experienced, month by month, ideally in a year divided by the twelve chapters.
Ruth Haley Barton takes the story of Elijah on the mountain with God and dissects it into the daily Christian life.
Move slowly through it, absorb it and contemplate, rest and be refreshed,

And take your time, A great primer for beginning the spiritual discipline of silence and solitude, I appreciated the authors candid view into her own journey on this, Theres also helpful practical guides at the end of each chapter that are simple enough to encourage you to keep practicing this discipline.
Winner of a Christianity Today Book Award! Much of our faith and practice is about wordspreaching, teaching, talking with others, Yet all of these words are not enough to take us into the real presence of God where we can hear his voice.
This book is an invitation to you to meet God deeply and fully outside the demands and noise of daily life.
It is an invitation to solitude and silence, The beauty of a true invitation is that we really do have a choice about embarking on this adventure, God extends the invitation, but he honors our freedom and will not push himself where he is not wanted, Instead, he waits for us to respond from the depths of our desire, Will you say yes This expanded

edition includes a guide for groups to use both in discussing the book content and in learning to practice silence together.
This book is a great reminder that Christ is, first and foremost, a God who seeks intimacy with his people rather than feigned piety.
I think what is missing is an emphasis on a strong Biblical foundation, It is possible to be “open” to Gods voice and yet fail to drink deeply of His Word and end up more of a heretic than ever, deceiving ourselves.


However, Im putting into practice a little of her suggestions and have found my time with the Lord deeply enriched.
God wants my undivided attention the challenge is to stop long enough to quiet my racing mind, Silence. “Be still and know,” the psalmist says, But what do we do on our solitude, Ruth Haley Barton has many good suggestions in this book, Using the story of Elijah, Barton guides us to silence and solitude which is an all too neglected area in the spiritual lives of many today! Thank you Ruth Haley Barton! I was a tiny bit uncomfortable with some of the language the author used, many of which are regularly used in newage publications by unbiblical "churches".
. . as a friend mentioned, there's a lot of text in the book and some ideas, that sound a little easternmystical, and I definitely don't agree with all the quotes that are listed, but those were just quotes from other mostly Catholic authors, and not the book itself.


Regarding the general content of the book, I really enjoyed it she covers principles that I was taught as a new believer.
Regular, quiet, intimate time and relationship with Jesus time spent alone with Him, both speaking to Him in prayer and then listening for His direction and guidance, is what I was nursed on as a baby Christian!

Points that I resonated with:
a.
I was created with a desire for God for reunion and communion with Him,

b. Because of the constant 'noise' of distraction and sin, I often neglect spending quiet time alone with God but it's what my soul needs.
I tend instead to get caught up in busyness, and in things, people, or activities that offer a temporary "fix" I would call these 'broken cisterns' something I've built to fill with water for my spiritual refreshment, but because it's not the spring from which the Living Water comes, it's broken and only leaks.
I can only find lasting fulfillment in quiet time with Jesus,

c. I have to be wary of allowing myself to become dangerously tired, If I don't get regular refreshing in the Spirit, I will burn out, Our family observes the Sabbath for this reason, The author came really close to encouraging her readers to observe the Sabbath for the purpose of regular rest and refreshing, I'm surprised she didn't.
Even with observing the Sabbath though having a day once we get home from church of just family hangout time, not work or shopping or chores I still have to watch how much I commit myself to.
I am a peoplepleaser because I love to bless people, so I WANT to do everything for everyone but I know I can't.
I have to allow myself to say No based on putting my family and my ability to care for and be there for them first.
But the second greatest commandment is to love others as yourself, And if I don't know how to love care for myself and my needs well, how on earth am I supposed to do so for others

d.
She had a lot to say about quieting the mind, which I really resonate with right now, With my husband working/time for a seminary, me working/time for our previous church, both of us together pastoring a church with the hopes of getting it picked up off the ground and growing again, and raising our kids.
. . I will say, when I finally lay my head down at night, my body may be exhausted but my brain is still running a million miles an hour.
I think what I need to do more is stop working right up until bedtime, and spend that last time before I lay down in quiet time with Jesus, wether just being with Him in silence, our journaling, or drawing.
. . I think it will help quiet my mind so I fall asleep faster,

e. She talked in a manner about having a quiet spirit so that we can hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
I am finding this to be so true as we are in ministry, If my mind is constantly full of all that must be done, I feel too busy to stop and listen to those promptings.


f. I love too, how it's often only in solitude and silence that He shows me my faults, my selfprotective strategies, and how He wants me to improve.


g. Finally, I loved her chapter about how when we have built up enough of that quiet time reserve, then we'll find that we can live our busy lives, while being calm and quiet in our spirits.
Life is busy! But our spirits don't have to be ruffled or "frenetic" because of it, If I continue to invest regular quiet time alone with Jesus, He will calm my waters and speak what I need to hear and restore and refresh my soul.
This book challenges my typical approach to devouring books as quickly as I can and deserves to be savored in tune with the oftneglected practice of silence and solitude.
It is an invitation to slow down, It's been sitting on my shelf for years, and I was drawn to pick it up in the midst of thepandemic that has brought with it a slower pace of life and additional time of solitude.
This little book offers short chapters and accompanying practices at the end of each providing a true companion for anyone wanting to take seriously practicing silence and solitude.
There really is nothing earthshattering in Barton's book, but rather it offers permission for the reader to find times of silence and solitude, to listen to God's voice, to be comfortable dwelling there regularly, and provides gentle suggestions for navigating, what for many, is a novel concept.
I will be finding my way back to this book from time to time, I am sure, to remind myself of the importance of slowing down and making these disciplines a regular part of my spiritual rhythm.
This is a fine contribution to the field of the spiritual disciplines and it understandably it has found a warm reception among Christians wanting to take seriously silence and solitude.
Barton has written such a beautifully simple guide to an incredibly important spiritual discipline that is overwhelmingly undervalued and need I say it blatantly devalued by our society today.
I highly recommend owning a copy for yourself, so when you find yourself brought to your knees in a position of utter desperation with no clue where to turn you are able to have some clarity / understanding of where to begin and how to take that first step into His invitation for you.


I am still learning what it means to really lean into this practice for myself, but I am more at peace with knowing that it will take time.
I find myself more thankful disclaimer: not necessarily all the time! that He is having me dwell in these chapters I may find myself wrestling with bitterly, as now I see them as sweeter and richer moments of life, since I know He is calling me to spend time in His presence in those times.
"Take it day by day" is a phrase that has come up often in this season for me, and I see it as no coincidence that I was led to this book in the midst of it.
If you are a person who finds themselves living in the future more often than the present, then I believe this to be a practical book for you.
This was a great read very helpful if you're interested in learning practical tips/ideas/suggestions on how to begin being quiet and still before the Lord.
I enjoyed the way she wrote and found her use of Scripture and prayer practices solid and consistent with what I have learned in my own life.
Short, sweet, a balm. I read this beside a lake and found myself again and again turning my attention to the Creators gaze, After a season of being consumed by zeal for ministry, I needed this recentering, I first drew close to the Lord when I became deaf in, then deeper still during isolation in the beginning months of the pandemic.
How did I forget the importance of silence and solitude Im grateful for Bartons powerful reminder, Her words served as a healing conduit, "Solitude, at its most basic and profound level, is an opportunity to be ourselves with God, " Pg.
I found Barton's encouragement to enter into a journey into solitude and silence compelling, not because she "sells" it well, but because it stems from an honest look in the mirror at her own life.
I resonated with much of her experience and so perhaps it's because of where I've been and what I have personally encountered when I have removed myself from "performance" and "striving" that this book sits so well with me.
If a reader is not in a place where encountering the presence of God, and consequently, his or her own inner self is "attractive", this book may be tedious.
"Invitation to Silence and Solitude" is an invitation to be stripped of the old self and an encounter with the Presence of God and one's true self.
HIGHLY recommend. .