Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them
By:
Sign Up Now!
Already a Member? Log In
You must be logged into Bookshare to access this title.
Learn about membership options,
or view our freely available titles.
- Synopsis
- -- The need for community is woven into the very fabric of our being. Nothing else can substitute for the life-giving benefits of connecting with others--not even God. He won't preempt the way he himself has designed us to reflect his own intensely relational nature. But there's a hitch in our experience of community, says John Ortberg: We're all weird. Folks around us may seem normal enough, but just wait till we get to know them--and they get to know us. The unhealthy, sinful ways we respond to life in a fallen world are hardly God's idea of "normal," and they can make us as unhuggable as porcupines. We face the "porcupine dilemma," says Ortberg: We need each other, but how do we get close without getting hurt? How do we get past all those quills and grow together in Christ? In Everybody's Normal Till You Get to Know Them, Ortberg once again reveals his gift for sharing profound insights using a lighten-up approach. With winsome humor and a fondness for well-spun stories, he pops the myth of normalcy and hands us the keys to creating and sustaining relationships. "God's dream for community encompasses the redemption of all spheres of life," he says. Who doesn't want to be liked, to be wanted, to have solid, satisfying friendships? Ortberg shows what such relationships are made of. He reveals the benefits of authenticity--what it means to live with an "unveiled face," as the Bible puts it. He encourages us to trade the stones it's so easy to cast at others for acceptance. He opens our eyes and hearts to empathy, the art of reading people. And he takes us through the ins and outs of conflict, forgiveness, confrontation, inclusion, and gratitude. The principles and discussion questions in this book are down-to-earth. They're for real people living in a real world, and are intended to help us count the practical cost of relationship and then pay it--because in all the rewards and struggles of community, we're investing in something beyond our comprehension. You could call it heaven. You could call it home. It's the place where all of us are headed, all of us belong, and all of us will be normal at last. "
- Copyright:
- 2003
Book Details
- Book Quality:
- Excellent
- Book Size:
- 213 Pages
- ISBN-13:
- 9780310228646
- Publisher:
- N/A
- Date of Addition:
- 10/02/05
- Copyrighted By:
- John Ortberg
- Adult content:
- No
- Language:
- English
- Has Image Descriptions:
- No
- Categories:
- Nonfiction, Self-Help, Health, Mind and Body, Religion and Spirituality, Social Studies
- Submitted By:
- Mike Pietruk
- Proofread By:
- Lisa Soulor
- Usage Restrictions:
- This is a copyrighted book.
Reviews
Other Books
- by John Ortberg
- in Nonfiction
- in Self-Help
- in Health, Mind and Body
- in Religion and Spirituality
- in Social Studies