All I Really Want

About The Book:  Sometimes the happiest and holiest time of the year is also the hardest for people to enjoy. These daily readings offer the skeptic, the over-committed the opportunity to make room-perhaps just enough room for God to show up. The weeks leading up to Christmas can spark a strong spiritual longing for more. Although it may never be articulated, we sense beneath those longings is a yearning for an experience of God. These brief writings address the challenges and realities of the season and include a simple action, ritual or meditation designed to gently steer the reader toward the deeper meaning that underlies the season. Smart, witty, edgy—and always hopeful—readings by Quinn Caldwell include a brief prayer for each morning and evening during the entire Christmas season. This book takes seriously the modern person’s hunger for meaning and import in a season that feels increasingly frivolous. Includes a calendar with one easy task to do each day.
About The Author:  Quinn G. Caldwell is a native of  Groton and graduate of Cornell University, as  pastor and teacher.  Caldwell is well known in the wider United Church of Christ (UCC) as a member of the UCC Stillspeaking Writers’ Group and an author for the Stillspeaking Daily Devotionals, published on the UCC website. (http://www.ucc.org/feed-your-spirit/daily-devotional/) He is a former associate minister at Old South Church in Boston and since January has led the Under-40 Writers Group for the UCC website’s Feed Your Spirit section on the denomination’s global reach.  Caldwell is the co-author of The Unofficial Handbook of the United Church of Christ, published last year. The UCC describes it: “The co-authors – two young UCC ministers who are lifelong “UCCers” – have written this useful resource for all UCCers, but particularly for millennials: confirmation-aged youth and teens. Readers will learn about, appreciate, and be proud of their denomination—while not taking themselves too seriously.”  His other wider church activities include co-creating “Bless,” a small group DVD resource; co-hosting “Bless: A Conference for Worship Leaders” in 2011; and co-creating the nationally streamed commissioning service for Misson:1, also in 2011. 
My Thoughts On The Book:  I loved it.  This book is a wonderfully fresh approach to the Advent Season.  It is a perfect book for those CEO's (Christmas and Easter Only) folks who are not in to the formal ways of church and perfect for those who are regular Sunday attenders.  As a pastor I enjoyed the refreshing way he handled the holiday season with humor, joy, and faith.  It definitely draws you in and keeps you wanting more.  This is a great book for your library that can be used each Advent Season. 
Disclaimer:  I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. I would like to thank Netgalley and Abbingdon Press for the opportunity to read and review this book.