Luci Shaw is a legend --Christianity Today

This captivating collection of poems by beloved author Luci Shaw, reflects on daily ideas and activities as they arrive, bit by bit, to illuminate us with their wisdom and enlarge on the meanings of human experience. Like small messages from beyond, these incidents call us to pay attention.

In An Incremental Life, Shaw breathes life into the simpleness of the every-day and finds God in the memory of the mundane. Through her verses, she explores the intricate tapestry of existence, from the tender memories of childhood to the profound questions of mortality. Her poems are like windows opening to the soul, inviting readers to pause, reflect, and savor the beauty of the world around them.

INCREMENTS
I live by increments, single
breaths of an ambient air,
marking off hours, days.

Apprenticed to grace, I tread statio
in sequentiae, edging every step
forward before venturing the next.

Staggering up towards the stony
crests of the foothills, dusty, I am
almost undone with weariness, only half
believing that the view will widen.

In my falling upward into your home,
O Faithful One, stay with me,
your wind music playing the ear of
my mind like an instrument.

This is how life happens, one day at a time, in increments! And God is in each of them for us, Luci Shaw

From the pen of beloved poet Luci Shaw comes a new collection that celebrates inspired creativity as an antidote to chaos.

The poet's own words best describe the heart of this pinnacle collection of new work by beloved writer Luci Shaw:

Entropy: A measure of the molecular disorder, or randomness, of a system, its lack of order or predictability, resulting in a gradual decline into disorder.

Our universe, and the systems within it, constantly shift from their created states of order towards disorder, or chaos. The second law of thermodynamics asserts that entropy, or disorder, always increases with time. Creative human activities such as art, architecture, music, story or film are human efforts to halt and reverse this loss of meaning. Thus, smaller systems, like individual poems, become highly ordered as they receive energy from outside themselves, from the poet. They reverse entropy because they are moving from a state of disorder (all the random ideas, words and phrases available to the writer) into an orderly form designed by the writer to create meaningful images and concepts in the reader's mind (which is where the word imag-ination comes from.) This transfer of images, concepts and ideas into the mind of a reader is the task of poetry and the calling of the poet. Just as a composer of music gathers rhythms, notes, melodies, or harmony, organizing them into fugues or sonatas or concertos, so poets work and write to discover ways of arranging their responses to the world in words that introduce meaning and beauty in the mind of the reader.

Which is what I've been trying to do for most of my life.

Poet and author Luci Shaw guides you into a deeper understanding of how to cultivate the life of the soul in relationship to God. Water My Soul speaks of the interior life in images of garden and wilderness, seed and soil, watering and waiting-metaphors for the process that leads to the spouting of the seed, the greening of the leaf, and the eventual harvest of flower and fruit. This book speaks straight to the heart, helping you enjoy a lifelong partnership with God as you cultivate a rich inner life-a life characterized by growth in wisdom and godliness. Luci Shaw is one of our best writers. Read this wonderful book, and for heaven's sake pick up some copies for your friends -Annie Dillard Water My Soul is a profoundly rooted book that reminds us all to slow down, breathe deeply, and experience God at work. Luci Shaw displays the wisdom of a woman who has lived well and the child-like wonder of a believer who continues to discover new reasons to believe. This book will be a classic-a volume to be reread whenever life seems to spin out of control. -Dale Hanson Burke Publisher, Religion News Service

Rejoice, readers, as you receive the generosity of Luci Shaw's 76 new grace-infused parable poems. Autobiography once more merges with theology as these poems illuminate in splendored natural detail how the seasons of creation parallel and explain the seasons of her life as a poet. Again and again, these poems shower us with glorious epiphanies from the natural world as it reflects God's generosity at work such as spring's impossible news of green. These poems confirm that in poetry as in faith ripeness is all. Like Wordsworth, Luci is celebrated for being a highly gifted landscape poet whose works are rich in imagery from the physical world--meadows filled with seeds, flowers, and also poems which are like shoots in Luci's writing life. Animals, too, great and small (beetles, cricket, and voles to bears and whales) play a major role in Luci's poetics of creation; God is likened to a great bear who leaves paw tracks for us to follow. In their deep faith and vibrant colors and designs, the poems in Generosity might be considered Luci's Book of Kells. We need to be like Luci's father who carried her poems in his briefcase to show his friends. --Philip C. Kolin, Author, Reaching Forever: Poems; Distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus), University of Southern Mississippi

The word 'angel' means 'messenger' and the title poem of this book, 'Angels Everywhere, ' presents the idea that what I often glimpse is a flicker of glancing light, as if a heavenly being is darting in and out of my viewing, allowing me entry into a realm beyond my physical, experiential world--brief revelatory messages from somewhere beyond. I'm hoping that as you read these poems, (more than once, aloud if possible) something like Wordsworth's 'intimations of immortality' will enliven your own perceptions of the world as you experience it. Maybe your own fleet of angels will show up! --Luci Shaw, from the Introduction

Angels Everywhere is published under Paraclete Press's Iron Pen imprint. In the book of Job, a suffering man pours out his anguish to his Maker. From the depths of his pain, he reveals a trust in God's goodness that is stronger than his despair, giving humanity some of the most beautiful and poetic verses of all time. Paraclete's Iron Pen imprint is inspired by this spirit of unvarnished honesty and tenacious hope.

Luci Shaw is someone who knows the world-the oldest definition of a poet. Her animating intelligence descends into the concrete facts of our existence to discover the divine force that shapes the world and maintains its being. Her poetry recapitulates that intimate naming by which man defines himself-the first role God assigned to the human creature.Harold Fickett, author of The Holy FoolLongtime readers of these poems will renew old acquaintances and pick up a sheaf of new friends besides. New readers will welcome her gifts of Word-crafted icons by which we behold the Glory, see the Holy.Eugene H. PetersonPolishing the Petoskey Stone is a wonderful compilation of many of the richest of Luci Shaw's poems, both old and new. It's wonderful to see growth in her understanding of the joys and tragedies of life as they can be expressed in poetry. I sense a new, and perhaps harsher, view of reality which is always redeemed by the never failing love of God.Madeleine L'Engle, author of A Wrinkle in TimeLuci Shaw is the author of many books, including God in the Dark, Listen to the Green, and Writing the River. A speaker, teacher, poet, editor, and writer, she lives in Bellingham, Washington.

Luci Shaw is now 90 years old. The author of more than 35 collections of poetry and creative non-fiction over the last five decades, she describes her dedication to this art as a burden to speak into a culture that finds it hard to listen. This collection of new poems--all composed over the last two years--is in many ways the culmination of a stunning career.

The joy and responsibility of the poet is to focus on particulars within the universe, finding fragments of meaning that speak to the imagination. Ordinary things may reveal the extraordinary for those willing to take time to investigate and ponder. In this fresh collection of poems, Luci Shaw practices the art of seeing, and then writing what she sees, realizing that beauty is often focused in the Eye of the Beholder.

Eye of the Beholder is meant to awaken in readers awareness of the extraordinary in the ordinary. They will find in this collection a focus for meditation and be excited into their own imaginative writing.

A Whimsical Journey of Hope and Joy for Children

Discover the joy and beauty of God's gifts with The O in Hope. This delightful picture book combines Luci Shaw's renowned heartfelt and hope-filled poetry with the playful, vibrant cut-paper illustrations from Ned Bustard.

Perfect for young children and the adults who share these moments with them, this engaging picture book invites readers to experience God's love and wonder together. Younger readers will delight in finding the hidden O's throughout the text, turning every page into a joyful exploration.

The O in Hope includes thoughtful conversation suggestions for parents and caregivers, encouraging meaningful discussions about hope, joy, and God's many blessings.

The O in Hope Features:

• A joyous poem celebrating God's gifts of hope and love
• Whimsical illustrations that captivate children and adults alike
• O hunting fun for young readers
• A special message to parents and caregivers with discussion ideas

Whether settling in for story time or sparking conversations about faith, The O in Hope offers a nurturing and enriching experience for kids and the adults who read with them.

I can think of no other anthology which celebrates with such intensity the entire drama of the Christian faith. Here we have a host of poets praising God, and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest.' A Widening Light moves the reader through recognitions and meditations toward prayer. (Harold Fickett)

Luci Shaw has compiled perceptions both delicate and powerful of Jesus the 'baby prince, ' the Man, the golden Lion, Jesus Christ the Lord. For those who love poetry and those who think they don't, I recommend a slow and thoughtful reading of this lovely book. Each page reflects from a different angle the Light of the World. (Elisabeth Elliott)

A Widening Light ranks as one of the very best anthologies of Christian poetry. (John H. Timmerman)

The double question we must always ask is, 'How does faith inform art?' and 'How can art animate faith?'

Imagination, appreciation of beauty, creativity: all of these qualities have been given to us by God. For the Christian artist, the drive to create something wonderful is also a means to glorify and better understand our Lord. Using excerpts from her own works as well as those of writers who have gone before her--Emily Dickinson, Annie Dillard, C.S. Lewis, and others--poet and writer Luci Shaw proves that symbolism and metaphor provide ways for humans to experience God in new and powerful ways.

Shaw offers a rich and thought-provoking exploration of art, creativity, and faith. Believing that art emanates from God, she shows how imagination and spirituality work in tandem, each feeding on and nourishing the other. Faith informs art and art enhances faith. They both, for each other, are breath for the bones.

Provocative, enlightening, and above all, inspiring, Breath for the Bones will help readers discover the artist within, and bring them further along the path to God Himself.

Include s Discussion Questions and Writing Exercises

In arid coastal areas of South America, locals hang rags outside until they're saturated with fog. They wring out this water, all year long, as a means of survival. They call it harvesting fog. And that, writes LUCI SHAW, is a lot like writing poems. In her poems, Shaw observes and contemplates nature and humanity: I'm merely a floater in the eye of God. Behold the fleck of ant... If by observation, we become part of an insect's life, is he aware of us? Shaw's poems invite us to awaken the spirit of loving and giving: The tide that outward ebbs, turns then and inward flows, And what I offer you, you'll multiply to me. Shaw's 10th volume of poetry satisfies a thirsty imagination. Shaw turns the details of our lives, the droplets, into the music of possibility.PRAISE for HARVESTING FOG: Luci Shaw sees in the natural world a dynamic incarnation of God's love. Luminous poems, of faith richly woven into the fabric of daily life and change, full of surprises and moments of delicious holy mischief.--Betsy ShollIntensely personal, her poems also draw deeply on the legacy she has embraced as an heir to Herbert, Hopkins, Dickinson, and others whose shadows fall gently across her lines, giving them texture and adding to their quiet contemporary beauty.--Marilyn McEntyreEnvision a long life through imaginative changes of lens. Light becomes a bookish beetle, the Infant Jesus is a small sack of God, and idea is a glitter of ash to be flung over the ocean.--Jeanine HathawayOne might argue with Heidegger that only in poetry can Being achieve adequate articulation, find a local habitation and a name, become known. For Shaw, whose poems so brilliantly and movingly locate authentic Being in the forms and processes of nature, the lyric impulse often approaches the incarnational.--B.H.FairchildSacramental poems offer nourishment for the starving soul with a topping of delightful whimsy, a bowlful of cool in the face.--Paul Willi

From the time she was a child in Toronto, celebrated poet Luci Shaw has sent Advent greetings to her friends and family with a carefully crafted original poem. What began as a simple childhood exercise has now become a beloved annual tradition. Though a number of these poems have appeared elsewhere, Accompanied by Angels gathers all of them for the first time into a collection for all readers for any season of the year.Beginning with the joy, terror, and wonder of the annunciation, Shaw leads the reader on a poetic journey through the birth, life, and death of Jesus the Christ, culminating in the joyous and unexpected wonder of his resurrection. Her subjects run from the mundane to the sublime, from birds in flight and waiting old men to fiery angels and storm-ravaged ridges.

Writing the River traces the steps of a writer who cocks her ear to listen for spiritual reality. The book is a record of her search into everything - rivers and bread and closets - and sometimes, as if by miracle, she finds what she is looking for. And whether she tells about the search or the finding, she writes with utter clarity. -Jeanne Murray Walker, poet, author of Coming Into History In Writing the River and elsewhere, Luci Shaw's poems provide us with sudden, surprising images and metaphors infused with spiritual significance even when purely about the natural world, and profoundly human and natural even when about a clearly religious subject. Her language is sensuous and musical and highly visual. All who value poetry that includes the spiritual dimension of experience will value hers. -Robert Siegel, poet, author of In a Pig's Eye Luci Shaw is author of eight volumes of poetry, among them Listen to the Green, Water Lines, and Polishing the Petoskey Stone. Her other books include Water My Soul and God in the Dark: Through Grief and Beyond. Since 1988 Shaw has been adjunct faculty member and Writer in Residence at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Luci Shaw's poetry is already widely known and celebrated. Scape, her 2013 collection of new poetry, explores metaphors of spiritual significance, paying attention to the small and seemingly irrelevant events of living and listening to nature. Wise, thoughtful, and probing, her sensuous lyrics find fresh connections and relationships between God and his created universe.

What role should ambition play in our lives? Our culture generally buys the American Dream that yes, we can fulfill all our aspirations. But to seek personal power and fame in the competitive world of Western culture has a dark side. Ambition can be subtle and enticing, leading to great unhappiness. Questions about ambition are more urgent now than they have ever been. What is ambition, exactly, and is it okay to be ambitious? What part does self-esteem play in personal growth and productivity? Can the ego's drive to get ahead and make a name for oneself lead to obsession or a growing narcissism? Does the desire to do one's best constitute ambition, or faithfulness to one's calling? Can personal character and integrity be eroded by too much celebrity and success? The writers in this book address these complex questions about ambition in a variety of ways and in wonderfully different voices. The pieces range from personal musings to thought experiments and more formal reflections. With elegance and wisdom, the writers raise and reflect on the question that lies at our most intimate core of being and at the very center of our culture.

What role should ambition play in our lives? Our culture generally buys the American Dream that yes, we can fulfill all our aspirations. But to seek personal power and fame in the competitive world of Western culture has a dark side. Ambition can be subtle and enticing, leading to great unhappiness. Questions about ambition are more urgent now than they have ever been. What is ambition, exactly, and is it okay to be ambitious? What part does self-esteem play in personal growth and productivity? Can the ego's drive to get ahead and make a name for oneself lead to obsession or a growing narcissism? Does the desire to do one's best constitute ambition, or faithfulness to one's calling? Can personal character and integrity be eroded by too much celebrity and success? The writers in this book address these complex questions about ambition in a variety of ways and in wonderfully different voices. The pieces range from personal musings to thought experiments and more formal reflections. With elegance and wisdom, the writers raise and reflect on the question that lies at our most intimate core of being and at the very center of our culture.

Luci Shaw's poetry is already widely known and celebrated. Scape, her 2013 collection of new poetry, explores metaphors of spiritual significance, paying attention to the small and seemingly irrelevant events of living and listening to nature. Wise, thoughtful, and probing, her sensuous lyrics find fresh connections and relationships between God and his created universe.

Fisherman Bible Studyguides have been a trusted name in Bible study for almost thirty years. With outstanding authors, an emphasis on personal growth, and over eighty titles, the Fisherman guides offer a breadth and depth of biblical study not found in any other series. Fisherman are written with a commitment to the unique authority of the Bible in our lives. Nondenominational, nonsectarian, and suitable for new Christians and mature Christians, Fisherman have a broad appeal with a biblical base.

In Colossians: Focus on Christ, an eight-week New Testament study, readers study Paul's letter to the Colossians and realize that aspects of heresy that threatened the early church are active in our own world. Paul provides an answer as he encourages us to focus on Christ.