* Helps bridge the gap between love of God and love of nature * A separate Facilitator's Guide accompanies the book for small group usage Many people experience God most strongly in nature but do not know how to incorporate this experience into their spiritual life. Others question whether Christianity has room for nature at all and seek alternatives elsewhere, often leaving Christianity entirely. This book addresses this crucial issue by providing a resource for fostering a closer relationship with God and creation. With a step-by-step approach, this book provides a framework integrating asceticism with the contemplation of nature. Each chapter contains a "take it home" section for applying the lessons learned outdoors to everyday life, connecting God and nature as seamless components of spirituality. Topics include gratitude, delight, ppreciation, wonder, discernment, reverence, mortality, love, beauty, humility, silence, and hope.

This book promotes Christian ecology and animal ethics from the perspectives of the Bible, science, and the Judeo-Christian tradition. In an age of climate change, how do we protect species and individual animals? Does it matter how we treat bugs? How does understanding the Trinity and Christ's self-emptying nature help us to be more responsible earth caretakers? What do Christian ethics have to do with hunting? How do the Foxfire books of Southern Appalachia help us to love a place? Does ecology need a place at the pulpit and in hymns? How do Catholic approaches, past and present, help us appreciate and respond to the created world? Finally, how does Jesus respond to humans, nonhumans, and environmental concerns in the Gospel of Mark?

This Facilitator Guide offers a framework for using Living in an Icon as a series of exercises and community building practices for small groups in various settings, from weekend retreats or study series, to a 21-week extended practice.