The Call of the Psalms:
A Spiritual Companion for Busy People
Rev. Joanna J. Seibert, MD
Preface by Phyllis Tickle
Foreword by David Lipschitz MD Ph.D
Release Date:
November 30, 2009
288 pages
ISBN 9780-9785648-7-2
$16.95
Advance Praise for The Call of the Psalms: A Spiritual Companion for Busy People
“The Call of the Psalms is a book to keep beside your chair in the morning or your bed at night. Each page is an invitation to enter the Psalms at the level of the heart more than to “study” the Psalms. That is particularly fitting, because the Psalms are the collected prayers and songs of countless real people with broken hearts, soaring praise, ecstatic wonder, and downright anger. There are elegant expressions of God's wondrous love for creation, and there are words that sound like a two-year-old's temper tantrum. In other words, the Psalms are life, unfiltered and painfully honest. Dr. Seibert's stories follow the same pattern. They include stories that fill the heart to overflowing. There are stories that unmask our own failings. And there are stories that carry us to places we'd rather not visit. But, like the Psalms, there is a constant awareness that we are living life that is connected -- to one another and to God. A Psalm, a story, and a suggestion for mulling it all over--this truly is a spiritual companion for busy people.”
The Rt. Rev. Larry Maze
12th bishop of the Diocese of Arkansas
“Many are deprived of entering into the treasures contained in The Psalms perhaps through a constricted knowledge of them, or the cursory rattling off of them that is characteristic of so much Sunday worship. The Call of the Psalms provides an effective antidote for that deprivation. As a physician, deacon, musician, and spiritual director who is thoroughly familiar with all sorts of physical and spiritual diseases and addictions, Joanna Seibert’s personal reflections on how The Psalms have impacted her own self-understanding and spiritual growth is a significant gift to all of us. Whether one is seeking to understand and better enter into the heart of The Psalter, or whether one is desirous of improving one conscious contact with God, The Call of the Psalms is a Grace-full door to such an adventure.”
The Rt. Rev. Robert B. Hibbs
Bishop Suffragan
Episcopal Diocese of West Texas (res)
“Three of the main ingredients for spiritual growth are honesty, open-mindedness and willingness. In her reflections Joanna Seibert has combined liberal amounts of all three, and the result is a concoction guaranteed to quicken the pulse of those who journey in the Spirit. As revealed in her salutary reflection upon authentic experience, the spiritual life coruscates when it takes it cue from the Psalmist: affliction in seasons of comfort and comfort for times of affliction.”
The Rev. Stuart H. Hoke, ThD
Pittsboro, North Carolina
“Joanna Seibert has a real gift for telling stories that help each of us to connect with the deeper meaning behind the poetry that is contained in the Psalms. In the hands of the loving Lord who is illuminated by her words, her willingness to be really honest about who she is and the God she trusts serves as an encouragement to me to do likewise. This book is one that I will always treasure and learn from every time I read it. I trust you will also.”
Eleanor Stromberger
Past President of Recovery Ministries
About the Author
Rev. Joanna J. Seibert, MD, is a pediatric radiologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the University of Arkansas Medical Sciences who has been an ordained deacon in the Diocese of Arkansas for eight years. She was formerly a deacon at St. Margaret's Episcopal Church in Little Rock, and she is presently assigned to Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Little Rock. She has edited a book of meditations on the Eucharistic readings, Surrounded by a Cloud of Witnesses, has been a writer for Forward, Day by Day, and is a frequent contributor to The Living Church. The author is a facilitator for the Community of Hope, Walking the Mourner’s Path and Trinity’s health ministry. She is also on the board of the National Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church. Rev. Dr. Seibert was named one of three "women of distinction" in Arkansas in 1992 and has been named one of the top 100 women in Arkansas by Arkansas Business for several years as well as being on the list of outstanding doctors in the country for many years. She is a former president and chairman of the board of the Society for Pediatric Radiology. She and her husband Robert have three grown children and have lived in Little Rock for 30 years.
Psalm 3
“But thou, O LORD, art a shield about me,
and my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cry aloud to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy hill.”
We are on a holiday weekend at a country retreat house. I wake up at this mountaintop respite, sit on the deck with my cup of coffee, and watch the white cloudy mist rise and gradually uncover the green valley below. The quiet and the stillness are as moving as a Brahms symphony. I am wearing old, loose clothes. I am peaceful and comfortable. My spiritual friend often tells me to wear life like a loose garment. I understand now what she means. I feel life hanging next to me like my loose dress. My spiritual friend tries to tell me not to take life so seriously, to lighten up, that I may not be as big a deal as I think. For so long, life has been a tight garment where every move I make is of utmost importance, affecting my life and the lives of others. I think back on my week. I think of problems that consumed me for days. Most have reached some solution or are stable, and I am now consumed by new difficulties that are agonizing me like the original ones. If only I could trust that answers will come and that I don't need to be in such a state of constant anxiety. My agonizing also did not bring on the solutions. I hope I can remember the metaphor of the loose garment when I return to the city and the real world. I seem to need so many physical and mental images to remind me what this life is all about. These are guideposts to lead me in my blindness, to keep me on the path that God has chosen for me.
Today wear loose clothes and lighten up. Consider that you and your decisions may not be as important as you think you are.
Excerpt
*To inquire about Rev. Dr. Seibert's availability for readings, conferences, and groups, please contact editor@temenospublishing.com
The Call of the Psalms:
A Spiritual Companion for People in Recovery
Rev. Joanna J. Seibert, MD
Preface by Phyllis Tickle
Foreword by David Lipschitz MD Ph.D
Release Date:
November 30, 2009
350 pages
ISBN
$19.95
This is our special "Recovery" edition of The Call of the Psalms, specifically for people in 12-step recovery.
Along with some changes throughout the text, after each Psalm and meditation is a place for "Reflections" to write thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
