Share this page!

Enter URL or ID to Unroll

You can paste full URL like: https://x.com/threadreaderapp/status/1644127596119195649
or just the ID like: 1644127596119195649

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

  1. On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
  2. Click again on or Share Via icon
  3. Click on Copy Link to Tweet
  4. Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
  5. More info at Twitter Help
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
@pauljpastor
Aug 1, 2020 • 10 tweets • 3 min read • Read on X
IT'S HERE. Five years after the first edition, the *brand new* edition of THE FACE OF THE DEEP drops today!

Read on for more about it, and how to get the full audiobook (read by me, with an original ambient score) for free. #TheFaceOfTheDeep Image
I began this book in 2010, as part of my journey to seek how the Holy Spirit is present in & through our lives. This idea captured me--that at the core of the Christian message was this beautiful "secret"--that the Creator's own life becomes OUR life as we come to life in Christ.
The more I read, thought, wandered the woods and tossed rocks in creeks (you know, the important stuff), the more it became clear--God's Spirit is not relegated to cold rationality but swells with earthy, wild life--the same life that made and renews all things--Christ's life.
Out of that, came this book. 14 creative non-fiction essays that work with the Bible, personal narrative, and a deep wonder at the world to trace one man's connection to God's Spirit at work in all things wild, good, and true.
The book features *incredible* original iconography from @martinfrenchpdx (martinfrench.com). Here's just one, on "The Birth From Above." Image
Now, @David_C_Cook (in a rare move) is re-releasing the book. New cover, fresh interior, and a lush, gorgeous audio version, read by me and scored by my brilliant brother Luke. It's so good. And you can get it as a free bonus when you buy the new edition.
It's easy. Just go here: pauljpastor.com/the-face-of-th…

Buy the book, and enter your email and confirmation code lower on the page. that's it.
Now, I'll be sharing a bit more, but will you please help me spread the message of this book? Its quiet focus on the roots of our life and faith feel more important than ever in a noisy world where wonder can seem in short supply. Buy a copy or two? Share with others?
My hope is that this new edition of a beloved book can bring fresh attention not only to the Spirit's work of creation, renewal, justice, and united diversity, but that we will feel new power to simply live as our deepest and truest selves, after the example of Jesus.
Image

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
　

Keep Current with Paul J. Pastor

Paul J. Pastor Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @pauljpastor

Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Dec 28, 2022
When camping, backpackers use a ground pad not for softness but for insulation. Without it, our tiny bodies will attempt to warm the cool bulk of planet Earth, chilling us.

I see a similar principle at work in many unhealthy relationships, especially with insitutions. (Contd.)
A "warm" person, because they do not have sufficient insulation, is slowly cooled by the sheer bulk of a church, business, family system, codependent partner, etc. They usually do not notice it until they are getting metaphorically hypothermic. It is always debilitating.
The answer is to pack a metaphorical ground pad and use it thoroughly--that little bit of personal insulation that allows you to stay warm. Perhaps a healthy sense of self. Perhaps a boundary or two. Perhaps simply a hobby, or long walks, or a daily game of cards with your kid.
Read 4 tweets
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Jul 6, 2022
I hear so much, often from thoughtful people, against “certainty” in matters of the spirit.

I understand they are reacting against a small, over-rational simulacrum of faith, one once likely handed to them with all manner of large and fluffy promises. I also understand that…
…there is a process of the soul that must pass through its dark night, when one loses one’s sense of which way is up, and so may be rearranged; initiated into a new phase of the inner life. In such times there is a real letting go of some surety. But this process only comes to…
…a true resolution in the presence of some large Certainties—the kind we cannot ever really hold, but which may hold us.

And so to demonize “certainty,” even in the little ways, seems to me to be much like a pilgrim pushing a scalpel fiber by fiber into their Achilles’ tendon.
Read 8 tweets
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Mar 30, 2022
If you write, it's likely that a key step in your growth will be learning to quiet whoever it is that's "looking over your shoulder."

This is that unspoken influence (essence of parent, teacher, pastor, etc.) who wishes you to be a smaller, more convenient version of yourself.
It is a very personal thing to discern and shed this watcher-on-the-shoulder. To do so does not mean disrespect to the people whose voices have got inside you. You do not honor them by letting their disembodied voice steer you. Telling the truth is the vocation of the writer.
One of the writer's deep and constant temptations is the lure of the false self. When we write from this space, we do not share ourselves as gift with our reader, we cultivate a persona. The effect of this is to try to take something from our reader (attention and praise).
Read 5 tweets
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Mar 28, 2022
Pleased to share "Montana Seeds" (more traditional than most of my poems) a piece dedicated to Eugene Peterson over at @NorthAmAnglican.

I wrote this last summer, while sitting in Eugene's chair, on a cliff overlooking Flathead Lake.

northamanglican.com/montana-seeds/
On that trip (with precious time spent with @stephenproctor, @MelissaMoore77, @BethMooreLPM, @cottrelltravis, and @Biscuet), I was reading Nabokov's "Pale Fire," swimming daily in the lake, and thinking much of the constancy of change, the mad, good grief of gaining-by-losing...
That principle (lose to find, die to live, change to be constant) is the core of the natural order, and the core of the Way of new life. It makes fools of the wise, and is very beautiful. It is in the bones and cones of the world, coded in the rock and sun and water. It is love.
Read 4 tweets
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Mar 14, 2022
I spend a lot of time writing (and working with writers), and I have become extremely leery about what often feels like half of the writing helps and platitudes out there, including most "hacks," and nearly all "distraction-free" software, etc. Here's why...
Organizational methods are fine, and if there is a specialized product or strategy that helps you do that, more power to you. But they will only solve superficial problems in the writer's life or method, and they often offer a comforting, distractive sense of false productivity.
For most people, writing is difficult. This is for many reasons, but they tend to follow certain patterns. Many beginners struggle with either a sort of stage fright at seeing a blank page, or a logorrhea so intense that they can't shut the words off, and lose objectivity.
Read 11 tweets
Paul J. Pastor Profile picture
Jan 7, 2022
Working with many writers over the past ten+ years, I have noticed three "types." All of them can produce excellent work, but each have unique roadblocks to getting work done well.

The three: The Overthinker, the Underthinker, and the Middlethinker. (Read on...)
The Overthinker does precisely what you'd think. They're their own opponent on the page. Every line, every paragraph is a slow wrestling match between them and their "thing": perhaps imposter syndrome, a need to "research more," or just decision-making paralysis. They do best...
...when encouraged, warmly and genuinely, and urged simply to "jump." Perfection is impossible, but the reader doesn't know that. Commit! Do your work, yes, but also know when to stop. It does not take a week to scramble one egg! They are formidable when they take that leap.
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!

This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

Send Email!

:(