Christ Beside Me, Christ Within Me: Celtic Blessings

by Beth Richardson

Do you wonder where God is present in your day? Let Beth Richardson help you learn to bless the life you have and experience the sacredness of every moment.Christ Beside Me, Christ Within Me guides you to be present in the moment and find God in your everyday circumstances through the use of blessings. Use the blessings in this book as touchstones throughout the day-a calm center to focus on despite whatever is happening around you.In typical Celtic style, the blessings encourage us to notice God's presence in each moment-especially through nature. A sense of joy and gratitude for ordinary moments pervades this book. Beth Richardson leads us to realize the richness of the gifts of life, express our feelings about special moments and times of struggle, and find ways to pray for the world and all its people.

100 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book of blessing

This is a lovely book of blessings. Beth Richardson takes a moment at the beginning to describe Celtic spirituality, which sees and looks for God present in all things — in the beauty of creation, in the hardships of life, in transition, in each new step. She then introduces the “bless to me” prayer — a way of praying that centers the experience of experiencing God in the ordinary moments. But the heart of the book — and the real grace of it — lies in the blessings that she then offers — bless to me prayers (and other forms of blessing) that she has written for the living of these days. It’s a book to keep on the bedside table, with blessings for the dawn and close of each day, and for the moments in between.

[Janie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book at a retreat center where I was staying for a day. I read the entire book in one sitting. This is something I haven’t done in years. Every prayer spoke to me, and a few were especially profound. I walked a labyrinth this morning and prayed for so much: peace, confidence in my competence as a minister, a fresh/renewed awareness of the work of the spirit in me even today, and for grace through my difficult ministry. Many of these blessings felt like direct and specific answers to what I asked, and that feels miraculous to me in this moment. So my review is so subjective, but this book was a tremendous blessing to me today.

[saskia c vaughan · Rating 3 out of 5]

They are very beautiful prayers. The organization of this book is somewhat random . This makes applying them to daily life challenging. They are very ocasion specific.

[David Hindman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of prayers, ancient and contemporary, offered in the Celtic tradition.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beth Richardson is a member of the RevGalBlogPals webring (All the Wonders), the Director of Creative Content at the Upper Room, and the Managing Editor at Weavings Journal – please pause for a moment of mournful silence in acknowledgement that Weavings is soon to publish its last print issue. This slim volume of blessings in the Celtic style touches on ordinary life experiences from walking the dog to drinking coffee to birthdays and life's losses. I recommend it as a companion and source of poetic hope and consolation.