The Emmanuel Promise Summer Joy Gross penned The Emmanuel Promise: Discovering the Security of a Life Held by God (BakerBooks) in 2024. Summer currently serves as a priest of the Anglican Church of North America. In addition, Summer ministers as a retreat leader and spiritual director. Above all, Summer observes, Emmanuel, God-with-us, isn’t just a […]
“Lament is an invitation to experience attunement with God, who ‘tunes in’ to the suffering of His children. . . . Crying out is the key to our bond with God. Our every cry becomes a bid for attachment.”- Summer Joy Gross “You have kept count of my tears, put my tears in your bottle. […]
“I long to see imagination released from its prison and given its proper place among the Sons of the new creation.”- A. W. Tozer “Nothing is more practical than finding God. That is, falling in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination will affect everything. It will […]
“When we encounter Jesus through the holy imagination in the Gospels, we view His character up close and we can’t help but become captivated. . . . We watch His compassion and begin to believe that compassion is available for us.”- Summer Joy Gross “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter […]
“Sometimes when we first begin to introduce silence into our lives, . . instead of feeling energized and connected with God, we feel heavy and tired, depressed even. Again, this is normal. It’s part of our detox from a culture of hurry. . . . Rest is not indulgence, it’s provision.”- Summer Joy Gross “It’s […]
“Intentional silence, even for a mature Christian, can feel either scary or entirely superfluous, but when we make time for silence, we carve out space for transformation. We have to detach in order to attach. . . . We’re pushing aside outer noise and saying yes to an inner stillness where God has the chance […]
“The kingdom of God is not about escaping suffering. The kingdom of God is about coming into deep, abiding communion with Jesus Christ and being transformed into His likeness, even through suffering. . . . I believe victory reflects God’s power back to Him, not our perfectly followed formula. . . . If we could […]
“Blest are you who suffer hate, / All because of Me. / Rejoice and be glad, yours is the kingdom; / Shine for all to see.”- Blest are They, verse 5 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put […]
“Breath prayer is a simple, contemplative prayer that builds muscle memory as we abide with God. . . . It is a simple way to . . . come to a place of rest in the presence of your Emmanuel. When we marry Scripture or a prayer phrase with our breath, we experience being quieted […]
“The 3 R’s — Rest, Receive, Respond — is a contemplative practice that grounds us in God’s presence through rest and invites us to receive and linger in an encounter of His love before we respond out of spontaneous gratitude.”- Summer Joy Gross “See what love the Father has lavished on us, that we should […]
“Emmanuel is always speaking life. And, Dear One, when Scripture shines a spotlight on a different Scripture that uproots a rooted lie, hold on tight. This is the beginning of your untangling. Sometimes when you encounter that Scripture, you feel like a cat basking in the warmth of a sunbeam. . . . Sometimes . […]
“Lectio Divina is a relational reading of the Word. As we slow down the Word, His story becomes even more tender. His words are wound around our years, and over time we are grafted into His redemption story. Lectio Divina invites us to come to the Word, not as a conqueror, but with openness and […]