Most Popular Books by Ray Buckley

Hard To Dance With the Devil On Your Back

A Native American retelling of the birth of Christ.

For people of faith, storytelling has special meaning. We are people of the story, and we seek to identify and share our stories in nearly everything we do. Dancing with Words provides help for all church leaders -- both clergy and lay -- to explore the history and importance of storytelling in faith development and to acquire basic storytelling skills. You will soon discover ways that storytelling enhances ministry. Storytelling at its best is an interaction between storyteller and story listener. It is a relationship between the speaker and the listener that may best be described not as a "telling" but as sharing -- storysharing. The vehicle is the story, but the experience can be as engaging as an intimate conversation. In Dancing with Words you will discover that storytelling can enable hearers to view history, values, culture, faith, life lessons, and other critical elements in ways that may be easily assimilated in memory. Through an understanding of the history of storytelling and of storytellers as keepers of beliefs, traditions, history, and values, you will: find new meaning in the stories and the storytellers of the Bible and of the Christian faith learn what makes a good story discover your own style as a storyteller learn the techniques of effective storytelling practice creating stories from your own experience Tell Stories Leader''s Guide is also available.

"While physical training has some value, training in holy living is useful for everything. It has promise for this life now and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8 CEB) Christians crave a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. The spiritual disciplines are historical practices that can guide us in our daily walk, bringing us closer to Christ. The Holy Living series brings a fresh perspective on the spiritual disciplines, enabling us to apply their practices to our current lives. Practicing these spiritual disciplines opens us to God''s transforming love. Prayer has always been a central component in the life of a Christian. For many people, prayer is as natural as breathing; for others, it''s a challenging task. No matter your comfort level or experience with prayer, this book will help you explore the purpose of prayer, the nature of prayer, and the results of a life of prayer. It leads you to be open to the transformation prayer can bring to your life and helps you better engage in prayer both individually and with others. This is one of series of eight books. Each book in this series introduces a spiritual practice, suggests way of living the practice daily, and provides opportunities to grow personally and in a faith community with others who engage with the practice. Each book consists of an introduction and four chapters and includes questions for personal reflection and group discussion. Other disciplines studied: Celebration, Confession, Discernment, Neighboring, Prayer, Simplicity, Study, and Worship.

An intense, deeply emotional collection of introspective poetry on love, loss, and memory. Magnesium stretches the limits of language and logic as Buckley pieces together fragmented thoughts surrounding a displaced romance, and moments lost to the passage of time.

Lay speakers will learn what makes a good story, discover their own style as a storyteller, study the techniques of effective storytelling, and practice creating stories from their own experience. The Participant''s Guide for this course is: Dancing With Words by Ray Buckley.