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Finding Shelter
Copyright © 2020 by Russell J. Levenson Jr.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
A version of this book was previously published as Autumn Leaves by Insight Press.
Church Publishing
19 East 34th Street
New York, NY 10016
Cover art: Falling Graces by Russell J. Levenson Jr. Cover design by Jennifer Kopec, 2Pug Design
Photos on pages vii, 1, 25, 37, 61, 118, 128, courtesy of David Bolin and the Communications Department of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church; used by permission.
Page 18: Moses Finding Manna in the Desert, attributed to Carl Friedrich Wendelstadt (German 1786–1840), Northern European School, circa 1800s, 29" x 38” Oil on canvas. St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas. Used by permission.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Levenson, Russell J., author.
Title: Finding shelter : an autumn companion / Russell J. Levenson Jr.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019047401 (print) | LCCN 2019047402 (ebook) | ISBN 9781640652699 (paperback) | ISBN 9781640652705 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Autumn--Prayers and devotions. | Episcopal Church--Prayers and devotions.
Classification: LCC BV135.A98 L48 2020 (print) | LCC BV135.A98 (ebook) | DDC 242/.2--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019047401
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019047402
Dedicated tomy wife, Laura, my children and familywith love and gratitude for their unending supply of encouragement and support,and to the staff and members of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas,with deep appreciation for their prayers, friendship and the work of sharing the Gospel together
Contents
10 • Speak . . . For Your Servant Is Listening . . .
11 • Giants Don’t Have the Last Word
12 • You Are the One . . .
13 • Choosing Wisely
14 • The Lord—He Is God!
15 • I Am God . . . You Are My Child . . .
16 • Heaven’s Gate
17 • Do You Really Want to Grow?
18 • To Whom Should You Go?
19 • Trusting in the Unseen
20 • There’s More to the Story
21 • Salt and Light
22 • Get Some Rest
23 • For All the Right Reasons
24 • Death for the Sake of Life
25 • What “Raised” Means for You
26 • A Fork in the Road
27 • How to Live
28 • Pruning It to the Core
29 • The Promise of the Unseen
30 • Lawless Fruits
31 • Giving the Devil His Due
32 • A Song Worth Singing
33 • Don’t Poke the Bear
34 • Who Gets Your Vote?
35 • Every Day Belongs to God
36 • Punching Holes in the Darkness
37 • Angst or Thanks?
38 • What Remains
39 • King Me!
40 • The Beginning at the End
Afterword • Pregnant Pause
Acknowledgments
Scriptural Index
Index of Authors Cited
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will
say of the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress; my
God, in whom I trust.”
—Psalm 91:1–2
Here is the purpose for this book—to give you a place of shelter in your daily life. What follows is a set of meditations,