Adore: A Simple Practice for Experiencing God in the Middle Minutes of Your Day

by Sara Hagerty, Lauren Chandler (Foreword by)

Overview

A simple, soul-nourishing practice for engaging with God in the middle minutes of your day.

None of us signed up for a conventional experience with the unconventional God, yet too often the spiritual life can become routine, or dare we say it, even boring.

For anyone who longs to experience God in the thick of life's demands, Sara Hagerty's Adore gives us all permission to admit "I barely know You, God." This honest admission is the first step closer to this familiar stranger. You’ll learn the simple practice of adoration—of starting where you are, and letting the grit of your day greet the beauty of God's presence.

Adoration is for the off moments and middle minutes. It's there for you when you feel rushed 7:37 a.m. It's there when you feel over-crowded by your kids or coworkers at 12:17 p.m. It's there when you feel stuck and frustrated at 5:53 p.m. Adoration is the place where we put how we feel in front of God's Word, and watch what happens to our insides. It's what you were made for.

Join Sara in this soul-stirring journey through thirty attributes of God that will help you hone the habit of adoration and see God with fresh eyes. Experience a new way of engaging with God in your everyday. Adore will show you how.

"The nearness and tenderness of God will be so real to you as you read this book. Sara builds words in such a way it feels like God is so near as you read them." –Jennie Allen, author and founder of IF:Gathering

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310357001
Publisher:	Zondervan
Publication date:	03/31/2020
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Sara Hagerty is a lifelong admirer of words. She's experienced their power to revive. The way she sees and crafts words comes from her love for God and his Word. Sara is married to her favorite person, Nate, and she's a mother of seven—four adopted from Africa and three through surprise miracle pregnancies. She's also a bestselling author and speaker who has found the significance of words whispered in hidden places as conversation with and worship to God as well as written in tearful honesty and shared with her readers. Today Sara's words offer God's hope to readers facing unexpected life circumstances. You can follow her on Instagram at @sarahagertywrites and on Substack at sarahagerty.substack.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Lauren Chandler 11

1 My Grit Meets His Beauty: Finding God Where We Least Expect Him 13

2 The Power of a Middle Minute: Relearning What Is Radical 23

3 The Storied God: How His Word Heals Our Stories 35

4 From the Inside Out: How Adoration Aligns Our Minds with His Thoughts 51

5 We Are What We Adore: How We Become What We Behold 64

6 Tiny Beginnings: The Power of Starting Where You Are 79

Adore: Thirty Characteristics of God with Which to Adore Him

1 Restorer 96

2 The God Who Sees 101

3 My Strength 106

4 Healer 110

5 Bridegroom 115

6 Father 120

7 Personal-to-Me God 126

8 God Who Is Merciful toward the Weak Me 131

9 God Who Fights for Me 136

10 God Whose Thoughts Are Higher Than Mine 140

11 God Who Wore Skin 145

12 Powerful God 151

13 God, Closer Than My Skin 157

14 Good-to-Me God 162

15 Tender God, Gentle with Me 167

16 Majestic God 172

17 My Friend 178

18 My Protector 182

19 Celebratory God 187

20 God Who Gives a Song in the Night 192

21 God Who Likes Me 197

22 God Who Uses Delay to Grow My Belief 202

23 God Who Champions Me 208

24 Beautiful God 213

25 God Who Responds to My Cries 217

26 My Pursuer 222

27 God Who Reaches Deep 227

28 God Who Brings Justice 233

29 God Who Turns the Bitter into Sweet 237

30 God of Hope 242

Final Word: A Commencement Letter 247

Acknowledgments 251

Notes 253

Editorial Reviews

We need women like Sara Hagerty, and we need more books like Adore—ushering us into the throne room of grace, in the middle of the mundane and the maintenance. This is a book not to miss. If you heed its encouragement, it will change your life.

Jess Connolly

Sara Hagerty's Adore is a beautiful invitation into the simple but vital practice of drawing near to God. I love Sara's heart in continually pointing us to the real and lasting treasure of daily and even minute-by-minute communion with God. This is where real life happens as we allow His Word and His presence to meet us every day, right where we are!

Christy Nockels

If you desire to have authentic intimacy with God and to understand how to cultivate peace and joy amid a demanding life, you must read this book. Sara has written a book after my own heart's values—finding God to be the source of light, beauty, truth, love that we need every day.

Sally Clarkson

Sara's words pour out like pure water, line after line, page after page, satiating a part of my heart I didn't know was suffering from thirst. Sara has an incredible way of drawing you into her story at the same time drawing you into a place where your heart tenderly acknowledges your need for God even in the smallest of moments throughout the day. Sara doesn't leave us there, as she also reveals the impact of His engaging presence as we look to Him and experience being known. Adore is more than a book, it is a pitcher of refreshment for the soul, healing balm for the heart, and a picture of God's enduring love for each and every one of us.

Jennifer Smith

The nearness and tenderness of God will be so real to you as you read this book. Sara builds words in such a way it feels like God is so near as you read them.

Jennie Allen

The longing of Sara's heart is for God and His with-us presence. Her writing reveals glimpses into their holy relationship. Adoration is not a prayer technique but a response of our hearts to His unending invitation to be with Him every moment of every day. I pray this book becomes contagious! Nothing is more important.

Barbara Rainey

This book is a must-read, and one that I will go back to again and again. As Sara shares her heart and stories, you feel so known and understood and drawn to the Savior's feet to worship Him there, in the midst of the storm and unknown and hard. This book was such a timely tool for me to adore Him in the midst of my own heartache.

Alyssa Bethke

Sara Hagerty's voice of wisdom has long been one of my favorites, because of her consistency in pointing her readers toward the Word of God and the one who breathed it. In Adore, Sara beckons us to look for God where we might least expect Him, in the mundane middle of our days and our lives. Her words turn my gaze to Jesus, who calls me to know His heart for me in new ways. Sara takes God's Word and makes it real, using her own experiences to show us how to apply His truth to our lives and how to open wide the doors for a new kind of relationship with our Father. In a world full of easy escapes, Adore is a needed reminder to center our lives around Jesus. If you, like me, need a fresh vision of God's goodness in the midst of your ordinary, this book is for you. Come, feel His gaze on you! See how He loves you!

Katie Davis Majors

Christian motivational speaker and author Sara Hagerty provides her own powerful narration of this new audiobook, which challenges how Christians look at the trials in their lives. Hagerty’s work focuses on the seemingly simple practice of using focused adoration. Rather than focusing on one's difficulties, Hagerty suggests turning one’s attention to the loving nature of Christ and forming a personal relationship with Him. Using real-life examples and personal fears, Hagerty’s narration carefully details her practice and how it may help Christian listeners build a stronger relationship with Christ and move forward in a difficult world. Her words are carefully chosen and spoken, giving listeners an opportunity to listen to an encouraging voice. V.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2020 - AudioFile

Christian motivational speaker and author Sara Hagerty provides her own powerful narration of this new audiobook, which challenges how Christians look at the trials in their lives. Hagerty’s work focuses on the seemingly simple practice of using focused adoration. Rather than focusing on one's difficulties, Hagerty suggests turning one’s attention to the loving nature of Christ and forming a personal relationship with Him. Using real-life examples and personal fears, Hagerty’s narration carefully details her practice and how it may help Christian listeners build a stronger relationship with Christ and move forward in a difficult world. Her words are carefully chosen and spoken, giving listeners an opportunity to listen to an encouraging voice. V.B. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2020 - AudioFile