Something You Once Knew: Waking up to the extraordinary in your ordinary life

by Joshua Luke Smith

Overview

'Joshua's tone and message communicates a wisdom that can only come from first-hand experience. The grace and poetic writing within this book will stay with you for ever' - Propaganda, Author, Poet, Political Activist

'Joshua Luke Smith has given us a beautiful book. With the skill of an artist, the heart of a disciple, and the vision of prophet, he invites us to encounter the grace of God in a way that stokes the deeper fire our hearts are aching for in these broken time. What a gift.' - Jon Tyson. Author and Pastor

The culture today tells us we can be whoever we want to be.

So, why do so many of us feel stuck?

Throughout this book, pastor and poet Joshua Luke Smith invites you into a 'selah' moment - an opportunity to quieten the noise – and to see that the clarity you are longing for may be closer than you think.

Something You Once Knew will remind you of what you always hoped to be true and rekindle the wonder you lost along the way.

With thoughtful reflections on following curiosity, building true community and reclaiming your creativity, this book will help you to rediscover the vision and vibrancy installed in you from the very beginning.'

'Joshua Luke Smith writes with an electric heart-on-sleeve honesty that makes me feel like I’m reconnecting with a long-lost friend. Page after page I feel the stirring of a mysterious wonder that I’m afraid I’d long forgotten.' - John Mark Mcmillan

'Every human should read this masterpiece (and I don't call it that lightly) as I honestly think it has the ability to make us all better people.' - Zoe Clark-Coates MBE

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780281085811
Publisher:	SPCK (Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge)
Publication date:	06/16/2022
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.08(w) x 7.80(h) x (d)

About the Author

Joshua Luke Smith is a British pastor, poet, and producer. He is the founder of Orphan No More, a platform for his own music and other upcoming artists, and hosts The Pilgrimage Podcast. He has given a TEDx Talk, speaks regularly at festivals in the UK and USA and has been featured on Complex and BBC Radio 1. He is married to Kara and they have recently welcomed their first child, Eden. Something You Once Knew is his first book.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Follow

1 The monk in the laundrette 9

2 Silence sounds like something 20

3 Finding the flow 32

Build

4 Take off your shoes 49

5 Oh, there you are 60

6 A dream within a dream 71

Reclaim

7 The light in the tunnel 87

8 Lord, have mercy 95

9 I'm not creative 106

10 I am a temple 120

A closing benediction 129

Acknowledgements and gratitude 131

Notes 135

Editorial Reviews

‘Joshua Luke Smith is both a skilled poet and a dangerous dreamer. His whole aura emanates a deep and sincere hopefulness and just like Joshua himself, every line of this wonderful book is dangerously hopeful.’

Carlos A. Rodríguez

‘Joshua Luke Smith writes with an electric heart-on-sleeve honesty that makes me feel like I’m reconnecting with a long-lost friend. Page after page I feel the stirring of a mysterious wonder that I’m afraid I’d long forgotten.’

John Mark Mcmillan

‘Joshua Luke Smith has given us a beautiful book. With the skill of an artist, the heart of a disciple, and the vision of prophet, he invites us to encounter the grace of God in a way that stokes the deeper fire our hearts are aching for in these broken time. What a gift.’

Jon Tyson

‘Josh is a friend I trust, and he's a truth-teller, a heart revealer, and a soul searcher, so to say I was excited to read this book is an understatement. I am delighted to report that every single page is a gift to your soul. It made my heart soar, my brain engage, and it made tears spontaneously fall from my eyes as I nodded along in agreement. 'Something you once knew' will make you want to embrace every ounce of creativity you have inside and turn it into a piece of art, but importantly, it will show you that you already have the courage to reveal it to the world. Every human should read this masterpiece (and I don't call it that lightly) as I honestly think it has the ability to make us all better people.’

Zoe Clark-Coates MBE

‘Joshua reminds me that in dark times, wonder keeps our minds open, engagement keeps our hands open, and reconciliation keeps our hearts open. The impulse to shut down is strong these days but the well-told story shared by a beautiful poet may yet outshine our dismay. Thanks, Josh -I needed this.’

Bradley Jersak

‘Joshua writes so as to let no word fall to the ground. Something You Once Knew is void of any throwaway thoughts and sentiments, as Josh gently piques the appetite for forgotten practices you want to re-cultivate, and new habits you want to form.

Josh’s stories and unpacking of his thoughts unfold in a way that demanded me to slow the pace of reading, so as to grasp the fullness of each concept and invitation. I didn’t want to miss anything. This slowing down, for me was the exhale I needed in a world full of words and ideas hurled around at the greatest of speeds. This book is confronting without being exposing, it’s challenging without pointing the finger.

Something You Once Knew for me has become a book I want to re-read periodically, when I need my North Star to shine a bit brighter in the sky, or when I need to remember my deeper why’s, and when I want to strengthen my desire for the road less travelled.’

Bianca Rose - Singer-Songwriter