As a recent convert to Orthodoxy from atheism, and new grandfather (Papou in Greek,whichbI am not), I found myself for reasons too complex to mention the sole adult male in my grandson's life. He spends many of his waking and sleeping ours with me and his grandfather. He was baptized Greek Orthodox, and I deeply want him to grow up in our faith. This book lays out numerous great ways to do that, and to parent well in general, not just from a religious perspective.

I have helped raise several daughters, none from infancy, but no sons. So this book has already had a huge impact on my conduct with and towards my grandson. He is my joy, and we have a special, powerful bond. I want that to strengthen as I age and he grows for so long as God gives me to be a force in his life. I recommend it highly to all parents, Orthodox, atheist, whatever. It offers a great deal of common sense, which we old folk know isn't that common. My highest recommendation

I enjoy the Ancient Faith icon calendars, and find the information most helpful. Thank you

I gave it to a little girl as a Nativity gift. Both the girl and her parents liked it very much.

I gave it as a gift and it was well-received.

I love the pictures and most of the calendar. I am not a fan of the mints overlapping ... maybe just the one week before and one week after....

My grandson has read it 3 times in the past few weeks! He loves it

I love this!

Covers a deeply important topic with honesty and wit and humility.

Beautiful

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great explanation of the mysteries of the Orthodox Faith. I appreciated that the author explained the psychology and attitudes behind why they are mysteries and how to approach them. I thought some of what he said applied to any church member no matter what their tradition. It was a little disorienting to hear a female voice make a reference to being ordained leaving me with a personal preference of wanting it to have been narrated by a male. I also felt there were instances of personal opinion (clearly author's privilege) that detracted from the overall informative style of the book. I would have loved to attend a class or speak with a Priest on some points for further discussion and I feel this is another book that's better in the hand vs audio.

So precious and special to include iconic ornaments on our Christmas tree.

"The Sweetness of Grace" is a heartwarming, soul touching collection of vignettes featuring stories and experiences of the author's spiritual journey. Stories are grouped into 8 sections, each named after one of the eight Beatitudes. These themed sections link the stories together, serving as a guide to find grace through trial and victory.
Constantina Palmer's openness and skillfull storytelling bring warmth, amazement, and peaceful wonder. The stories of ordinary Orthodox Christians are mingled with those of saints and Holy elders. They are full of inspriation and gentle reminders that the struggles we face each day are necessary to find our strength and inner peace in Christ through humility and prayer, faith and hope.
A companion book to her first "The Scent of Holiness", "The Sweetness of Grace" is a wonderful book to curl up with a cup of tea, imagine yourself in the Holy places of Greece and join Constantina on her spiritual journey.

Beautiful

Great greeting cards. Fast, supper fast shipping. Friendly service. Thank you so much.

I am constantly bombarded by society’s perception of angels—cherubic toddlers, holding harps and looking, well, cute. You can see these angels everywhere—on greeting cards, small figurines, t-shirts, bumper stickers. As a society, the idea of angels has been softened into a rosy picture of sweetness. It is almost impossible to look at this modern perception of angels and think of the Glory of God or of strength or power.

Mother Alexandra’s book, The Holy Angels, is a much needed reminder about the holy servants of God. In truth, it is much more than a reminder. It is a thorough instruction on everything the Bible and the Church tells us of these holy creatures. It walks through the familiar, the Angel Gabriel, the angels at the Nativity, as well as the lesser known stories of the angels throughout the Old and New Testaments.

As well as teaching me more than I have ever known about the angels, this book reminded me why I tell my children to pray to their Guardian Angel and why I turn on my son’s Guardian Angel nightlight every night: “The holy angels of God guard us, shepherd us, lead us, tending us when we fall, cheering us upon our way. Our personal angel and also the guardians of our different nations mingle their prayers with ours, carrying them to God on High, until we shall all stand before the Throne of God and know even as we are known.”

This book is very lovely! It's "paperback," but seems to be made of a sturdy vinyl, so it's not flimsy like a traditional paperback (which I love!). I love having the Psalms handy in one book, and Sylvia's words in between the kathisma's are written so eloquently, with love and a conservative, ascetical outlook. It's wonderful as a struggling mom of 3 to have another like-minded mom to turn to (other than my friends) during my readings. Honestly, reading the Psalms has had such a positive impact on my life...I'm not even doing anything but reading and the Lord does His amazing work within me! I'm so happy to have journaling notes, too, as the Psalms help me think of my own life and how they relate to me. I highly, highly recommend!!!

Heaven Meets Earth is one of the best books I would recommend for gifts for weddings, new converts, or a general gift for families. At our church we used it as a bible study since it includes all the readings for the feast days from Old Testament readings done during Vespers, to Matins Gospel readings, to the Epistle and Gospel readings during the Liturgy. It allowed us to go to a deeper understanding of the feast and learn the Troparion and Kontakion of the Feast as we also learned the meaning of some traditions practiced in the home. Being beautifully illustrated with short but thorough explanations of the icons and scripture readings brings each feast day to life in our daily lives.

Great book

I was recently enjoying one of my favorite traditions of the Christmas season: watching the classic film “It’s a Wonderful Life”. Maybe because I planned to begin the book The Holy Angels soon, I noted particularly what a silly depiction of the angelic host this movie offers (as much as I adore the movie). Frank Capra was a brilliant filmmaker, but he clearly did not consult scripture or sound tradition when he created his angel character, Clarence (as endearing as Clarence is). We certainly have a wealth of pop culture interpretations of God’s angels (as well as of the fallen angels), which is probably due to the enduring fascination we have with something that can be so mysterious and difficult to understand. Mother Alexandra, an Orthodox abbess with an incredible personal history, offers an examination of the angels which helps greatly to alleviate misunderstandings about the angels. However, the mystery surrounding them in many ways endures, because (rightly) they cannot be fully understood in this life. But for those with “eyes to see”, this book can be the beginning of a much deeper relationship with God’s heavenly host.

Mother Alexandra offers a straightforward, concise exploration of what can be known about the realms of angels, beginning with the oldest scriptural accounts in the Old and New Testaments, and including deuterocanonical and apocryphal traditions. She even relates a truly strange passage from the Gospel of Bartholomew in which Satan himself explains his own history as an angel who fell from grace. Having provided an exhaustive account of scriptural instances where angels are revealed to humankind in various ways, Mother Alexandra then describes the many ways in which angels are understood and experienced by the Church Fathers and the Saints. She also devotes a chapter to angels in liturgical practice, and one to angels in art. Her writing is not especially emotive or fanciful, yet I found her explanations deeply moving and edifying. I did not expect to gain much more from the book than to learn a bit about the angelic realm. Instead, I found myself both comforted and encouraged in my own spiritual journey when reading about the ways that angels have guided, protected, and comforted those who have come before us. Surprisingly, the book’s straightforward accounts invoke a greater sense of self and the role one plays in recognizing and receiving communication from the bodiless powers. As Mother Alexandra puts it, “How often, I wonder, does our [guardian] angel touch us and seek to give us the gift of discernment-- that skill of understanding and deep perception? But, alas, we are often too dull, impassive, or in too great a hurry to hear the voice of the Spirit.”

One may wonder why Mother Alexandra was moved to write such a thorough work on the angels. Her epilogue provides a beautiful explanation involving her own experience with angels as a young girl, as well as the comfort they brought her in very difficult times later in her life. The Holy Angels is a book not just for those who want to better understand the cherubim, seraphim, or archangels, but a book for anyone who wishes to work towards a richer spiritual life involving the invisible powers whose existence is devoted to doing God’s will, including in the lives of His people.

This has everything in it. The only thing that would be nice is to have it a smaller size.