Sensible Shoes Study Guide, Book 1

Sharon Garlough Brown is a spiritual director, speaker, and cofounder of Abiding Way Ministries, providing spiritual formation retreats and resources. A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon has served on the pastoral staff of congregations in Scotland, Oklahoma, England, and most recently in West Michigan, where she copastored with her husband, Jack, for many years. In March 2013 her book Sensible Shoes was named one of television personality Kathie Lee Gifford’s “favorite things.”

Sharron Carrns writes studies and training programs to accompany fiction and nonfiction books, devotionals, ministry resources, and corporate training. Her work includes the Weekend Features for the Hope in the Mourning Bible edited by Tim Beals and Shelly Beach. She is a contributing author to many books, including Faith Deployed . . . Again by Jocelyn Green.

In this Sensible Shoes Series which began with the bestselling Sensible Shoes, author Sharon Garlough Brown invites you to join in the journeys of Hannah, Meg, Mara, and Charissa as they - and you - gain a new understanding of friendship, spiritual truths and a deeper life with God. Each book in the series has an accompanying Study Guide. Characters are:

• Hannah, a pastor who doesn't realize how exhausted she is
• Meg, a widow and recent empty-nester who is haunted by her past
• Mara, a woman who has experienced a lifetime of rejection and is now trying to navigate a difficult marriage
• Charissa, a hard-working graduate student who wants to get things right

Book 1 - In Sensible Shoes, you will meet these four women as they reluctantly arrive at a retreat center and embark together on a journey of spiritual formation. They find themselves drawn out of their separate stories of isolation and struggle and into a collective journey of spiritual practice, mutual support and personal revelation.

Book 2- We continue the journey as the women face roadblocks in the second book, Two Steps Forward. Sometimes life feels like two steps forward and one step back, but there is always hope. Find your own spiritual journey reflected in their lives and discover the way forward.

Book 3 - The third book, Barefoot, takes the women through unexpected turns in their spiritual journeys. Having been challenged to persevere in hope, can they now embrace the joy of complete surrender?

Book 4 - An Extra Mile, the fourth and final book in the series, the women are navigating both deep joy and devastating loss. Travel with these beloved friends as they endure trials that test their trust and their willingness to walk an extra mile.