CATEGORY

In 1995, Laurie Beth Jones released Jesus CEO, the first book in a trilogy that traces her own journey from well-pressed executive through a season of personal self- examination, ending finally in blue jeans, having found her heart's true home. The Path is the second book and helps readers identify their divine purpose in life. Her final book, Jesus in Blue Jeans, answers a request: "Could you write a book that could help me with my everyday life?"

Beginning with the proposition that Jesus had an everyday life, Laurie Beth Jones explores the four fundamental qualities of Jesus that we can emulate in our everyday lives: poise, perspective, passion, and power. We investigate the everyday challenges common to all of us, using Jesus' life as our model. Each chapter includes a meditation and teaching, and closes with question to challenge and motivate us. She doesn't intend that we remain passive spectators, rather that we embrace life and participate fully.

Jones has a special gift for presenting the teachings of Jesus in ways that are at once practical and transcendent. By writing about subjects that are familiar to all of us, she makes us comfortable with exploring this unfamiliar ground. Once we feel safe, she quietly steps aside, shifting our attention from our own anxieties to the wisdom of Jesus. The result is an openness and receptivity that might not have been possible for us before.

Jones removes Jesus from theology without sacrificing her own belief. Her love for God is evident and her life seems to overflow with love, enthusiasm, and joy. Moreover, she builds within the reader a curiosity or hunger that goes well beyond the covers of this book, giving the reader the incentive to explore Jesus for him- or herself, so that each experiences the grandeur of life. --Patricia Klein