Sleeping With Bread- a book review

Sleeping With Bread: Holding What Gives You Life, by Dennis, Sheila, and Matthew Lin

I picked up this little 73 page book at Barnabas International's www.barnabas.org 
PTM conference in October, along with several other books recommended for Member Care. 

The book opens with a description of the many children who were left orphaned during the bombings of WWII. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they were fed and cared for. Many of the children had gone through great trauma and weren't able to sleep at night, because they feared waking to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children would finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, "Today I ate and tomorrow I will eat again."

It's a simple book that's about asking ourselves two questions: For what am I most grateful? For what am I least grateful? It's taking the time to acknowledge both the good and the bad in each day, bring them before God without any "What Ifs", and thank Him for the things that He allows in our lives.

The authors refer to the process as "The Examen." There are many ways to ask the questions:

-When did I give and receive the most love today? When did I give and receive the least love today?
-When did I feel most alive today? When did I most feel life draining out of me today?
-When was I happiest today? When was I the saddest today?
-What was today's high point? What was today's low point?
-What did you feel good about today? What was your biggest struggle?

The Examen Process:
1)Ask God to bring to your mind the moment today for which you are most grateful. If you could relive one moment, which one would it be? When were you most able to give and receive love today?
Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so special. Breathe in the gratitude you felt and receive life again from that moment.
2)Ask God to bring to your mind the moment today for which you are least grateful. When were you least able to give and receive love? Ask yourself what was said and done in that moment that made it so difficult. Be with whatever you feel without trying to change or fix it in any way. Let God's love fill you just as you are.
3)Give thanks for whatever you have experienced.

This process can be done alone, with a friend, a spouse, a family, a group, etc. It's an excellent debriefing for the end of each day, or week, or trip, etc. You can use the positive side of it with children's groups to help them see the positive in each others' actions throughout a day or week. It can be used at holidays, at the end of the year(looking back), in counseling(to help people find both the negative and the positive in their situation). It can be verbalized, or journaled. It can be used in letters, holiday cards, and in general, in communicating well with others. I started it this week, upon completion of the book, and am now journaling it each night before I go to sleep. Care to join me in the process??

Why did I like this book? I liked it because I see so many practical uses of this process. I also really like the emphasis on naming not only the positive experiences in our lives, but also understanding the reality of the negatives and the place that they currently have in our lives. We can verbalize both ends of the spectrum, accept them for being allowed by God, and thank Him for both the good and the bad.