Dimming the Day: Evening Meditations for Quiet Wonder
The moon is out, the air has cooled, and you are ready for bed. You know that scrolling on your phone does not draw you toward sleep but adds to your worries. Power down your phone, take a breath, and begin to dim the day.
Research suggests that we should refrain from screens at bedtime. But it can be hard to give up social media and news without something to take its place. In these pages, author Jennifer Grant offers gentle meditations that help you direct your gaze away from screens and uncertainties and toward the natural world. Dimming the Day guides you to focus on the wonders of God's good earth, from the ordinary head of a dandelion to the exquisite beauty of a fractal.
Replace anxiety with awe, distraction with focus, and worry with true rest. Calm your mind and settle into stillness. It is time to dim the day.
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Jennifer Grant is the award-winning author of picture books for children and books for adults. Her books include Maybe God Is Like That Too, Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor Too, and Dimming the Day. Grant's work has appeared in Woman's Day, Chicago Parent, Patheos, and Chicago Tribune. Grant holds a master's degree in English literature with concentrations in creative writing and critical theory from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. A lifelong Episcopalian and mother of four, she lives in Chicago with her husband.
"Jennifer Grant's reflections on creature and place in this bedtime companion intentionally settle the reader. It's an invitation to lay aside life's hustle and bustle and turn to a time of rest. Don't be surprised, though, if whimsical butterflies, dandelions, hummingbirds, and such enter your dreams." --Traci Rhoades, author of Not All Who Wander(Spiritually) Are Lost: A Story of Church
"Grant writes beautifully in a way that only someone who lives beautifully can do. This book is a rare antidote to the anxiety of our age." --Jon M. Sweeney, author of Feed the Wolf: Befriending Our Fears in the Way of Saint Francis
"This gently penned, innovative collection of twenty evening meditations is an invitation to worry less about tomorrow and wonder more about the beauty of this earth and the great God who made it, in whose arms we can safely and securely fall asleep. Dimming the Day is destined to find a place on many a bedside table, including mine." --Glenys Nellist, children's author of the Love Letters from God, Snuggle Time, and Little Mole series
"Into this chaotic and anxious world, Dimming the Day shows up as a soothing balm. Every word of this book has planted seeds for healing in my own weary heart, and I know it will do the same for others." --April Fiet, author of The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls
"In Dimming the Day, Grant invites us to view the world through eyes of wonder. It is as if a kind friend has offered to tuck us in for the night, guiding us into glorious sleep." --Shemaiah Gonzalez, writer
"Exploring with obvious affection a marvelous breadth of created beings and creative artists, Grant has produced a piece that will induce both wonder and peace, inspiration, and calm. Dimming the Day is a book I can imagine keeping close at hand, to return to time and again." --Rosalind C. Hughes, author of A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing and Whom Shall I Fear? Urgent Questions for Christians in an Age of Violence
"A flood of adrenaline-sparking bad news coming at us through our screens shouts most of us to sleep each night. Jennifer Grant offers us an alternative in this book of wonder-filled reflections and grace-filled practices designed to gentle our souls as each day draws to a close." --Michelle Van Loon, author of Becoming Sage: Cultivating Maturity, Purpose, and Spirituality in Midlife
"Author Jennifer Grant has an idea: Could we quiet our anxious thoughts by ending each day with awe and wonder? Weaving together nature, literature, faith, and daily life, Grant has produced a book of meditations and bedtime stories well worth keeping on your nightstand." --Catherine McNiel, author of All Shall Be Well: Awakening to God's Presence in His Messy, Abundant World
"What an amazing, whimsical, informative, calming book! Although it's meant for an end-of-day read, it's perfect for any time you want to feel part of nature and centered. I'll be buying copies for family and friends." --Dale Hanson Bourke, author of Embracing Your Second Calling
"Dimming the Day is an enchanting book by the immensely talented Jennifer Grant, who has the heart and soul of a poet. This is a book to savor, to muse upon, and to smile about as you drift off to sleep, dreaming of misty redwood groves, magical whale songs, and other deep and beautiful mysteries of our universe." --Susy Flory, New York Times bestselling author or coauthor of 16 books, and director of West Coast Christian Writers
