Gym for the Soul : Poems for a Spiritual Workout

Jim Deeds, husband and father, lives in the wonderful and wounded city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. With a background in social work, music, theatre and film, he currently works in pastoral ministry in his home Diocese of Down and Connor, in direct contact with people and communities in the various parishes. As a poet and author, he draws much of his inspiration from walking the streets and hills around Belfast and beyond. Gym for the Soul as a title comes from a comment made by a pupil in a secondary school where he is regularly invited to speak to the students on matters of faith and spirituality. Hearing that he was coming in to speak to their class immediately after their P.E. exercises, this student said: `Jim's class is like going to the gym for our souls.' When Jim heard this remark, it stuck with him and inspired him to use it as the idea behind his book. In the pages of Gym for the Soul, we are invited to do a workout and at the same time to work out the big questions of life - all in the presence of the God in all things.