What does solitude mean to you? Albert Einstein once said: 'I live in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in the years of maturity.' In his latest book Simon Parke, author of The Beautiful Life and One-Minute Mindfulness describes solitude as the active path to inner silence and takes us on an enthralling journey there. In a world of haste and distraction he commends the way of stillness and withdrawal where we can 'recover the power of alone'. 'It's a journey to our selves and a place we can call our own,' he says. 'It's here, away from the crowd that we reconnect with our inner knowing - so different to our outer knowing.' A capacity for silence is what distinguishes us as humans, yet many of us fear to go there. But there is nothing to fear in solitude and everything to gain. If you want to be still but wonder how, this book is the perfect friend.

This woman from ancient times was no powerful princess - just a young, vulnerable widow, an impoverished outcast. The story records no famous events or places - just a struggling family facing hard times in a small, agricultural community occupied with their livelihoods and customs.

But the hidden hand of God is at work in the lives of these ordinary people, and wonderfully at work in history. God transforms hardship from bitterness to joy; God's word liberates people to become a community filled with loving kindness towards outsiders; God's people reach out to their enemies. And most significantly, God's great plan, to send a promised savioursavior King to redeem people of all nations, is being worked out.

Like those in the story, we may be just ordinary people, unable to see how the events of our lives will turn out. But by encountering the God who works through the circumstances of life, we too can discover the God who can turn our 'poverty' to 'plenty' through Jesus Christ.