Category: Of a Woman in Ministry

Today is Ash Wednesday, the start of the Lent season. In case you are unfamiliar with the term Lent, I will give a bit of background about this span of time in the liturgical church year.

The term Lent comes from the Old English word Lencten, which means springtime. The season dates back to the third and fourth centuries, and originated as one of the spiritual preparations for Easter in remembrance of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the 21st century, we still observe it as a season of preparation and of repentance.

Lent is a forty-day period that invites us to make our hearts ready for remembering Jesus’ passion and celebrating his resurrection. Only weekdays and Saturdays are included in the forty days. Sundays stand on their own with a focus in worship on repentance and renewal.

A lovely rhythm emerges during Lent of confession of personal sin before God during the week. On Sunday, the congregation comes together to receive restoration for their souls. We are pardoned from sin and cleansed as the whole body of Christ.

Lent has retained a focus on fasting and abstinence in imitation of Jesus Christ’s fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. In the devotional book, Seeking God’s Face, it says, “The spare and somber nature of Lent is healthy for the heart and true to the gospel, scrubbing away frothy spirituality by calling us to say no to ourselves in order to experience a greater yes in Jesus. It helps to imprint the form of the cross in our lives, recognizing that the news of the risen Lord Jesus is not good without the way of the cross.”

The awareness of dark sin shadowing our lives brings us to confession. This leaves our souls cleansed and renewed, ready to receive the light, to celebrate the light, and to live in the light when the Easter season approaches.

The pattern of confession and renewal begins today on Ash Wednesday. This is the first day of the season of Lent. Traditionally, ashes from the burned palms of the previous year’s Palm Sunday are used by the pastor or priest to mark a cross on a person’s forehead saying, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3:19). From Biblical times, sprinkling oneself with ashes has been a mark of sorrow for sin.

In Living the Christian Year, Bobby Gross remarks on the meaning behind the ashes of Ash Wednesday. “Dust and ashes symbolize two themes at the heart of Lent: our creaturely mortality and our moral culpability. Finite beings and sinful persons, we are destined to die. And so we humble ourselves before the eternal God who must, if we are to live, redeem us. The dust speaks of our bodily dependence, and the ashes signify our spiritual penitence. Ash Wednesday sets the true tone for the season: humility, simplicity, sobriety, and sorrow.”

Starting with the somber acknowledgement of death and ending with the triumphant new life of Easter morning, the Lent season is a rich time, deserving of our observation. The Lent season can be transformative. This has been my experience over the past several years. From new book contracts to job changes to my sons’ high school graduations, Lent has been the time when God has introduced these new realities into my life, conducted his ongoing work in my heart, and prepared me for the next span of my journey.

The resources I’ll be sharing with you in this blog post have been helpful to me in the areas of repentance and renewal. Each of them are cherished books that I draw upon routinely. I hope that among these titles you may find a gentle voice that helps you, affirms you, and teaches you as you embark on your own preparations to celebrate resurrection.

These books aren’t in any order such as most favorite to least or anything like that. They are all valuable to me and have found their permanent place in my library. Also, a quick note to say that I’ll share links for you to explore each title further. No one is making any money from my sharing. I only wish to make good authors and their quality books accessible.

Book #1: Falling Into Goodness, Lenten Reflections by Chuck DeGroat

I got this book three years ago because I’d read another book by this author. It has one reading for each day of Lent, starting with Ash Wednesday and continuing for six weeks. Each week has a theme around which the readings are developed.

Week one focuses on “Dwell with God.” Week two is “Live from your true self.” Week three is “Imagine the Kingdom.” Week four is “Take the humble Path.” Week 5 is “Wrestle with God.” Week six is “Follow Jesus.”

In his reflection for Ash Wednesday, Chuck DeGroat writes, “No one ever told me what a gift it would be to return to the ground of my being … on the ground and in the dust there is no façade. No more hiding. Only rest. And it’s where Jesus can find you. Jesus came down, you see. To the dust. In the flesh. And so, you no longer need to prove yourself to protect yourself. There is no ladder to climb, no stairway to the pearly gates, no performance strategy, no purity ritual. Only surrender. Only rest.”

Chuck DeGroat’s Lenten book is thoughtful, relatable, and helpful. He is a trusted guide through the shadowed season known as Lent.

This book was published in 2017 by an independent publishing platform. Learn more here.

Book #2: A Violent Grace by Michael Card.

I’ve talked about this book before, and I’ll mention it again since it so helpful to me. The pastor of the church my husband and I attended when our boys were small preached a sermon series on this book and encouraged the congregation to read it. I purchased a copy, fell in love with it, and have used it as part of my Lenten devotions ever since.

I like this book because it is small, based completely on Scripture, and thought provoking. I love how Michael Card can focus in and get right to the point on deep, sound doctrine while also telling a story. This book is also illustrated with sketches that bring to life the agonies, the tensions, and the love Christ felt as he experienced the events of Holy Week.

Please, pick up a copy of this book and use it for your own devotional times and reflections to make the Lenten season more meaningful and life changing.

This book was published in 2013 by Multnomah Publishers, Inc. Learn more here.

Book #3: Lent: A Season of Returning by Ruth Haley Barton.

If you haven’t yet read any of Ruth Haley Barton’s work, this book is a good place to start. It is a thin, workbook-style booklet with one reading for each week. The readings include a devotional, a choice of Scripture passages, and a space for reflection in which to write about your own meditations. The weeks follow the themes of Solitude: Fashioning our own wilderness; Self-denial: Setting our minds on things above; Repentance: Cleaning our messy house; Confession: Coming home to God; Suffering: Dying that we might live, and Holy Week: An invitation to walk with Christ.

Ruth Haley Barton’s writing is reflective, easy to follow, and transformative. I appreciate her ability to take deep, important theology and make it accessible and practical.

This booklet is available as a download from Christian Book Distributors for Year B and Year C of the lectionary. Learn more here.

Book #4: Stations of the Cross Prayer Guide by Ruth Haley Barton

This is another thin booklet, and it lays out the various events Jesus passed through on his way to the tomb. It’s touching and thought-provoking. Each station gets us in touch with the Savior’s heart of love that endured suffering for our sakes.

Scripture reading, prayer, and silence shape each station of the cross. There are fourteen stations taken directly from Scripture, along with a few that have been passed down in the Christian tradition. The Stations of the Cross is an interactive experience, allowing us to keep vigil with Christ on the long and arduous journey to the cross.

If you have even a few minutes each day over the next couple months to reflect and pray, consider spending time with this book. It will help you gain a deeper appreciation for Christ’s sufferings. Even the small things of Holy Week will take on rich meaning.

This booklet is also available from Christian Book Distributors. Learn more here.

Book #5: Living the Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney.

During the COVID era of everyone staying home on Sundays, I heard a pastor reference this author as we tuned into a service on the radio. I’ve read other books by C.J. Mahaney, and appreciate how well this book serves the themes of Lent.

This book exhorts us to center our lives by asking what the main thing is in our lives. What are you most passionate about? What do you love to talk about? What do you think about most when your mind is free? What defines you? As the author says on page 20, “Through what we experience together in this book’s pages, I hope you’ll learn to feel consistently that Christ died only yesterday, and become committed to live that way as well. As we cultivate our understanding and appreciation for the cross, as we live the rest of our earthly days feeling increasingly as if Jesus’ death happen only yesterday, we’ll be more and more astonished and overwhelmed by God’s grace. Only then will we more deeply understand and experience God’s grace in a way that consistently engages our passion.”

This book is divided into fourteen chapters and reads like a non-fiction book instead of a devotional. C.J. Mahaney helps us see the cross from an intentional, applicable angle so that we are ready to embrace Holy Week and the work Jesus did on the cross by keeping it central to our lives.

This book was published by Multnomah in 2006. Learn more here.

Book #6: Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die by John Piper

Here is another book about the cross. It is divided into fifty chapters, each one giving a reason why Jesus had to suffer and die. The style of this book reminds me of apologetic writing by its strong, truthful theology and persuasiveness.

The book touches on subjects like forgiveness of sins, love, and removing condemnation. John Piper gives a great starting point for entering into a sincere reflection on Jesus’ death.

I even like the look of the book itself. The print is in brown ink with brown shading along the edges of the pages to make it look antique and aged, sort of like a scroll.

This book was published by Crossway in 2006. Learn more here.

Book #7: Lent for Everyone by N.T. Wright

This is a series of three books, one for each yearly cycle according to the Lectionary. The book for Year A focuses on the gospel of Matthew. The book for Year B focuses on the gospel of Mark, and the book for Year C focuses on the gospel of Luke. Since we are in Year A, I hope to take a look at N. T. Wright’s writings on the gospel of Matthew during my own Lenten devotional time.

These books are arranged by week, with a Psalm listed for each Sunday. The rest of the days take you through the particular gospel intended for that year. Each daily reading is arranged with a Scripture passage, followed by a brief devotional, an application, and a prayer.

I appreciate N. T. Wright’s theology and the stories he shares in the devotionals. If I could hear him speaking while I read, I’d also appreciate his English accent. In this series of books, you’ll find a nice balance of deep, sound theology and uplifting encouragement.

These books were published by Westminster John Knox Press in 2012. Learn more here.

Books I referenced or quoted in this article:

The Worship Sourcebook, Co-published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2004.

Seeking God’s Face, Praying with the Bible through the Year, also co-published by The Calvin Institute of Christian Worship and Faith Alive Christian Resources, Grand Rapids, Michigan, s013.

Living the Christian Year, Time to Inhabit the Story of God by Bobby Gross, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2009.

A year has passed since I blogged about books, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been reading. Between working on marketing my own books and dealing with the sudden changes imposed on us due to the virus outbreak, I’ve been delayed in pulling this list together. Since many of us, like myself, are probably spending more time at home, this blog may be timely if you are looking for good resources and books to read.

Since we are currently in the season of Lent, I want to mention my favorite Lenten read. It is a book by Michael Card titled, A Violent Grace. The pastor of the church my husband and I attended when our boys were small preached a sermon series on this book and encouraged the congregation to read it. I purchased a copy, fell in love with it, and have used it as part of my Lenten devotions ever since.

I like this book because it is small, based completely on Scripture, and thought provoking. I love how Michael Card can focus in and get right to the point on deep, sound doctrine while also telling a story. This book is also illustrated with sketches that bring to life the agonies, the tensions, and the love Christ felt as he experienced the events of Holy Week.

Please, pick up a copy of this book and use it for your own devotional times and reflections to make the Lenten season more meaningful and life changing.

This book is published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc. with a copyright of 2000.

My next favorite read is the book, Including People with Disabilities in Faith Communities by Erik W. Carter. This is a well written book for church staff, lay leaders, and families to use in helping the person in their life with disabilities serve the body of Christ. It is a bit of an academic read, but includes checklists for assessments as well as sample forms for use to develop relationships and ministries within the congregation. I heard Erik Carter via live stream when he presented in the January Series at Calvin College. This helped me become acquainted with him as an advocate for disability ministry. Since then, our community has relied on the work reflected in this book for further ministry to people with disabilities.

This book is published by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Company with a copyright of 2007.

Canoeing the Mountains has to be my all time favorite book on leadership. As a history buff, I appreciate the clever metaphor Tod Bolsinger makes between the expedition of Louis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery as they were sent to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase in the early 1800’s. This concept is where the book got its name. The premise of the book is the idea that Louis and Clark expected to be able to find a water route that would lead them all the way to the Pacific Ocean, but instead, they encountered the Rocky Mountains. Oars didn’t work in the mountains pressing them to adjust their tactics, just like, “in every field, every business, every organization, leaders are rapidly coming to the awareness that the world in front of us is radically different from everything behind us…we now have to use every bit of what we know and become true learners who are ready to adapt to whatever comes before us” (p. 27).

Tod Bolsinger came to the town where I live and was the guest speaker for the leadership alliance hosted by a local corporation last fall. He is just as good, if not better, in person as he is on paper. I fully enjoyed learning from him as a student for a day as we sat in chairs around tables in a large, machine shed sort of atmosphere transitioned into a conference room.

If you would like a timely book on how to do creative leadership that is effective and stable, make sure to check out this book.

This book is published by InterVarsity Press with a copyright of 2015.

Lastly, over the winter, I’ve been spending time with the classics of Grace Livingston Hill. She was the forerunner of the Christian Historical Fiction so many of us enjoy today. She lived during the early 1900’s, and wrote stories about people during World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II. Considered contemporary fiction during her lifetime, these books are now invaluable resources of historical fiction to authors like me who write stories set in the early 20th century.

Grace writes with a definitive Calvinist, Presbyterian world view as far as doctrine is concerned. I personally appreciate this perspective as my writing echoes this same slant on theology. I am both amused and enlightened as I discover her opinions on flappers in comparison to what she felt a wholesome, godly woman should be.

The images in this section are the covers to three of my favorites. These books are in the Love Endures series. This is a series of these classic books with updated covers by Barbour Publishing.

While I was in college completing my Religion degree, the professor that taught our Christian worship class was an Anglican priest. He introduced our class to the Book of Common Prayer. This initial acquaintance with the use of written prayer in correspondence to the Church Year grew my interest in the practice of praying at certain times throughout the day. This is known as “fixed-hour prayer,” or praying the daily offices.

Many prayer books have been created to help Christians incorporate this practice of prayer into their daily lives. I’d like to share the ones I have found the most useful over the years. Perhaps you are already familiar with these titles and their use, but if you are not, then I will give summaries of how the books are to be used and what their best features are so that you can give them a try. Praying the daily offices has helped my spiritual formation in ways that nothing else could, and I want to share so that others might experience the same growth.

Common Prayer, A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne, Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, and Enuma Okoro, published by Zondervan.

This book is definitely the most easy to use of all the prayer books, but it is also the thickest. The most convenient way to use this book is to download it as a purchase from Amazon onto a Kindle and then go through day by day. The book begins with the section for evening prayer, one order for each day of the week. The next section of the book is for Morning Prayer, starting with December which is consistent with Advent as the start of a new church year.

Each day of the year is represented in the Morning Prayer section. The order for prayer on any given day begins with a brief biography of a saint, followed by the Gloria, a suggested song title, a psalm, a Scripture reading, and written prayers. This book also has a section of collected occasional prayer that are written out and can be used on specific occasions. The last section of the book is a songbook with melody lines, chord symbols, and lyrics for a variety of hymns that correspond to the liturgy expressed in the Morning Prayer section.

What I like about Common Prayer: This book makes routine morning and evening prayers and the rich liturgy found in them quite accessible. All a person needs to do is sit down, open up to a certain day, and read. Everything has been woven together to make for a quick and simple prayer experience. This book is a good place to start for the person who is new to structured prayer times.

Seeking God’s Face, Co-published by Faith Alive Resources and the Calvin Institute for Christian Worship.

This prayer book offers one order of prayer for each day of the year. It does not necessarily follow a fixed-hour style of prayer, but rather uses the format of one of the daily offices, and then leaves the choices to the reader of which time of the day to pray.

The various sections of the order of prayer found in Seeking God’s Face include the Invitation, a psalm and a second passage of Scripture from either the Old or New Testament. The next section is titled Dwelling. In this section, the reader is invited to read back through the Scriptures at a slow pace looking for words or phrases that speak to the heart. As part of this exercise, the reader is encouraged to meditate and become aware of the Lord’s presence.

The Dwelling section is followed by a section titled Free Prayer. In this section, a wide variety of topics are introduced as themes to focus on for intercession.

The orders of prayer that fall on Sundays include the Lord’s Prayer. The last two sections include a prayer based on the creeds and confessions of the Reformed Church ending with a blessing taken from Scripture.

What I like about Seeking God’s Face: In the corner on the left hand side of the page is a chart showing the dates as an indicator of how the order of prayer for each day aligns with the seasons of the Church Year. I also appreciate the use of the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession, Canons of Dort, Westminster Confession, and Westminster Catechisms formatted into prayers at the close of each day’s order of prayer.  At the beginning of each season of the Church Year, there is a page of introduction explaining the origin of the season and its significance in spiritual formation.

Hour by Hour published by Forward Movement, a non-profit agency of the Episcopal Church.

This pocket-sized book is a simplification of the resources found in the Book of Common Prayer. It includes hymns, psalms, and collects for the morning, noon, evening, and compline prayer times.

What I like about Hour by Hour: It is small and doesn’t take up much space so works well for traveling.

Daily Light by Anne Graham Lotz, published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson.

Daily Light is a compilation of Scripture passages for morning and evening on every day of the year. The Scriptures in each reading center on a certain theme. References are listed at the bottom of each page so that you can go back to the Bible and find the passage.

What I like about Daily Light: Its size. The book is small and makes a nice companion to the Hour by Hour prayer book for traveling. There is also a section in the back titled Daily Light for Life’s Moments. This section has matched verses in the Bible with various seasons of life, special occasions, and circumstances.

Daily Prayer for All Seasons published by Church Publishing Incorporated.

This book is based on the Book of Common Prayer, but is a shortened version. It observes eight different times of prayer throughout the day and night instead of only four. These “hours” are a pattern Benedictine monks created to divide the day into intervals. Instead of using the traditional Latin names for these times of prayer, Daily Prayer for All Seasons uses a specific labor. These works of prayer are, in order from morning to evening, Praise, Discernment, Wisdom, Perseverance and Renewal, Love, Forgiveness, Trust, and Watch.

What I like about Daily Prayer for All Seasons: The order of prayers suggested for each hour is short. A person would not need to take very much time to fit prayer into their day by using the forms in this book. It is basic, and a good place to start for someone practicing fixed-hour prayer for the first time.

The Divine Hours Series by Phyllis Tickle, published by Doubleday. This series includes six volumes. They are listed below:

• Volume 1: Prayers for Summertime
• Volume 2: Prayers for Autumn and Wintertime
• Volume 3: Prayers for Springtime
• Christmastide: Prayers for Advent Through Epiphany
• Eastertide: Prayers for Lent Through Easter
• The Night Offices: Prayers for the Hours from Sunset to Sunrise

These books provide an order of prayers to follow for Morning Prayer, midday prayer, and vespers (late afternoon). A section for prayers to use at the end of the day before going to sleep are organized together at the back of the book with one for each day of the week.

Phyllis provides a large amount of content at the beginning of each book instructing on the history and significance of fixed-hour prayer. Taking the time to read through this introduction will not only help the reader understand the need for regular prayer throughout the day, but will also assure them of a place among other brothers and sisters in Christ down through time and across the world who are also praying these same prayers.

If you are looking for ways to stay focused in praise of and conversation with the Lord throughout the day, The Divine Hours is a practical tool to help you succeed.

What I like about The Divine Hours: The divers use of hymns, poetry and Scripture in the form of prayer.

What I don’t like about The Divine Hours: Diligent use of the manual requires quite a bit of page-turning in the form of flipping back and forth between the daily prayers, the page showing the Lord’s Prayer, and the Compline (bedtime prayers) section. Make sure to have some book marks on hand to help you in your prayer time if you choose The Divine Hours as a guide.

Venite by Robert Benson, published by Abingdon Press.

This book was given to me as a gift and is based on the Book of Common Prayer. Venite arranges canticles, collects, and lesson a little differently from the Book of Common Prayer. Each one has its own section, sort of like a chapter, in the book. These canticles, collects, and lessons are organized by numbered days sufficient for a month, rather than specific dates. Use of Venite as a prayer book requires the reader to follow from one “chapter” to the next the readings labeled for day one, then for day two, and so on.

What I like about Venite: Its overall richness and poetic style because of the accessibility it gives to so many beautiful canticles. I also appreciate the chapter on remembrances where the opportunity is created to reflect upon the lives of saints over the course of history. This prayer book has a nice glossary in the back that explains terms associated with praying the daily offices and observing the Church Year.

What I don’t like about Venite: The way this book is organized requires much page turning and flipping between sections in order to follow the readings suggested for each day. It takes extra time to turn pages and search for the next place to pick up reading.

Book of Common Prayer, published by Anglican Liturgy Press.

The Anglican Church has released a new version of the Book of Common Prayer this year. The edition I was given in Christian worship class in college was the 1928 format which used the formal King James language. This updated version retains the depth and richness of the traditional Book of Common Prayer, but is written in Standard English making it much easier to use and understand. It has a complete Psalter, the forms for morning and evening prayer, liturgy for wedding services, funerals, and ordinations, a calendar for finding holy days throughout the year, and schedules for each so that the entire Bible might get read within one year.

I trust this list provides you with a place to start enriching and deepening your experiences in prayer.

One of our family’s favorite movies is “Dudley Do-Right” based on a cartoon with a Canadian Mountie as the main character. The Canadian Mountie is a legendary figure with “Maintien le Droit,” or “uphold the right” as his motto. The responsibilities of the Mountie called for bravery, heroism, and strength. They were fearless and they were the law, worthy of authority and respect.

But Dudley isn’t any of these honorable Mountie qualities. He is spineless, clumsy, and intimidated. As the movie progresses, we see Dudley surrounded by a whole gang of bad guys. Robbing the local bank and taking over the town, these surly characters in black jackets and face masks are moving fast.

Dudley finds himself out-witted. He loses his job and stumbles across a bum up in the mountains who takes Dudley under his wing and teaches him how to be a hero. The bum’s last words to his floundering student are, “get out there and do something dangerous!” Bruised and confused, Dudley stumbles away in search of adventure.

Get out there and do something dangerous. This sounds an awfully lot like the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6:10—22. “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the enemy’s schemes . . .put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

Paul is cheering on a new church intent on advancing the gospel in the pagan Roman Empire. Paul himself sits in prison bound in chains as he writes. He knows what is at stake for the church if they do not heed these words. The Christian faith will die out. Justice and righteousness according to God’s Law would no longer be maintained. Yet, Paul knows what is at stake for the new church if they do heed his words. Persecution. Imprisonment for daring to worship anyone but the Caesar. Maybe even death. It was a tough choice. One that needed to be made in spite of the danger and hardship it would invite.

In his book, The Good and Beautiful Life, James Bryan Smith says, “Jesus observes that those who pursue righteousness are going against the grain of society, and that will result in persecution. Following Jesus is dangerous if we lead the kind of life he calls us to. When we choose to fight for justice and peace or not to lie or judge others, we will face backlash. The promise in the last beatitude is the same as in the first: ‘for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’ When we align ourselves with Jesus and observe his ways, we are in the kingdom” (p. 61-62).

The kingdom is the territory where God reigns. It’s the place where we are called to live dangerously. Go on a mission. Dare to be a serious disciple of Christ. Listen to the Holy Spirit. Live by values. Pray.

But don’t we often feel like Dudley Do-Right, intimidated in the face of evil or hardship and bumbling along in confusion hoping that something we did today counted? It is in times like this when Jesus calls us to an adventure. When we are taking the risks and counting the cost we are in the safest place of all. His plan for our lives lived out under his protection is the strength we need to continue to take a stand for the kingdom. With the armor firmly in place that Ephesians mentions, we can not only uphold the right, but go on to influence people to change like the early Christians did. The message of the gospel eventually wins.