Easter is early this year, which means that Lent of course starts early too! Ash Wednesday is on 18 February, just over a week away.
How might you spend this time leading up to Easter? Feel daunted by the traditional approach of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving? Lent can be a time for those practices, of course, but God is pleased with any and all of the ways we seek to draw close to him.
I have some resources for you to help.
• Tomorrow (11 February) I’ll be on Premier Christian Radio at 11am (UK time) for an hour discussing with Mal Pope some strategies for staying close to God during Lent. [Edit: you can find the recording here, including an imaginative prayer exercise with Jesus in the wilderness.]
• On Saturday 21 February, I’ll be leading an online retreat sponsored by Coracle on Friendship with God, looking at the story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus with Jesus. So much of the key events of their story in the gospels comes during Lent, and I trust you’ll be encouraged. You can find my full exploration in my book Transforming Love.
• My book The Living Cross is a through-the-Bible look at forgiveness, half in the Old Testament and half in the new. I’ll be giving away a copy of this book with my next newsletter.
• The Prayers of Jesus is a small-group course that explores 6 of the 7 prayers of Jesus recorded in the gospels. So many of these occur during Lent. There’s a prayer exercise included for each week. And…
• The online course for the above is a great resource as I so enjoyed my conversations with the amazing Micah Jazz, who has now gone to glory. Wow – I think this is now free!
I so appreciate hearing from readers when they share their stories of God working in their lives, and when a bit of my writing plays a part, I’m humbled and grateful! I loved reading Sheila’s story of forgiveness, spurred on by the Spirit. As you read, may you open your heart to that same Spirit, who might bring to mind someone you could forgive?
A meditation in Our Daily Journey, written by Amy Boucher Pye on the subject of forgiveness, got me thinking. At the conclusion we were led into considering whether there were any experiences in our lives where there was a need to forgive.
While I have been very conscious over the years of the need to forgive, and have experienced the wonderful freedom it brings, as I read the meditation there suddenly flooded into my mind the memory of an incident more than thirty years ago in the church. I knew immediately that I had not really forgiven.
A new Curate came when I was involved with the Pathfinder Group of young teens. The mother of one of our members came to see us, concerned that, while she encouraged her children to be faithful to their commitments, she felt this was being challenged as the Curate had told her daughter to be trained as a Server, which meant leaving Pathfinders. As leaders of Pathfinders we weren’t told of this decision.
Several other incidents that happened without communication, so I went to the Curate and asked him to tell me what was going on. He looked me straight in the eye and said,
“You are not a mainline Anglican and you don’t fit.”
I was so shocked that I did not respond, so I went to the Vicar and told him what had been said and his response was,
“Well, it’s true.”
Having made a point of being committed to the church over the years in every way possible, including broadening my churchmanship, I found their statements very hurtful.
These thirty years later, as I read the article in Our Daily Journey and realised that I had not forgiven the Curate, I laid the whole situation at the foot of the Cross. I knew that Jesus had been there with me at the time, and so I was finally able to forgive him, and pray for him, leaving it all with the Risen Christ.
Finally, to bring the seal of God’s redeeming love on it all I placed the whole situation (albeit thirty plus years later!) via a little written note, on the Altar, at a recent Eucharist.
Subsequent circumstances have made me realise, and has caused me to thank God, that it was thatstage on my pilgrimage that was a contributory factor to where I am today. And soon after, there was a lovely reconciliation with the Vicar.
I am forgiven and able to forgive!
Sheila Holwell says: I grew up in North London where from the age of six I went to Crusaders where Evangelical Bible Teaching was tops and on which she I stand eighty years later!
After school I went to RAF Hendon doing office work, where I met the family of a Sergeant whose wife was dying. She requested that I witnessed her Baptism (in the Hospital bed), which was such a privilege. She died soon after. Eventually, but not without much heart searching and doubts, I responded to George’s (the widower) request to marry him. One day I took him and his son, Peter out in the car. Eight-year-old Peter from the back seat said “Well, when are you two going to get married then?” I nearly crashed the car!! Then I said “Oh, at least not until next year.” His immediate answer was, “Oh! I’ll die if I have to wait that long.” We didn’t let him die, and there followed wonderful experiences in Singapore and Libya as well as the UK.
Then followed a period in Oxfordshire where both George and I became Readers (LLMs) with a final move to S. Devon where George went to Glory. George did have very bad fits of depression which marred the first 25 years of our marriage, but the Lord was there and George had a wonderful healing, which is another story.
Order 7 Ways to Pray here for more ways to encounter God. And have a look for The Living Cross, which is a through-the-Bible engagement with the topic of forgiveness.
Briton Rivière (1840–1920), The Temptation in the Wilderness; (c) City of London Corporation; Supplied by The Public Catalogue Foundation
As one who grew up in a church that uses set prayers in its services and observes seasons and rituals, I’ve known the season of Lent from my childhood. For me it’s an important time to prepare myself for Jesus’ death and resurrection; it’s a yearly reminder of my sins, Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, and God’s amazing grace in the gift of forgiveness and new life.
But I know that not all Christians love Lent. Some may be concerned about empty ritual, or believers engaging in unnecessary penance when Jesus has paid the price on the cross once and for all. Yet the benefits of a time set apart to examine myself before God have outweighed the potential pitfalls, and so I’d like to offer up some ideas for Lent as a way to deepen our love for and commitment to God. And as I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, these suggestions are based on words – and the Word. Following are some practices you can enact during Lent.
Focus on one book of the Bible
Lent is made up of 40 days (excluding Sundays), so it’s a wonderful time to hone in on one of the books of the Bible. Why not choose an Old Testament prophet, such as Isaiah, which is rich in foreshadowing our Saviour? With Isaiah’s 66 chapters, you could read one chapter on Mondays to Fridays, and then two-three chapters on each day of the weekend. Or a gospel makes prime reading in Lent as it helps us focus on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. Many Christians also add praying through one of the Psalms daily.
Add a practice of giving or forgiving
Many people see Lent as a time of fasting or taking away, but we’ve seen through the #40acts movement how we can add a practice to prepare for Easter. Through committing to 40 acts of generosity – things such as giving away chocolate or supporting the Fairtrade movement – Christians embrace the joy of giving as rooted in God’s gift of his son, Jesus.
Along with giving, we can embrace more forgiving. I was reminded of this recently when a long-time disciple of Christ, a woman who has seen heartache and pain but whose heart remains tender, said, ‘We can always forgive a little bit more.’ She and I were talking about my book, The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life (BRF, 2016), which engages with readings from the Old Testament and the New on the theme of forgiveness (more on it below). Her words struck me as so wise, for in this fallen world where we experience disappointment, betrayal and pain, we need a regular practice of forgiveness to keep us from becoming bitter and lacking hope.
Why not commit to daily forgiveness? I’m not suggesting we go digging for unconfessed sins, or for people to forgive whom we haven’t considered for decades, but we can trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us in a sort of spring cleaning of the soul. Forgiveness is freeing – we’ll approach the resurrection of Jesus with a new sense of joy if we’ve been able to release the pain that may weigh us down.
Meet with fellow Christians
Lent is a wonderful time to meet with others while reading and discussing Christian resources. One year our church engaged in the E100 Challenge as produced by Scripture Union. I begrudgingly gave up my own programme of Bible reading to join in, and I was so glad that I did. Each week we’d share our thoughts and new understanding, and we’d also be encouraged by what others gained through the experience. I saw new things about the Bible as a whole from this programme.
There are many resources to choose from, which leads me to my final point…
Read a book
Why not read a book specially prepared for Lent? I mentioned mine, The Living Cross, about which Catherine Campbell has said,
A Lenten journey you won’t want to miss. From the Fall to the Cross and beyond, Amy Boucher Pye walks us down the centuries to meet the One she calls the “Father of outstretched arms.” With captivating writing and inspiring biblical insight, we are reassured from the stories of fallen heroes, fallible leaders and plain ordinary sinners that God’s lavish forgiveness is available to each one of us. The more I read the more excited I became, and the more thankful I am for God’s “scandalous grace and love poured out.” Simply superb. I can’t wait to read it again!
I learned so much about forgiveness while writing this book, including how in the Old Testament, people didn’t assume they could forgive others – for them, forgiveness came from God. But with the death of Jesus, we now can not only of receive forgiveness from God, but others as well – and we can extend it ourselves.
My favourite Lenten book is Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin (Zondervan, 1992). He’s a master storyteller, and writes here as a participant in the passion events. He transports us to a vivid world of sights and smells that bring the story alive, engaging our heads and our hearts. I can’t recommend this book enough.
Whether you manage to engage in a new practice each day in Lent, or not quite as regularly, I trust the Lord will help you to draw closer to him in your journey. As we approach the celebration of the resurrection, I pray that you will feel the joy of know that Christ is risen – indeed, he is risen!
We’ve arrived at Holy Week, ushered in yesterday on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. As I outline in my book, The Living Cross, one way to approach Holy Week is to consider each day what Jesus experienced, being conscious throughout the day of the unfolding events. I compiled the following based on what I found in Michael J. Wilkins, The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew (Zondervan, 2004), pp. 709–10.
Saturday (8 April)
Evening celebration; Mary anoints Jesus (John 12:2–8)
My publisher, the Bible Reading Fellowship, asked some thought-provoking questions about why I wrote The Living Cross. I love that the roots of the idea were sparked by Jill Saward’s story – someone whose life has been celebrated at the beginning of the year after her untimely death. Here’s a taster of the interview, and a link to read the whole thing. Also, if you’d like to buy the book but are worried about becoming behind in the readings, BRF will send you the first two weeks as a PDF while your printed version comes in the post.
Why is Lent a good time to pick up a book?
I’ve found Lent a wonderful time to come before God and examine my heart and my actions. In doing so, I’ve found that it became a rich season of intimacy with God. I hope that, if people pick up The Living Cross, they too will find their relationship with the Lord strengthened as they engage with biblical stories from the Old Testament and the New.
What drew you to writing about forgiveness?
The germ of the idea for a book on forgiveness came back in 2006 when I read an article in the Telegraph about the late Jill Saward’s act of forgiving her attackers. Instead of being shackled with bitterness, she campaigned for the good of other rape survivors. I wanted to explore the biblical roots of this freeing topic and to find other inspiring stories to share.
That is the question we explore in our new series, Forgiveness Fridays. And it’s fitting to kick off the series honoring the person who first sparked my interest in writing about forgiveness, Jill Saward. Dubbed for years as the “Ealing vicarage rape victim,” she was a tireless campaigner for those affected by sexual violence. She died yesterday following a stroke, only 51 years old.
Jill Saward with her father, Revd Michael Saward
What caught my eye back in 2006 was an article online about Jill and forgiveness, for she forgave her attackers. When one of them, who hadn’t had any part of the rape, but hadn’t tried to stop it either, was released from jail, he wanted to meet her. He sought forgiveness. And she forgave him, to the disbelief of many. As she said,
“It’s not a question of whether you can or can’t forgive. It’s a question of whether you will or won’t.
“Of course, sometimes I thought it might be quite nice to be full of hatred and revenge. But I think it creates a barrier and you’re the one who gets damaged in the end. So, although it makes you vulnerable, forgiving is actually a release. I don’t think I’d be here today without my Christian faith. That’s what got me through.”
We may not – I hope not – have to forgive someone for such a life-changing crime, but we all have to forgive people who have wronged us. Will we hold onto, and even nurse our bitterness? Or will we let it go, with the help of God, and embrace the freedom and joy God gives upon its release?
My new book for Lent, The Living Cross, looks at this question in a series of daily Bible readings. You can buy a copy through me, at good Christian bookshops in the UK, or online at Eden, or of course through Amazon. In the States it is only available through Amazon.
The day has come – today is the official launch day for The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life, published by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF). In the times of old in publishing, the launch date may have been met with a bubbly-infused luncheon or a glitzy party at night. Times have changed, however, and those publisher-sponsored events are largely a thing of the past – at least at my level of authorship!
In loving memory of Olwen Pye.
But we have marked the birth of this second book-baby by hosting two events, one on each side of the Atlantic. Babies come at all sorts of odd times in life – I have a friend, for instance, who gave birth on her birthday, and I am glad that a family member has a September 13 birthday and not a September 11 one. This book-baby arrived at a time of sadness in our family. Days after my husband and kids arrived in Minnesota, laden with copies of The Living Cross that had arrived while I was in Michigan, Nicholas’s mother died unexpectedly. He was able to cut short our visit and fly back home to England to be at her bedside when she died, for which we were grateful. We decided to go ahead with the already-planned book celebration a couple of days later, feeling the loss of her but sensing she’d want us not to cancel the celebration. For Olwen always so encouraged me in my writing, and one of our last conversations was about how happy she was that Finding Myself in Britain had won an award. I honour her memory with this book on the gift of forgiveness – a gift to be unwrapped in the close proximity of family life.
I think too on this launch day about the advice from another who has moved onto glory, Marion Stroud. In her last post for the ACW blog, just weeks before she died, she spoke of author Cynthia Ruchti’s practice of praying on a launch day. Praying for all those who would read the book; praying for those going through the struggles that her characters experienced. I too am embracing this practice today.
Starting next week, I’ll be hosting another guest blog series, Forgiveness Fridays. I’m so excited to share with you some fantastic posts on the freeing gift of forgiveness, written by an interesting range of people.
Lent is a long ways away – we haven’t even entered Advent yet! But if you’d like to buy copies of The Living Cross (maybe as a Christmas present?), I’d be happy to sign copies and send them out to you. They retail at £8.99 but I’m selling them for £8 each or two for £15, plus postage. Email me at amy@amyboucherpye.com. You can also buy it from:
Great Christian bookshops in the UK – I’ll be at the Faith Mission bookshop in Portadown on 2 December; Sarum College bookshop on 6 January and Church House bookshop on 8 February signing books.
Amazon – yes, the giant has my books. In the UK the link is here; if you’d like a copy and you’re Stateside, this is the only place to buy it – here’s the link.
I leave you with photographs from the two book parties, the US one was hosted in Minnesota by our lovely friends Tim and Heather Peterson. The UK one was held at our church, St Paul’s Finchley, on Remembrance Sunday. I started off my sermon with the opening of my book, exploring the question posed by a Jewish prisoner of a concentration camp – Should I forgive?
Photos from St Paul’s Finchley:
Being interviewed by the vicar.
Preaching!
These gorgeous flowers were sent to me by my friends at Our Daily Bread, in memory of my mother-in-law. Perfect to have them gracing the books.
I had my helpers as my cashiers…
Selfie with another beloved helper.
My friend Ali obviously had me riveted!
Photos from the Minnesota book party:
Sadly my only photo with my hosts, Heather and Tim Peterson, with author Julie Klassen.
Three of my forever friends, Pam, Sue, and Kara.
Loved having some of my relatives there! Here’s my cousin Lenore and my aunt Margaret. Love how you can see my parents in the background. The Petersons’ conservatory is tops.
What a delight to have people come to the book party whom I hadn’t seen for years. This photo is of Mark Aleckson and my dad, and the one below is of Sharon Aleckson and my mom. I used to babysit for the Alecksons many, many moons ago!
What a huge delight to meet Gail Helgeson! She’s been a massive encouragement to me online. Here she is holding her underlined and highlighted copy of Finding Myself in Britain. How humbling is that!
Delightful to be with Gail and Julie – novelists!
Very fun to have my neighbors-growing-up at the party. Here I am with Paul Chlebeck and Melody (Wolleat) Johnson.
Ruth and Mark Vukelich have been longtime friends of my parents. So lovely to have Ruth and her son Tom (who works at Bethel University, where I went) attending.
Dawn and Kurt Marka – Kurt’s an encouragement online. I love how friendships evolve, even though I don’t think we knew each other very well in high school!
I brim with excitement to share with you the birth of book baby #2. Yes, I know, I’m still reeling from my lovely firstborn, dashing around the country sharing it from Hove to Glasgow, so how this second-born has gestated is a bit of a mystery! I don’t think there will be any sibling rivalry – at least I hope not. As with real children, these are different babies.
The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life looks at this life-giving theme of forgiveness in the Old Testament and the New. I interweave modern-day stories alongside the biblical, and when I was writing I never failed to be inspired by the freedom this gift imparts – to the giver and the receiver.
To celebrate the birth, we’re having a book launch at our church,St Paul’s Finchley, at 10am on 13 November. As it’s Remembrance Day, I’ll be starting my sermon with the opening illustration in the book, taken from the thought-provoking book The Sunflower, which asks the question posed by a Jewish survivor of World War 2: Would you forgive? We’ll follow by a book signing and lunch.
You’re welcome to come, especially if an ocean doesn’t separate us! Do let me know if you plan to attend so we can sort the catering: amy@amyboucherpye.com.
Ya hoo and hooray and thank you, Lord!
To preorder The Living Cross, click here, as well as to read some amazing endorsements.
I’ve long admired Tanya Marlow’s “What I’m Into” posts. She humbly points to another blogger as the originator of these monthly missives about what they are reading, writing, watching, and doing. But I don’t know the other(s) so I’m going to point to her as my inspiration. Looking back over the month just gone provides a wonderful way to remember what I’ve been thinking and experiencing, hopefully with an attitude of thanks. And to share with you some fun finds.
This is a long post – I don’t recommend as spiritually healthy this level of activity without rest – so do skim and scroll down, and if you make it to the end, I have some recipe recommendations for you. Blonde brownies, no less.
Finding Myself in Britain
Hey y’all, I’m a published author. I say that not with gloating but with wonder, for my journey to publication – book publication, that is – was a long and arduous one. (I write about the stinging words batting me down here, and my tangled writing journey here.) I could see myself as a writer, but not so much as an author.
My publishing mentor has been wonderful in helping me make the transition. When I was redesigning my website, he said I needed to lose the “editor” from my bio and go with “author and speaker.” I did so with his encouragement, feeling some of that imposter syndrome. Then recently I looked at the bio on the back of my book and realized with a jolt that “editor” was there – and now that felt odd!
I have great joy in seeing Finding Myself in Britain reviewed and purchased, some of both happened in March. I gulped early in the month when I received an email from my publisher saying that the Church Times – the Church Times I say! – had reviewed my book. Holy Toledo, my heart was pounding as I read the review. I was humbled and amazed – here’s an excerpt from the 4 March 2016 edition:
“…Full of perceptive comments about the habits we fall into and the assumptions we make. Her tone is warm and self-deprecating,… A helpful reminder of what it is like to be a stranger in a foreign land, and an effortless read that will, no doubt, bring entertainment and comfort to many who have ever lived as expats.”
Some informative and fun blog posts on topics related to my book happened this month. Don’t miss my interview with visionary publisherSteve Mitchell. He has great advice for writers.
I love how I can blog about tea and it never fails to incite a response on Facebook. Here’s the post about CutiePyeGirl as she made her first cuppa, and here’s the Facebook discussion. What do you think about tea? Love it or loathe it?
I continue to adore the “There’s No Place Like Home” series. Wow; such a wealth of riches from people writing about what home means to them. Don’t miss this month’s contributions from Catherine Campbell, who writes about pondering what home means while way up in the skies, Amy Young, who writes about finding home while in transition, Claire Musters, who addresses the challenges of making a home when its in continual use for ministry matters, and Shaneen Clarke, who pens a love song for London. All of the posts in the series can be found here.
Reader Reviews
I love reading reviews and emails from readers, and was so touched when a fellow clergy spouse emailed me after reading my book. I won’t share from her email, but later she kindly posted a review online:
On reading Amy’s most enjoyable book at the beginning of this year, I came to chapter 10 and was challenged to have a party. You see, I, like Amy, have a January birthday, which can be a depressing month to celebrate in for various reasons, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d invited friends to a tea party! I used some of the ideas Amy mentions, everything went really well, and everyone enjoyed themselves. So thank you Amy for being the trigger, through your book, to me having a very happy afternoon with my friends.
PS There are a lot of good things to read about in all the other chapters too! Eunice
I was chuffed when one of the readers of the Woman Alive book club posted this review in our Facebook group:
Whilst reading this book, I felt very much as though Amy was sat in a café talking to me. I laughed at the funny moments, like when she used an ancient tea bag for her new English boyfriend. There were hurtful moments too, such as when she was made fun of at a public dinner over the way she pronounced words.
Amy has confidently written down her heartfelt emotions before moving to Britain, and after. Culture shock arrives at unexpected moments, and so she shares her experiences and explores how to deal with these times.
Amy is a journalist who likes to study the background of a subject and unexpected stories weave cleverly through the book – this includes Harvest Festival, Thanksgiving and the Pilgrim Fathers. She writes pithily about Black Friday.
Living in a different culture can be extremely difficult, however hard one tries to ‘fit in’. At the end of her tether one day, Amy said to an American visitor: “All of life is Lent.” She then goes on to explain how through the years, she and Nicholas have created a life together of ‘old’ and ‘new’ where they can grow together. Amy points out how God ‘holds our hands to let us know he is with us, and helps us turn our aches and longings into the solid hope of heaven, giving us an eternal perspective’. Deep thoughts arising from deep longings.
I like the way this book is divided into logical sections for ease of reading. If you are: planning to live in another culture, marry someone from another country or even stay in your own culture but be in Christian service where you meet and greet peoples from all walks of life, then do read this book. You will feel encouraged. Carol Bye
And having reviews by people in the book trade humble me down to my socks. This one is from a former sales representative of STL, Tim Alban. It’s the first review he wrote after leaving STL in 2009!
Growing up near a US Air Force base, especially with a Grandmother who rented a house to service families who wanted to live off base, I’ve long had Americans as a part of my life. I have American friends, and like friends from other English speaking countries, I am fascinated by what we have in common and also what divides us.
My perception of Amy’s book was that it would be a Christian version of a Bill Bryson book but whilst there are certainly parallels there is much more to Finding Myself in Britain than that.
The first thing that struck me from Amy’s book was that even though, I have other friends who have transplanted themselves one way or another across the Atlantic, I had underestimated the practical and emotional upheaval involved; Amy writes openly and honestly about the depth of the decision making involved in her move to Great Britain, her decision to stay and her determination to make it work.
Amy is equally open about the benefits of her life as an Anglo-American – including writing about the her appreciation of our history and how she and her husband Nicholas make their respective cultures an everyday part of family life.
Another eye-opener for me was Amy’s glimpses into the demands, challenges and joys of vicarage life and the expectations sometimes placed on the spouses of the clergy.
Amy’s faith in God seasons her writing as does her do her descriptions of her church life; although I am not currently part of a church family, I appreciated reading about an Anglican church calendar I grew up with but had moved away from.
Finding Myself in Britain is a candid, entertaining, thought-provoking read and I am please to recommend it. Tim Alban
Devotional Writing
I was thrilled to have my second article published in Our Daily Bread in March – my first was published in February on one of the days I spend in Central London for my master’s. It felt surreal, as I was off social media for much of the day, to go online in the library at Heythrop College and open some lovely emails from readers around the world. Later I heard from my parents that they’d received several phone calls from people who were reading their daily devotional and were surprised to glimpse my name at the bottom – including our next door neighbors, from whom I took piano lessons for years, and my mom’s uncle in his 80s!
My second article looks at the theme from Hebrews 11 of strangers and foreigners, which I relate to my early experiences in the UK. I loved hearing from the daughter of one of my roommates when we were at Bethel University, who now is a mission partner in the Philippines. My friend’s daughter is now far from her tropical home while at Bethel, and she wrote of how one of her professors said that the Our Daily Bread reading (which I wrote) reminded him of her that day. We both thought it was amazing (“a really cool connection and awesome” in her words) that the words of her mom’s roommate while at Bethel were recommended to her by a Bethel prof!
The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life
A sneak peek at a small part of the cover! Designed by the wonderful artist who designed Finding Myself in Britain, Vivian Hansen.
Writing my second book has been a big focus for me in 2016 thus far. I had to plan carefully to get the first draft finished, for time was more limited than I would have preferred. (See, writers, how using the passive tense I tried to move the responsibility right away from me?)
I’ve really enjoyed the writing, especially after a writing friend encouraged me to be present in the project. When I stepped back from the pressure, I remembered that I love writing Bible-based reflections (!). The theme of forgiveness is deep and rich, and I look forward to sharing the book with you later in the year. It’s the BRF Lent book for 2017.
By the grace of God and a lot of time writing (I even had sore wrists!), I finished the draft and sent it to the publisher on time. My editor gave me a seal of approval (thank you, Lord) as well as some changes to incorporate before I sent it off to my dozen or so early readers. I’ve heard from two so far, who have made some wonderful suggestions. And they’ve picked up some of the crazy mistakes I am prone to make, such as ‘lauded over’ instead of ‘lorded over’ and this query: ‘strife and amenity? do you mean enmity?’ Funny how I routinely get that kind of stuff wrong. Oh, and one Paul Sunday and another Cannan. Oops!
Jesus’ Last Words
I loved writing a month of Bible reading notes for Inspiring Women Every Day (CWR) for September 2016 on John 14-17, which is often known as the Last Discourse. It’s Jesus preparing his disciples for life after his death, and has some of my favorite bits in Scripture, such as him praying, “I in them and you in me.” Hearing from readers who enjoy this devotional or others makes me pleased and grateful.
Watercolor by Leo Boucher.
Lenten/Easter poetry
As part of my Lenten discipline I decided, rather on the spur of the moment, to write a Bible-based poem each day based in the gospel of John. I found it such a wonderful exercise, as writing the poems made me slow down and digest the words. I was touched by this message from a friend:
I am so enjoying your Lenten poems. Poetry may be your best gift. A great tragedy that poetry has waned as a literary art. What can be done to revive it?
I skipped ahead in the gospel to the events of Good Friday, so soon will be heading back to part of the Last Discourse to continue.
Also on the blog I finished up the Pilgrim devotional series, which I had run for 11 weeks, and look forward to figuring out what to feature next.
Speaking
I led my first quiet day for BRF (the Bible Reading Fellowship, publisher of my Lent book), and although it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed the day. We held it at our church, which turned out to be a wonderful venue, especially for those people who hadn’t been able to attend quiet days in the past when the venues weren’t accessible via public transport. We have Victoria Park right across the street so people could spread out during the quiet times, or they could find a nook to enjoy in the church or the vicarage garden. As one of the participants say, the bright sunshine was the icing on the cake for the day.
Photo: Ineke Huizing, flickr
The theme was living water, which I so enjoyed exploring from Creation to Moses to Jesus to Revelation. Putting together the prayer activities was fun too, such as people writing on a piece of acetate something they wanted to give to God, which then they’d see the water dissolve.
I penned a short poem during the day:
And I loved receiving comments from the participants, some of which were hugely moving as to how God worked in their lives. Praise him! One of the participants gave me permission to share this poem, which she wrote on the day. She said, “I don’t usually write like this so it’s come as a bit of a surprise.”
Two days after the quiet day I went down to the New Forest to speak at a women’s breakfast at Poulner Baptist Chapel on the theme, “There’s No Place Like Home.” What a wonderful group of women; I thoroughly enjoyed myself – especially as I got to have dinner with a dear friend the night before, and another lovely friend took me to the New Forest for the breakfast. She knows how much I hate to drive.
I had forgotten how I came in touch with Anne, the woman at the church who invited me to speak. She had written in to Woman Alive after buying a book that one of our readers had recommended. The content wasn’t exactly edifying, and I felt bad that I hadn’t done a better job of vetting the reviews. I apologized by way of sending her a copy of my book. We struck up a friendship and that’s how the invitation came about – God’s redemption at work!
The lovely original chapel – Poulner Baptist Chapel in the New Forest.
I’m looking forward to other upcoming speaking engagements, including the silver anniversary celebrations at Books Alive in Hove in June and being the keynote speaker (wow and wow) at the BRF/Woman Alive day in June – yahoo! It’s 25 June and more details are here if you’d like to join us. Please do! We have some fabulous speakers and Jennifer Rees Larcombe is heading up the prayer ministry team.
And of course I’m keenly anticipating leading the week’s retreat in Spain at El Palmeral, the place for a gorgeous retreat/holiday in Elche, near Alicante. The title is “Adventures with God,” including a trip to the beach, and some spaces are available for 25 to 29 April. Do come – it’s an amazing place for rest and renewal and fun.
The grounds include a labyrinth.
Master’s in Christian Spirituality
I’m loving the master’s I’m doing in Christian spirituality at Heythrop College, University of London. The lecturer, Eddie Howells, has been superb. He has a way of taking people’s contributions and synthesizing them while affirming the person. Such a gift. I will miss his lectures as I’ve now finished the lecture portion of both modules I’m taking from him.
This month I’ve been reading Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, and Meister Eckhart, among others. The course is “History of Christian Mysticism to the Reformation,” so it’s been a whole lot of reading, from Augustine to Origen to Bernard of Clairvaux to the Beguines. I need to take some time to try to make some more links and ponder. The so-called apophatic, or negative, theology, I found challenging in particular. Writers such as Dionysius write in this fashion, where they state a negation (what God isn’t), followed by another negation, and so on. It starts to boggle the mind.
For my end-of-year essay for my Intro to Spirituality course I’ve chosen to write about John Cassian from the 400s. He wrote a couple of so-called conferences on prayer that I want to explore, which he wrote for the monks in his care. He was one of the first to emphasize unceasing prayer, so could be called a precursor to Brother Lawrence.
On study methods – I found out, after I’ve enjoyed two of the four modules, that I shouldn’t take notes with a laptop. Oh dear! Back to pen and paper next year. Looks like our brains process information differently.
I had a hard time selecting a book to highlight for the June Woman Alive book club, trying several and tossing them aside when I wasn’t gripped by their content or structure. I won’t mention which ones they were! I landed then on The Wired Soul by Tricia McCary Rhodes, reading it and enjoying it, before I realized that it wouldn’t be published for several months and thus I couldn’t feature it in June. Back to the drawing board. Then I remembered Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar, which gripped me from the beginning. It’s fiction set in the biblical times and I really enjoyed it – review coming in the June book club, along with an interview of author Claire Dunn.
I also finished The Girl from the Train by Irma Joubert, fiction based in Poland and South Africa around the time of World War 2. I’ve posted some questions for readers to discuss in the Woman Alive book club Facebook group if you’d like to join in.
As I was writing the June book club, I started to do the math and realized that July will mark 10 years of the book club! How fun to celebrate this anniversary of books and more books. I’m publishing reader reviews of what the book club has meant to them or a favorite book they’ve read, so if you’d like to contribute please do. Also I’ll be featuring an interview with the inimitable Michele Guinness on her novel Grace.
For my local book club we read and discussed The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriaty. I enjoyed it after I was about a third of the way through, for the novel has so many characters that I couldn’t keep them all straight at first. I thought because of the many themes in the book we’d have lots to discuss, but our discussion didn’t take off as it often can. A fun book to read but not great to discuss? When finding some discussion questions for the evening I came across one book club that takes the task of preparation so seriously that she even prepared a power point!
We love that technology can keep us connected with people who move from London. Previously one of our members was in New York City – she’d join by Skype as her kids started to arrive home from school. Now we have a friend who has moved back to Japan, and she somehow amazingly manages to get up around 4.30am to join in.
I’m excited for the next one we’re reading, All the Light We Cannot See, which has won the Pulitzer Prize and has been super highly recommended to me.
In the Kitchen
Blonde brownies: We were seeing friends on Holy Saturday and I ran out of Ghirardelli brownie mix, and had to find something to make with the ingredients we had at home as I didn’t want to shop on Good Friday. Decided to make blonde brownies, but underestimated the time they’d need to cook. The recipe I used called for 20-25 minutes of baking; I had them in there about a half hour but later when I tried to cut them I realized they were still way underdone. I shoved them back into the oven for another 10 minutes. They were gooey but good.
I made another batch for the Easter Sunday tea party at church (that sounds so English), this time with the 4 eggs the recipe called for instead of the 3 I used the day before, and cooked them about 45-50 minutes so they were moist but not dripping. The 4 eggs made them more into a cake. Three eggs is definitely better. Here’s a similar recipe to what I used.
Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese: I had a hankering for mac-and-cheese, and didn’t want to pay the equivalent of $5 for a box of the Kraft fake stuff. So I made a batch with this recipe. I found it called for far too little pasta – the sauce was overflowing so I added almost twice as much pasta as it said. Not sure I’d make it again. Note for translation – 7 ounces is about 200 grams.
A friend made this lemon cream cake to celebrate her husband’s birthday – looks amazing.
At my local book club we enjoyed this Nigella recipe for flourless brownies. They were to die for.
A highlight from February
Having my parents visit for the half-term break was brilliant. The three of us went very early on Valentine’s Day to a self-service interview booth for me to be interviewed by BBC Radio Berkshire.
So tell me, please. What are you reading, thinking, learning, and enjoying?
Focus on one book of the Bible
Add a practice of giving or forgiving
Read a book
We’ve arrived at Holy Week, ushered in yesterday on Palm Sunday when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. As I outline in my book, 
Will you – can you – forgive?
The day has come – today is the official launch day for The Living Cross: Exploring God’s Gift of Forgiveness and New Life, published by the Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF). In the times of old in publishing, the launch date may have been met with a bubbly-infused luncheon or a glitzy party at night. Times have changed, however, and those publisher-sponsored events are largely a thing of the past – at least at my level of authorship!
Starting next week, I’ll be hosting another guest blog series, Forgiveness Fridays. I’m so excited to share with you some fantastic posts on the freeing gift of forgiveness, written by an interesting range of people.
