God For Us

"Have you ever celebrated the rhythms of the weeks before Easter? In some traditions of the Church, Christians are surprised by Easter when it appears on store shelves loaded with Easter bunnies and egg baskets. In many modern denominations, Easter is just one more long weekend that culminates in a special church service. There is no Lenten meditation for a thoughtful pause in the calendar. This year, I challenge you to find a good Lenten reader. A new one this year is God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter. (Look for it in your local bookstore or online.) For those who experience Easter as "Just-Another-Long-Weekend," this is a godsend. The book is divided into categories: the feasts and fasts, the beginnings and weeks, and Holy Week and Easter. Each unit includes a bit of liturgical or church history as well as scriptures, thoughtful reflection and study, and prayer. The daily readings may make your heart sing. The scripture groupings for daily meditation and the explanations from new points-of-view will encourage and enlighten. I loved the personal prayers in spoken English.

So - we may be looking forward to Christmas now - but Easter is coming! Wouldn't this book be a nice gift for those you care about?" —Rosemarie Kowalski 
This book is a devotional and insightful description of the days of Lent. The editors have stitched together a collection of devotions from some of the best spiritual writers of our era. Readers can use this devotional as a guide through Lent. Together with the historical background provided by Beth Bevis, we will get a better sense of why Lent us such an important part of the Christian calendar. We do not simply fast for fasting sake. Neither do we deprive ourselves of certain luxuries just to transport ourselves back to the wilderness experience of the saints of old. We do so with an eye on the cross. We maintain our anchor on Christ even as we think about how life and the remembrance of each day of Lent fits together. At the end of it, all the authors have encouraged us to hang on to hope even as we are enduring the tough days of life. The significance of the Resurrection is made more complete in us as we go through the journey. This book is a good companion to take along as we embark upon this spiritual expedition.—Conrade Yap

Have you ever celebrated the rhythms of the weeks before Easter? In some traditions of the Church, Christians are surprised by Easter when it appears on store shelves loaded with Easter bunnies and egg baskets. In many modern denominations, Easter is just one more long weekend that culminates in a special church service. There is no Lenten meditation for a thoughtful pause in the calendar.

This year, I challenge you to find a good Lenten reader. A new one this year is God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter. (Look for it in your local bookstore or online.)

For those who experience Easter as "Just-Another-Long-Weekend," this is a godsend. The book is divided into categories: the feasts and fasts, the beginnings and weeks, and Holy Week and Easter. Each unit includes a bit of liturgical or church history as well as scriptures, thoughtful reflection and study, and prayer. The daily readings may make your heart sing.

The scripture groupings for daily meditation and the explanations from new points-of-view will encourage and enlighten. —Rosa Smith, 3 Books Full

The reader's edition of God For Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Lent and Easter  is comprised of a series of impressively informed and informative articles examining the meaning of Lent and its significance in spiritual formation and the preparation for Easter, and walking the reader through the holy season of Easter. Leading North American spiritual writers reflect on what one theologian has called the "bright sadness" of Lent: that it is not about feeling of broken and lost, but about cleansing the palate so we can taste life to a greater extent. In the Lent and Easter seasons, we encounter the God who, in all of life, is for us—for our liberation, for our healing, for our wholeness. Even in death we can find resurrection. God For Us is very highly recommended, especially for members of the Christian community regardless of their denominational affiliations.—Midwest Book Review