Monday, February 8, 2016

40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole: A Review


As I mentioned a few days ago, I requested 40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast by Alicia Britt Chold for review.  It's the perfect book to work through Lent, so I'm excited it arrived in time for the beginning of Lent on Wednesday, and I would love it if you would join me for these 40 days.  

If you happen to have Amazon Prime, you could order it now and have it by Wednesday.  If not, the book is available in a Kindle edition--but here's the secret--you don't have to have a Kindle to read books intended for Kindle!  You can read them on your device or computer using the free Kindle app.

From the introduction:
40 Days of Decrease guides readers through a study of Jesus' uncommon and uncomfortable call to abandon the world's illusions, embrace His kingdom's realities, and journey cross-ward and beyond.  Designed to prepare our hearts for Easter ... each day of 40 Days of Decrease features a devotional based upon Jesus' life, guidance for reflection, suggested (and occasionally surprising) daily fasts, an inspiring quote for prayerful meditation, an optional ... sidebar chronicling the historical development, practices, and images of Lent, and a suggested Scripture reading with journaling space.

I've enjoyed flipping through the devotionals as Lent approaches.  There are 40 chapters, each with a devotion, question for reflection, suggested fast, scripture, and journaling space.  The fasts are varied and interesting.  Usually when I hear about people fasting during Lent, they will give up something for the entire 6 week time period.  Some of my friends add spiritual disciplines like prayer or meditation during Lent, but I've never heard of fasting from something different each day.  The author suggests fasting from such things as discontentment, leavened bread, isolation, tidy faith, fixing it, and even, on the last day, fasting from fasting.

The devotions and reflections are well written and thought provoking, and the historical facts are interesting.  Each chapter is artfully crafted to illuminate the scriptures and bring our hearts closer to Jesus.

Bottom line: This is a well written and thoughtful book designed to prepare its reader to experience the awe of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection.

I received this book for free from the publisher through Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

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