Is Lent legit...and why we need it

 

As glorious winter begins its waning (take heart summer lovers, it truly will fade and be forgotten when Spring comes to kick it out!), this current sacred season of Epiphany also is about to end. Right on its heels is Lent, so naturally this is your annual reminder from your sacred holidays obsessed friend that psst! it starts next Wednesday. 

For years I've been making a case that we modern day Christ-followers could (and should) add (or better still, replace!) this holy seasonal cycle to our American, consumer-driven calendars. To live each year (and our very life) centered around the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. 

What a wonder.

Some of us have dipped our nervous toes into the practice of Advent, the four weeks leading up to Christmas and have not fallen off our conservative high ground. We've benefitted from an intentional, slow(er)-paced December, taking time to remember Jesus' first arrival and raise enthusiasm for His next; a countercultural response to western Christmas hoopla. 

But, what of Lent, another fairly overlooked and undervalued treasure of the faith? Dare we wade into those ancient and possibly ill-understood forty-six days leading up to Easter? Do we have to fast? For what purpose? Does God really care?

Mind if I drop a few helpful thoughts that have educated and enticed me to it year after year?

"Lent gives us the opportunity to live out the story of the gospel, see our need for Christ in a new way, and experience the hope of the resurrection firsthand each year."

Ah, yes! I became curious about it when my soul was unsatisfied with merely a 45-minute Good Friday Service and a high-intensity hour of Easter morning worship slot on my calendar that often was overshadowed by a bunny, some candy and colored eggs. 

That's it? 

Jesus, the perfect and only Son of God, came to earth to live among His creations, suffer and die for all their sin to make a way for them to become part of God's family and receive all His love and benefits, then raised Himself from the dead after three days in a tomb, and we only "celebrate" that for a few hours a year? Then go back to our day to day. How could it be?

I mean, I don't know about you, but I am quite forgetful especially as I age. (I don't want to talk about it.) Do I remember on the regular the state I was in when Jesus came for me? That girl had no hope. Even as a teenager, I was steeped in sin and rebellion, lost. Then Love rescued me and gave me a new life. 

What a wonder.

Decades later, am I "satisfied" with what I've experienced since that day or do I hunger for more? It doesn't take long for me to forget how good God has been to me and how He meets all my needs. How often do I turn to other things to fill those needs?

"Lent reorients our hearts. It forces us to analyze them and determine what we turn to for salvation and gives us a dedicated and intentional time to turn our eyes and hearts to God instead."

Analyze and determine. Dedicated and intentional. Power verbs and adjectives for spiritual purpose! 

Remind you of anything? Hint: Advent.

The difference: During Lent we focus on fasting and prayer and giving to the poor.

We deny ourselves something we enjoy (maybe too much) or are mastered by (that needs reevaluating) and allow the desire and hunger it creates to become a spiritual hunger for Jesus. Yes! Worth it.

The number forty is significant. For you Bible readers, this is familiar. In Genesis 7, God put Noah and his family on a huge boat to rescue them and purify the earth from a forty-day Earth-drenching rainfall that killed all living things due to sin and prior to the beginning of a new covenant relationship with God. 

Numbers 14 tells the history of the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for forty years for purification from their sin and learning how to become the people God called to be His own before entering the Promised Land. 

Matthew tells us in chapter 4 of his eyewitness gospel account that Jesus fasted for forty days before God's archenemy Satan got to take a crack at Him with wild temptations to sabotage His perfect purity and veer Him off the path of His earthly ministry about to start. 

Pattern? Oh yes. "Each of these events emphasize purification, sin and preparation. The forty days of Lent are intended to reflect these stories from Scripture. For forty days, we reflect on our sin, take steps toward purification, and prepare for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection..." The event that changed all of life and eternity!

The story, of course, does not end with Lent. It leads to glorious Easter! Resurrection! New Life! I dare declare that some work needs to be done in the human heart before the celebration can be all it should be. All-encompassing, completely pre-occupying, a most looked forward to day of the year to give the honor it is due.

What can you give up for 40 days that will remind you to hunger for Jesus and respond to the desire with prayer? 

• Maybe a food item that you would really miss (chocolate, coffee, salty crunchy snacks). 
• Maybe how you spend some of your time (scrolling, playing games on phone, tv watching).

Or add something like a new prayer practice (start and end day with prayer, pray 3 times a day, pray outside) or Scripture memory, or spending meaningful time with someone.

Generously give from your abundance (or from your lack). I usually take this opportunity to sweep through my home and closets with an eye for over-abundance. What can I give to charities or those with a need greater than my own?

A few things to note:

- Fast for 40 days but take Sundays off because Sundays always represent a celebration of feasting on the Lord and His goodness.

- The goal is not self-improvement or building new habits but rather creating room for God that might be taken up currently by other things. 

- Focus on regular confession and repentance - especially of a frequent sin that needs to be put to death.

- It's ok to fail! This proves the point that we are weak and dependent on God. And He doesn't mind. He's happy to fill the void with His love. We will long more for Jesus who saves us and overcomes on our behalf.

There are so many wonderful ways to engage in a Lenten fast. Let the Spirit guide you. Take some time to brainstorm and pray these next few days so you will have clear direction and a plan come Wednesday.

Think about how much more meaningful this most important sacred holiday will be. I personally guarantee this is legit - worth your effort. We will walk the path of Jesus to the cross for forty days and discover who we are, what we need, and how Jesus is the best and only solution.

If you give yourself to forty days of intention it will be life changing. Your Easter celebration will take on a depth of worship maybe you haven't experienced in a while. 

This is no mamby-pamby holiday. Resurrection Sunday is the most important, most life changing, and what sets following Jesus apart from any other attempt to know God. 

It deserves our full attention and participation...with gusto!

Consider yourself invited.

*All quotes from The Church Calendar by The Daily Grace Co.

Light it Up

 One of the things I like about this season of increasing darkness (until winter solstice - December 21 - when daylight starts gaining again) is creative lighting. How many ways can I illumine a gloomy room?

Room lights, hall lights, floodlights, etc. have their place for sure, but it's ambience that I'm after, chasing away the tenebrific shadows.

Bookshelf lights, book lights, string lights (not too early!), dimmers, candles (of course), my new favorite rechargeable, portable cuties (have you gotten some? Oy - life changer!), firelight (even electric), flickering window lights, and more! They must all be warm white, obviously. Just ask my husband. Somehow, these make the dark early mornings and evenings not just tolerable, but cozy. 

I finished my annual reading of the Bible yesterday. It ended with a glorious, flourishing finish. Jesus on page one, Jesus on page 1329, and Jesus on the pages between - all of it all about Him. What a wonder.

As we approach Advent which starts next week and as I sit here in my dim library this morning, I marvel at the last promises written down and preserved for us so long ago. Revelation 21 is a very encouraging chapter (and very appropriate for Advent). Don't miss it. 

Here are a few things I wrote down to both remember in future and be thankful for especially this week (see what I did there?).

There will be:

a new heaven and a new earth.

God will dwell with us in both.

He will be with us and be our God.

He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Death will be no more; grief, crying and pain will be no more - passed away. (no more - amen?)

He will make everything new. (Everything? Me too? Everything.)

He will freely give the water of life to the thirsty and access to the tree of life.

He will bring blessings and rewards for those who keep His words and those who conquer.

It will never be night there. (No more night?!)

There will be no need for sun or moon (sunlight or lamplight says the Message version).

The glory of God lights it with the Lamb as the lamp. (see John 8:12 "Jesus declared, 'I Am the Light of the World. Anyone who follows Me will never walk in the darkness but will have the Light and life.'")

Well. 

Hello Advent. I see you. December is the darkest month of the year. One can't help but draw out the benefit of observing this dark season of Advent annually because we long for the Light who already came into the world, Who already shines in the darkness, and we remember to long for these future promises - the second Advent of Jesus. 

During Advent we are reenacting the drama of prophecy and longing and joyous fulfillment that climaxed with Jesus' first coming. We're reliving all those centuries of waiting in the darkness for a great Light to shine.

Friend, if you are in a season of darkness, be of good cheer. Be illumined. The Light has come. The Light will come again. No more darkness. No more night. No more pain, grief or tears. 

What a wonder.

Even so, come Lord Jesus. We are watching and waiting and expecting You.

P.S. This glorious passage in Revelation (a book that deceptively scares many of us too much to read) is another reason to read the Bible from beginning to end. Especially if you dig happy endings.

An August Hello

I wrote the title of this blogpost into the subject line of a recent email I sent to a faraway friend. I intended it as a late summer greeting, but after we exchanged a few notes, I saw something else - a robust salutation. Dictionary.com defines august this way: "inspiring reverence or admiration; of supreme dignity or grandeur; majestic." 

Don't you love it when a simple, common word has two different interpretations? (Unlike the illegal forcing of noun into verb such as, "adulting" - don't get me started on this trend.) The natural dual-purpose idiom jazzes me to no end. 

Changing one letter from upper to lower case amplifies the emotion in this case. It's so good - and in regard to the greeting I want to open this post for you - much more heartfelt than just reminding you what month we're in.

So, an august "Hello!" to you in August. It's been a while. I hope you are well.

I've spent the better part of this summer working on a few projects I want to tell you about.

1. Preparing messages for speaking engagements coming this fall. It is my great privilege to travel to women's events and share from the Bible and my experiences on all manner of topics. My schedule is filling up and I would love to serve your group. Let's compare calendars and see what works. 

2. Finishing my next book. For months I've been writing a book for young women/wives/moms based on the letters I wrote my daughter and daughters-in-law leading up to their weddings. You know, older to younger, passing down lessons learned from older women along the way and principles from the Bible for how to thrive in these roles and seasons of life.

Mentoring has been a passion of mine for what seems like centuries. (Ok, I'm not that ancient, but I am firmly in the older category.) Many olders invested in me when I was a younger, and I simply can't keep all this goodness to myself any longer!

If you're a younger, this book is for you to have a companion for this one beautiful life you've been entrusted with.

If you're an older, this book can be for you too - a resource as you invest in your youngers.

In the weeks to come, I'll be making announcements here, on social media, and via email to let you, my readers, know when and how you can get a copy for yourself and maybe some for your youngers. There will even be bonus material and gifts for pre-orders or multiples. Watch for videos too (We're so hip!).

It's going to be fun!

Title and cover reveal is first up👏...stay tuned.

Ways we can get/stay in touch to be sure you don't miss anything as launch date is approaching:

• Contact me directly to speak at your event
• Subscribe to this blog (see top right corner of this page) so you are notified of new posts
• For all contact information and to subscribe to monthly email newsletter: angelaburtis.com

I look forward to hearing from you!

I would be so thankful if you share this post and/or anything in it with those you think could benefit.

_______________________

P.S. We did this other TINY little thing this summer - a 35th wedding anniversary cruise to Alaska! I prayed for awe and wonder and may have wept at the God-created beauty. (I did) I was speechless (can you imagine?). There is no place like Alaska. I can't say enough so, I'll just show you a little glimpse. 

zoom for waterfall and ice in water

Yes, it was windy...and chilly

Of course I bought yellow rainboots to match my jacket.

Last word - you must see Alaska. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Just get there!

Also, if it applies - stay married. 35 years is a prize to be won.

The Worst Question

 
A Lent buddy of mine is sending me a question a week to consider during these forty days leading up to Easter.

The latest:

What is your favorite question in the Bible? Least favorite? Most powerful? Most reassuring?

We agreed the answers would require a measure of time to sit with and listen for Divine Guidance though an easy favorite popped right into my selfish, self-focused, self-obsessed, greedy mind. 

Jesus asked it to a few, "What would you like me to do for you?" 

Way to go, Angela. (In case it lands as answer to the first question, I hope He smiled.)

This morning the next answer jumped off the page.

Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 

and said, "What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?"*

These two verses are so troubling. "One of the twelve" means Judas was in the inner circle of the Son of God for three years. He watched Jesus heal the lame, sick, unhealthy by touch and word. He saw thousands of hungry sermon-listeners fed to full of barely an appetizer broke by Jesus' hands. He observed the wind, and waves die down in a tumultuous storm on a lake by Jesus' rebuke. He smelled the body of Lazarus, four days dead, when it came alive and walked out of a burial tomb at Jesus' command. He listened to Jesus teach the truths and heart of God which astonished the crowds with no notes. He heard Jesus pray for God's chosen people, future followers, the other eleven and for him. He felt Jesus' hands on his dirty feet when He humbly washed them. He looked into the eyes of the long-awaited Savior in the flesh and was loved. He even greeted Him with a kiss, the most intimate expression on their last encounter.

Don't even get me started on the way he "went to the chief priests". The chief priests? The highest-ranking religious leaders? These who earlier that day had "gathered and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him."** Plotted together to arrest a man by stealth and kill him? Excuse me?! Where is that written in the Bible as part of the chief priests' job description, acceptable to God? 

Back to the question - the terrible question. One later regretted (understatement), resulting in suicide. Who could bear the consequences of it? Were the thirty pieces of silver he gained actually enough satisfaction for the trade? Apparently so.

We are in the thick of Holy Week now, no turning back. As stated in my last post, the most important week of the year - it truly holds everything.

Kate Bowler put it this way, "Holy Week is a horror movie. And somehow, it's still holy. If it were a movie, we'd all be screaming at the characters: 'DON'T GO IN THERE!' But...in they go."

Isn't that the truth? We're going in too if we dare.

Let's.

Holy Week brings up a lot of questions worthy of our consideration. On this day, Spy Wednesday, the worst - in my opinion written above - can only lead a deep thinker to the obvious self-reflecting follow-ups.

"What would you sell Jesus for?" 

Money?

Power?

Safety?

Security?

Family?

I shudder to think what this heart is capable of here. But I must.

It's good to sit in it, this week in particular. Perhaps a set-up, preparation of the soul, expectant for the gift of newness promised just days away.

Join me?

Just for a little while...because Sunday is coming!

*Matthew 26:14-15

**Matthew 26:3-4

Best Week of the Year

 

Palm Sunday. 

It's kind of a big deal.

Holy Week finishes the season of Lent. For the next six days we will experience whiplash between the highest of highs of Palm Sunday and the lowest of lows on Good Friday.

All of Scripture and our life as the Church revolve around one theme: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and His triumph over sin and death. We need a whole week to complete our Lenten focus, to pay attention to Jesus' last week on earth, the final days before His human life ended, and enter into the long-awaited celebration of resurrection and new life.

Palm Sunday kicks us off. I don’t know about you, but when I read through the Gospels and get to this day – happy and exciting as it is and should be - I always think, “No! I’m not ready. Not ready to let go of Jesus. Not ready to say goodbye.” I’m thankful we know the end of this story. But the disciples didn’t.

Yet it was a triumphant day for those in attendance that Sunday morning in Jerusalem. A King arriving on a donkey, the crowd waving palm branches, singing "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." We should do likewise. I hope your church had palms for you this morning.

Holy Monday – This day we remember Mary anointing Jesus’ feet in Bethany. The beautiful gift of lavish love and worship. This day we can reflect on what we offer to Jesus.

During this weighty week we become increasingly aware of the way our sin required the death of Jesus. The rhythm of confession and forgiveness is the practice in the life of a growing Christian.

Holy Tuesday – On this day, Jesus entered Jerusalem and headed to the temple. Upon arrival, witnessing those who were profiting from worship, changing money, selling goods, and profaning God’s holy place of worship, Jesus got mad. He overturned the tables and drove out the unrighteousness. He cleansed the temple.

And wildly, He stayed, spending the next days - His last - healing and teaching right there, so the temple could be used for God’s intended purpose: a place for the people to meet with God, learn about Him and worship Him. Amen?

Maybe on this day we can honor this day by cleaning our homes – top to bottom – in preparation. Making space for the holy to come.

Holy or Spy Wednesday – This day we remember Judas’ betrayal – for 30 pieces of silver. Perhaps we can assess our allegiances. At what price do we value Jesus’ life? Would we give Him up for money? For family? For power? For love?

Maundy Thursday – Maundy means commandment. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and declared a new commandment to “love one another: just as I have loved you, you are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:34-35

Jesus puts this verse into practice by submitting to the scourging, humiliation, rejection, torture and excruciating death because of His great love for us.

The Last Supper happened on this day. May we remember and marvel that Jesus fulfilled and served Himself up as the Passover lamb that Jews had celebrated and longed for for generations. Spend a little time reading in Exodus?

Good Friday – the day to go to church. Please go to church this Friday. Christians must be together to remember together. It’s designed to be a time of mourning, prayer and repentance. We look on the cross helpless, both grateful and horrified. The bogus middle of the night trials. The scattering of the "believers". The rejection. The outrageous suffering and death of the innocent, the most loving. 

Of course, it will be somber and dark. As it should be. Lament is a very important element of our worship. May we feel all the feelings and confess deeply.

Holy Saturday – or Silent Saturday. Put yourself in the disciples' seats. What in the world just happened? The glorious Sunday resurrection has not yet – they don’t know it’s coming. They should, but they don't. Jesus' closest friends must sit in the silence of what they witnessed happen to Jesus and what happened in their own hearts (which was not pretty).

Holy Saturday teaches us to go through it. It’s a sacred time. So, take away the noise. No music, no media, no noise. Prepare for Easter quietly and reverently.

Because the Big Day – the most important – most glorious and happiest day of the year – is coming! Resurrection Sunday - our annual set apart day to marvel, worship and feast – together! Go wild! Sing! Dance! At church! Then feast.

Brothers and sisters, this is our week to shine. 

To pay attention and participate. 

To read along in the Bible tracking what Jesus was doing and saying those final days. 

To magnify the greatest week in history. The week that changed everything. 

To showcase Jesus, the One and Only, who rose from the dead, fulfilling prophecies and making all things new. Making you new.

Let's engage with gusto. Maybe we will be joined by the curious.

P.S. How about that plant in the above picture? It's called crown of thorns. Check your local florist or nursery to get yours. A beautiful visual. 

The Next Big Thing...

 

I love looking forward to something. A deadline reached, vacations, the next time my grandchildren will be on my lap, our kids all together, the end of a diet. But a top favorite is preparing for sacred holidays; intentional time spent in anticipation.

This is not news for those of you who have been reading around here for a while. It seems I've become the poster child for heralding the news when the next big thing on the holiday calendar is almost here. This is my job, and I love it!

Christmas is in the rearview mirror (sniff!), so Easter is on the horizon. 

Arguably the most important holiday in the life of a Jesus-follower, without Easter, there'd be nothing to hang our hat on regarding our faith and what we believe. It's a biggie.

Clearly our commemoration of the cornerstone of the Christian faith – the death and resurrection of King Jesus, our Savior - could (and should) this be the new most wonderful time of the year? Both holidays focus on Jesus and matter to our annual rhythm of life.  

During Advent, we watch for His comings to earth (the first 2000 years ago, the 2nd date TBD). During Lent, we walk the footsteps of Jesus to the cross of suffering all the way to the empty tomb. He is risen, hallelujah!

The true Gospel story is brimming with miracles and prophecies fulfilled which must never become humdrum or yada yada yada or less than awe-inspiring.

That said, doesn’t it deserve more than one Easter morning worship gathering and possibly a Good Friday service if we don’t get a better offer?  

Let’s back up a second before we buy a new Spring dress or plan an Easter egg hunt.

For Christians who are paying attention to the Church Calendar, we are about to move from Ordinary Time to Lent. 

To skip Lent and jump right into Easter is missing depth and richness leading up to the Big Day.

Like Advent (my 2nd favorite sacred holiday), Lent is a time to open the doors of our hearts a little wider and understand our Lord a little deeper, so that when Good Friday and eventually Sunday comes, it is not just another day at church, albeit an exciting one bursting with pastel colors and Spring flowers.

Unlike Advent, characterized by anticipation and eventual abundance, Lent is a more solemn season, meant to be like lament – to feel or express sorrow or regret for; to mourn over. One can't appreciate the light and the miracle of resurrection (new life!) without spending a significant amount of time remembering the dark side, the sin, the pain, the rejection, the suffering, the death.

Did you realize the majority of the Psalms are laments? It's important to give lamenting time to do its work in us.

Maybe consider practicing Lent a form of spiritual housekeeping: 

Praying (drawing close to God)
Fasting (denying self for a spiritual purpose)
Giving (to the poor what we don’t need)

If you want seasonal heart transformation and to present God with pure, meaningful worship on Resurrection Sunday, it must cost you something. All spiritual growth does. 

I guess you could consider this my annual invitation for you to open your calendar and heart a little wider. To approach Easter - the holiday that sets Christians apart - by entering a 40-day journey with Jesus on His path of suffering and death to purchase our salvation with an empty tomb. This is the stuff!

This could look like many things.  (more ideas below)

• Focused Bible readings.  Start with any Gospel. That's where the story picks up. In addition, there is no shortage of printed and digital devotional guides that will lead you to a heightened awareness of sin, repentance and appreciation. 
• Fasting from something you will truly miss daily (not something you hate, but something you love and think you can't live without - go big or go home!); denying yourself a pleasure (when you miss it, you trade that desire for prayer).
• Giving to the poor. Purging our souls of sin and self, also emptying our home of excess. What can we give away to benefit another (both money and stuff)?

If you've never done anything like this and are willing to experiment, I'm excited for you. You are in for a treat. It might hurt a little, but you won't regret your effort.

We can do this. We need to do this. When we decrease (fast), Jesus will increase, and our focus become sharper (any other 50+somethings out there need some clarity?).

Living Lent is not simply a religious ritual. It's so much better - this is about relationship, relationship, relationship. God wants more of us and the attention we give to sacred holidays is an outward sign of how much we give to Him. It matters. Our efforts will not be wasted.

Trust me, forty days of attentiveness to the cross of Jesus, His earthly ministry and words spoken WILL elevate your Easter Sunday celebration (what Easter bunny?) – and transform you too.  That, my friend, will surprise you the most. Don't miss it!

When you hit the final stretch - Holy Week - you are going to have so much to share with those around you regarding what you've experienced. How real and present God is. How sinful and helpless we are without Him. How mighty and loving Jesus is. 

And that's part of the point - spiritual growth and celebrating sacred holidays is never just for us, it's meant to be shared. It simply must be, or how will they know?

Then finally, when Resurrection Day comes, and Eastertide begins (50 days of Easter! More on that later), we will gather at church, and we will sing "Up from the Grave He Arose", "He's Alive", and all the other Easter songs with gusto! 

Let’s look forward to that day together.

Ash Wednesday, March 5, is day one. Plenty of time to be ready to begin.

Equally stimulating ideas:

Scour your playlists and listen only to faith-based songs. So many Easter selections to choose from (Hello Andrew Peterson's Resurrection Letters). Try Music Inspired by The Story too - gold!

Add a spiritual practice: memorize Bible passages, set specific prayer times and lengths, silence and solitude, prayer walking

Fast from: food, drink, media, headlines, criticism, shame

Pro tip: push through the first few days - they are the hardest! And take Sundays off for Sabbath rest.

Approach Matters

Typically, in January, readers of the Bible and wannabees make a new plan for how they will approach this effort in the new year. Hands up over here! There are no few options from which to choose.

Read through in a year

Read through in a year chronologically

Read the New Testament once, or more

Read a chapter a day

Read and study one book at a time

Read one passage from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament

Read a little OT, a little NT with a psalm and proverb for fun

Read it once a week

Read it every day

Read it first thing in the morning upon waking and the last moments of the day before sleep

Read it more than last year

Which one is for you? Pick one! God will bless each and every effort.

Are you like me and own a collection of copies of this holy book? I lost count many years ago when it became clear that my husband and I have our own library full here in our home (not to mention those in his office). His first children's bible and my first "student bible" given from our parents to us upon coming to faith in Jesus. 

Then we have various translations, some written in reading plan form, others including theological commentary, those with devotional thoughts sprinkled throughout, and (my favorite) ones that leave open lines for recording my own notes. 

Lucky Scott and I inherited a volume or two from his Bible loving grandmother - brimming with her handwritten sermon and study notes - precious indeed. 

Honestly, we are just Bible junkies. We love a new print - all colors, shapes and sizes. Giant FAMILY BIBLE coffee table size, medium not too thick or encumbering to take to church, pocket size to keep in purse or car in case of emergency need, and tiny oh so old treasures found in used bookstores. Paperback, leatherbound and hard cover. We'll take them all!

Does this anthology make us super spiritual and more holy than those content with one or two? Absolutely not. Collecting printed pages does not make one more blessed by God. Especially if they collect dust and are never or rarely read. 

Maybe you've prioritized anew scriptural consumption in 2025. Congratulations! I have too and am excited for us. No matter which "plan" or path you've chosen may I gently declare that nowhere in the pages inside is a decree that it must be read in a calendar year. Psh. Take as long as you like, just keep reading. Don't quit. 

If you're new to the whole of it - this ancient miraculously preserved text - you've embarked on an adventure. Not to oversell, but this glorious opus (bestseller of all time) has it all - drama, travel, war, romance, horror, good, evil, angels, villains, instruction, warnings, promises, poetry, beauty, jokes (did you know God has a sense of humor?), invitations to redemption, love, and a Hero (the very subject of the whole) who can be found present from first page to last. 

I've heard it described as a library of genres within itself. I call it the book of truth and wonder.

It's anything but boring. Or outdated. Or irrelevant to present day.

That said, the way we approach it matters.

Are we reading because as a Christ-follower we are supposed to? To gain knowledge? To add or maintain as a spiritual discipline? Are determined to prove it wrong? Or curiously prove it right? 

Hopefully, it's for love in effort to discover the contents of this love letter from the Creator of the universe; a genuine desire to understand it at the heart of the matter.

I've learned from many a teacher to begin each session with prayer. Critical for optimum understanding, I also find it helps to ensure a pure motive and the most enlightening experience to boot. Influenced by many, here is a compilation of words and requests I intimately ask of the Author before I open the cover. 

Teach me, train me. Discipline and disciple me. Correct where I've got it wrong. Delight me and thrill me.

Open up all my senses - eyes to see, ears to hear, hands to touch, nose to smell and mouth to taste the goodness inside.

Show me what's helpful, 

show me what's true. 

What is from you 

and what do I do?

Help me receive, understand, apply and obey, 

share it with someone and remember it along the way.

Lead me to the treasure of Your character on each and every page and form me into the image of the Subject of this book.

Amen.

Happy adventuring, my friends.

Entrusted

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with the events of the day ahead even before it actually starts?

As I pray through a busy day in the morning, I consider the souls created in God's image with whom I will interact. 

Isn't that everyone, you ask? Yes, that's right.

Church ladies' breakfast in my dining room, visit with my sister and nephew, guests, host and mom-to-be of a baby shower, dinner with two longtime friend couples; one we're living life together with and one we haven't spent time with in decades, and many hours in the car with my husband. 

I wonder how each meeting and conversation will go. 

Will I enter each room with enthusiastic outward gaze, "Yay! You're here!" or will it be about me, "Oh hey! Here I am!", tilting the room in my direction?

Will I be able to read these rooms, looking into eyes, asking thoughtful curious questions with care or let my insecurities into the driver's seat shrinking back wondering if anyone will really care to engage, and wait to be approached?

Will I be a better listener than talker (anyone else interrupt much)? 

What can I lend to each life? How can I encourage? Where can I bring merriment (new year's goal!)?

Will I know when to speak up with confidence or with discernment resist unnecessary comment?

Entrusted. (Definition: charged or invested with a trust or responsibility; in the care of.)

Regardless how each scenario plays out, one thing is plain. I'm about to be entrusted with many people this day. God will entrust them to me. Risky on His part.

Which brings another question, "How will I steward this day - these people - for His glory and the benefit of others?" This is the goal of an apprentice to Jesus, you know.

I pray. I ask my Father in heaven to equip me to be His representative (showing what He's like) and His ambassador (present and able to do any sacred work needed). To give me eyes to see and ears to hear what He sees and hears. First, instruction from the Bible on what is required of me this day (and what's not). Then, how to best care for each individual in my care.

For this day - and every day - is not about me or you if we belong to Jesus. Our plans revolve around Him - the very environment we live in - as Paul describes in Colossians chapter one.

Read this passage loaded with Old Testament language:

"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 

For by Him, all things were created, in heaven and earth, visible and invisible, 

whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities - all things were created 

through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. 

And He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, 

that in everything He may be preeminent. For in Him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 

and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether in earth or in heaven, 

making peace by the blood of His cross." Col. 1:15-19

I know. A word nerd could go nuts with this passage. 

The main thing I want us to see today is that everything in our life is about Jesus and He's in it all. He started it all, sustains it all and rules it all. 

Did I mention all of it?

What if we framed our daily responsibilities and interactions around this truth? What if we begin to see the souls entrusted to us each day through Jesus' viewpoint? Asking Him, "What do you want me to bring to this one today?"

It will require our attention and intention and maybe some rewiring to revert our thought process outward, off self. 

Start with prayer. We can know this is God's will and therefore, He will help us do it. Win win.

Later in chapter three of Colossians, Paul gives us specific direction on the how to. 

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you...anger, wrath, malice, slander, 

and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off 

the old self with its practices and have put on the new self. 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, 

kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 

bearing with one another...forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you...

and above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." 

Love is the main point, I think. To be loving in all things. Check your words.

One of my favorite authors, John Mark Comer, asks: "What is Christ trying to express to the watching world through your particular life?" What if in whatever we do or to whomever we speak, "we do (it) the way we imagine Jesus would do it if He were us... We must come to realize that following Jesus is the main point to life."*

Oh, you mean like we learned in the Colossians verses above?

At the end of the day, I took inventory of all the rooms I entered and conversations that took place within. I was surprised. Putting into practice listening and asking questions, I learned so much. And so many opportunities to encourage and speak hope and love presented.  

No personal agenda to include my opinion, no insecurity, no sucking the air out of the room with my self-driven neediness for attention or affirmation. 

It was glorious and I came away filled and better for it. No wonder the Bible teaches to "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others as more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others (Phil. 2:3,4). Of course, so like Jesus. 

Entrusted. It's a Bible word peppered through the New Testament. It's a good word for us. Weighty. Risky proposition God has offered us for sure. Can we be trusted with what He's entrusted to us?

Will we receive it today and consider all interactions as assignments? Let's.

Bonus song for the day: Andrew Peterson | All Things Together (Audio Video) 

*Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer, p. 152,153,203

Here's to a New Year (a little late?)

 "January is the new week after Christmas." 

I don't know who said it or where I read it, but I kind of dig this.

I'm not sure about you, but after a bustling month of December and a glorious extended celebration (with our whole family) of Christmastide to Epiphany, New Year's in the middle was hard to give proper annual attention to. 

Finally settled back into routine just this week the initial inclination to feel behind dogs me. Why? Why do I allow this? Is someone watching the calendar or peering into my journal waiting for my resolutions, goals, intentions? Will I imminently fail 2025 if I don't have all my ducks in a row on January 1?

The answer is no, of course. I know you know this I'm just typing it here for my benefit.

I do, however, believe in the discipline of writing things down. A year-end inventory to exit one year with a feeling of completion is a good place to start and enables launching into the next with intention and vigor.

Don't click away if you aren't a fan of New Year goals/resolutions or whatever word makes your skin crawl. Trust me to the end that I have your best interest at heart!

At the finish of 2023, I recorded successes and failures of the goals set the previous year. I had to dig out my journal to find them. Lesson learned - not a good practice to just write the list once as some hopes were forgotten by February. 

Additionally, from the get-go I framed my intentions in hopes that keeping them in front of me would ensure a higher success rate. This was a good practice.

Did I still "fail" at about half of them? Yup. But because I set so many, I found a better probability of return.

It's good and right to keep track of successes which lead us to celebration and thanksgiving. Probably not too many of us record our failures alongside but I find it a kind of grace. A starting point for the next year. An evaluation asking, 'did this matter anyway?' Or a recommitment to give it another go. (Also, permission to not have to kill it every time, no one can reach this status.)

Lesson learned - second year in a row I vowed to use my cookbooks weekly and didn't. I have a myriad of them I love and cherish. But do I pull them out on the regular to select a tried and true? Ahem. Don't judge me. Who can resist the convenience and speed of Pinterest finds? At least I do that.

Consequently, perhaps I should resist carrying it over to 2025 endeavors. Does it really matter? Can life still be good and pleasurable and meaningful? My husband would respond, "That's fine - can we get rid of all these volumes now that take up so much space?" Get rid of my gorgeous hardbound recipe collection?!

Alas, this is why he and I will not be having this conversation.

What about you? Are you on it? Have you set in motion (in writing and action) some fresh initiatives for the year ahead? If you have, high five! 

Or do you rarely turn the annual page with a plan to guide you? I hope you'll consider trying something new. 

Remember it doesn't have to be so lofty it's unattainable. One of my favorite authors - whose book I read every winter - writes, "I scribble my list of promises. The ways I hope to be kind. To be gentle. To forgive. To try and try again."* 

Character, not production perhaps?

Maybe you, like me, just need a bit of quiet time to look back with gratitude and resolve for all 2024 meant to you (make adjustments in expectations of self and others) and some stillness to wonder and dream about the future with appropriate growth-inducing challenges.

Embrace January for this purpose - as long as it takes. Let it do a finishing and beginning work in your soul. 

Take a look at what you really want. How a life well-lived is defined as and move toward that with gusto. Don't worry about failure - it's imminent and shows you tried and that's a win.

Consider what might enrich your life. Add it. Subtract what won't. Make a little list. Check it twice. Frame it? Give yourself purpose and grace all year long.

I will steal more from my winter-appreciating mentor, a more contemplative direction:

Dear New Year, "...each new year demands my full and unwavering attention. Demands the full attention of all of us standing here on the cusp, filling our hearts and our imaginations with promises, vows, hopes, resolutions of the deepest kind.

I beg you, nascent year, to be gentle. I realize the gentle needs to come from deep inside me. I need to find the holy balm to steady me through rough waters to come. I'm bracing myself with double doses of those few things that have proven to be my salvation: prayer; silence; rampant and unheralded kindness; the rapt company of a rare few companions, deep in the act of holding up each other's hearts."*

Isn't that beautiful and pointed? You can steal it too. For a "successful" new year, we all need prayer, silence, kindness, a few trusted companions to hold each other up. Double doses! And Jesus to focus all our gaze on, our Savior, Brother, Keeper who prays for us daily (John 17:20-26). 

Revelation 21:5 teaches us, "He is making all things new."

May that be said of you and me in the year ahead. Amen?

Let's revisit this in twelve months.

*The Stillness of Winter by Barbara Mahany P. 96-97

Your Annual Reminder and an Announcement

     You know how I feel about delayed gratification. I don't believe in rushing what we are looking forward to - it'll come. This is why you'll never see me participating in any kind of Christmas in July - no music - no Hallmark movies. None of it. Christmas has its place. It will happen. It always does.

    
    However, preparing for Advent is a different story. After all, that's what Advent is about - preparing our hearts for Jesus' arrival. So right about now is the time to think about and plan for your Advent, which starts December 1st.

    About this time last year, I made an announcement here on the blog. If you missed it or need a refresher, read about it here.

    It was so exciting to launch this love letter I wrote to Jesus about Advent and Christmas and celebrating His birthday with intention and honor out into the world for others to read and join in. 

    Each day through the month of December I received a call or message or note from a reader or two or three. I kept them all.

    Today I'm mentioning that we've made some changes to my book - like including an action step for each day's reading - and a few other improvements (because I'm a Type A fanatic who can't leave well enough alone).

    We've just re-released my devotional and added - here comes the announcement - a Kindle edition! This was my business manager's idea. Some of you may know him, his name is Scott.

    So, here's what I'll be so honored if you would do today:

1. If you read Wonder in the Waiting last year and thought, "I know who would love this book" or "I'm going to get copies for all my friends next year", you could let them know soon how to get a copy (see below). Or better yet, order for them as a Pre-Christmas Gift (Chapter 6) or Thanksgiving Day favor. So fun, right?

2. If you attend a book club or small group, you might consider reading it together for the month of December. Spiritual endeavors are always more enjoyable with company.

3. If you or someone you know prefer a Kindle version, you could assist them in checking out that option. (see below)

4. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you could click on the link above, read last year's announcement, and decide to observe Advent with my company.

5. If honoring sacred holidays such as Advent is new to you or has somehow gotten lost along the way, throw caution to the wind, believe it's no coincidence that you are reading this blog today, and pick up a copy of my little book. I wrote it for you. 

    Then read one chapter a day for the month of December - leading up to the Best Day. I guarantee the wonder of Advent will be the best part of your Christmas celebration.

What's the easiest way to tackle any or all of these options? I'm so glad you asked!

•     The paperback and Kindle versions can be found on Amazon. 
• 
  
•     BUT, for paperback copies with a personal touch from me, I'd love you to order from my website. (Also, this allows me to see your names!)
• 
  
•     If you live locally, you can find books at Arrowhead Bookstore in Johnson City, NY or get in touch with me and I will deliver directly to you. No shipping!

     Last year's larger quantity offer still stands. "If you would rather buy in quantities of 5 or 10 or more because you think like me and desire to give them as Thanksgiving Day favors, or pre-Christmas gifts, or for your Book Clubs, Bible Studies, Sunday School classes or friend/family groups (great idea!), please send me a message at amburtis@yahoo.com and I will be happy to give you a special discounted rate!"

    Finally, of course, I must remind you that this is a time sensitive issue. You will need your copy(ies) in your hands before December 1st, so plan accordingly.

    Most of all, it is my hope and prayer that you will experience the wonder of Advent during your full, activity-packed December. That every day you will find time to be still and prepare room in your heart for Jesus in this sacred season.

    Thank you so much for helping me get this special message - this beautiful practice - into the hands of as many readers as possible. 

    May it be a blessing to all.

The Secrets Women (must) Tell

 I celebrated another birthday recently. I likely hit the halfway point of my life quite a while ago (unless I plan to live to 130) highlighting the fact I’m well into the last half of my life. Which forces an answer to the question of one willing to ask, “what matters most for the second half?”

The answer for me came swift and certain. I must tell what I know about Jesus, what I’ve learned and experienced through decades of studying and following His ways: tripping and falling; sinning and being forgiven; living in the blessings of obedience; being loved perfectly.  Also, what I’ve witnessed Him accomplishing in others’ lives and in the world and church. This is the stuff.

You can imagine my delight when I came to this passage while reading through the gospels during Lent; Jesus teaching the crowds according to Luke's memory in 8:16-18:

“No one lights a lamp and then covers it with a washtub or shoves it under the bed. No, you sit it up on a lampstand so those who enter the room can see their way. We’re not keeping secrets; we’re telling them. We’re not hiding things; we’re bringing everything out into the open. So be careful that you don’t become misers of what you hear. Generosity begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.”

One of my favorite teachings from the Apostle Paul given to women directly is for the older women to teach the younger, which provides a classroom for the younger to learn from the older. Ladies, if you’re ever wondering what God’s will is for you – that’s it right there. Not a mystery, it’s printed in black and white – even what is expected to be taught and learned (check out the books of Timothy and Titus for further study).

I consider this often because a woman doesn't have to be a biological mother to influence or mother another.

You see, we are all modeling life to the younger generation whether we realize it or not, whether we feel like we are the olders or not. We intentionally share recipes, household tips, relationship advice, traditions, stories that mostly make us look good (unless we have a boss self-deprecating sense of humor). But we also blaze a trail of words, attitudes, behaviors, and habits. 

In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul tells us we leave a fragrance in every room we visit. I once heard it said we bring joy everywhere we go, too - either when we’re coming or going.

I personally was well-mentored by the many older women God put in my path mostly at church. I often testify I wouldn’t have made it through parenting a strong-willed child if not for a few of these to whom I would go vent my frustration. They’d bandage me up with stories and infuse me with God’s word before sending me back into the ring again with their prayers for support. 

I believe strongly in this ministry. God knew what He was doing and what His daughters would need when He set this up.

After coming to faith in Jesus as a teenager, eventually I learned the value of the Bible and I spent time reading, studying and obeying it. Soon enough my life took a whole new direction - one in which Jesus became the environment of my life. This Book of truth and wonder (I like to call it) has become my favorite possession.

It is a book of letters (one commentary says it’s more like a library, so many genres represented) from the One who knows you, loves you more than any other will. It’s God’s heart revealed - an invitation to know Him – in each of the sixty-six books inside. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, page one to the last. Did you know that?  

This Book. It’s ancient yet somehow alive and relevant. God wrote down everything He knew we needed to know. Why? So, we could know Him, know His heart, know His love.  

This volume is a miracle. It’s not going anywhere. It will be preserved for your daughters and sons. Your grandchildren. It is a treasure and not to be neglected. That would be foolish.

It is our job, however, to know it, love it, and pass that love and knowledge to everyone we know – who has ears to hear! Keep it a secret? No – this is a secret we tell! More on that in a minute.

One of my favorite passages is found in Deuteronomy, chapter 6. These were bedrock parenting verses for us as we raised our kids. We are still living and sharing them though ours are now 32, 28 and 27.

Let's listen in on Moses giving final instructions to the people of Israel as they enter the promised land without him. 

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.*

What's the alive, relevant message to us today?

All the stories of God's faithfulness. Talk about it. Talk about it. Talk about it

Assume listeners want to hear, want to know. Every age of those coming behind, need to hear us tell the stories. Tell the faithfulness of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the next generation starting with those closest to us in our homes and widening out to all those God entrusts within our influence. 

Keeping all this wonder to ourselves is missing the mark of our purpose! Hide it under a washtub or shove it under a bed? I don't think so!

But what if we do? What if we keep it to ourselves? If we choose not to retell the stories from the Bible we know, the stories of Jesus’ life, the stories of our lives changed by Jesus, we are making the stories secrets.

Which begs the next question – if we don’t tell, what and who will replace these true stories as concrete truth to guide our loved ones and those God entrusts to us? 

I’ll tell you who – the world will. Disney will. Hollywood will. Taylor Swift will. 

We have an enemy – God’s enemy – who is firmly in control of the narrative conforming us to its anti-God, anti-Biblical image. Romans 12:1 tells us unless we are actively resisting, we are already being conformed to its image - willingly. 

So, what do we do? We tell! This is the time it’s ok to tell secrets!

Take on this attitude: I should always assume God is at work in those He brings into my life. Therefore, I assume they will want to hear what I’m going to say. 

When I do this, I normalize spiritual conversations and speak in Gospel language (not repetitive "Christianese" or tired talking points), trusting the Spirit to do the work in others He wants to do. Praying for timing, hearts ready to receive, reading the room for Holy Spirit clues, etc.

What a tremendous gift to influence the women in our lives, youngers and olders alike, as both God’s ambassador (the likeness of Jesus’ character) and His instrument of change in their lives. We are not here for less.

In my experience, not many older women sought me out to influence me. Mostly I had to do the approaching to make this biblical practice a reality in my life. This should not be so. 

I studied those women in my life, at church, noticing the ones who seemed to walk closely with God, know Him well, know His word well, were joyful, suffered well. I wanted them to teach me their ways. And I wasn't talking about recipes and household tips.

We olders have the experience, the knowledge, the wisdom, the secrets that must be told.

There’s nothing more important. We must steward what’s been entrusted to us - the Gospel of Jesus Christ. All of this life is all about Him. We can’t let lesser things take priority. 

We mustn’t become misers of what we’ve learned, what we know. “Generosity”, Jesus taught, “is what begets generosity. Stinginess impoverishes.” God forbid we keep the secrets meant to be told. No, let’s bring everything out in the open. 

This is the stuff to consider on a Mother's Day holiday. All women no matter your age or birth history. Whatever amount of time we have, let's make it count.

Love God’s Word. 

Teach others to love God’s Word. 

Assume they want to know. 

Learn. Teach. Repeat.