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40 Days of Decrease: A Different Kind of Hunger. A Different Kind of Fast. by Alicia Britt Chole
“What are you giving up for Lent?” we are asked. Our minds begin to Chocolate? Designer coffee? Social media? Forty days later, some feel disappointed in their efforts (it was a limited-time blend . . . ), some feel surprised by their success (didn’t even miss it . . . ), but perhaps precious few feel spiritually renewed.Can such fasts alone truly prepare us to celebrate Easter? Or any other chosen time of reflection during the year?Or could it be that before we can be duly awed by resurrection, we need to daily honor crucifixion?40 Days of Decrease emphasizes a different type of fast. What if you or your church fasted comparison? What if your family fasted accumulation? What if your office fasted gossip? 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 reality, and journey cross-ward and beyond.Each daily, 1000-word entry will includea devotional based on Jesus’ cross-ward life;a reflection question to guide journaling or group discussion;a fast to inspire a tangible response;a thought-provoking Lenten quote;a sidebar into the historical development of Lent.
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First published January 5, 2016
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About the author
Alicia Britt Chole
16 books214 followersWhether in person or in print, Alicia's voice carries an invitation to walk with God anew. A former atheist, her love for God and His Word overflows to bring ancient truth to life.
Often described as a captivating communicator, Alicia speaks, writes, mentors, and serves as the founding director of Leadership Investment Intensives, Inc, a non-profit devoted to providing personal soul-care to leaders in the marketplace and church. Her book, Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years and Yours, is highly regarded by leaders and learners around the globe.
Alicia holds a B.A. in Plan II/Pre-Law (University of Texas, Austin), an M.A. in TESOL (University of Texas, Austin) and a DMin in Leadership and Spiritual Formation (George Fox Evangelical Seminary). Alicia and her husband of 25 years joyfully parent their three extraordinary children in a country home off of a dirt road surrounded by loads of laundry, laughter, and love.
To learn more about Alicia, visit her website at www.aliciachole.com or on twitter @aliciachole.
Favorite Quotes:
Oswald Chambers: 'My goal is God Himself, not joy nor peace nor even blessing, but Himself, my God.'
A.W. Tozer: 'The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.'
Henri Nouwen: 'Did growing older bring me closer to Jesus?'
Brother Lawrence: 'Always rejoice at being able to do little things for the love of God.'
Basilea Schlink: 'Jesus and the penitent sinner belong together.'
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 238 reviews
March 27, 2016
Ann Voskamp introduced me to the notion of using Lent to fast a different aspect of life each day. She provided a verse to meditate on and a prayer to pray. Alicia Britt Chole has provided a devotional that provides more detail as one walks through the season of Lent and follows Jesus' steps. In particular, the final week was very powerful as Chole had us imagine ourselves as one of a variety of the people that participated in Jesus' walk to the Cross and then His resurrection.
"Like John the Baptist before us, we decrease so that Jesus can increase in and through us." Chole takes us on a journey of discovery. One where this indeed takes place. As we set aside aspects of our own life, we get to experience more of Jesus.
Some of the daily fasts were: isolation, spectatorship, apathy, leavened bread, sound, comparison and self-confidence. I'll confess I didn't apply all of the fasts but most and found it to be of benefit. Interestingly, I found Chole's introduction for each day to be wonderfully inspiring and challenging.
This quote from Alexander Schmenmann perhaps best sums up this very helpful 40 day practice that I believe could very easily be followed at other times of the year outside Lent:
"The purpose of Lent is not to focus on a us a few formal obligations, but to 'soften' our heart so that it many open itself to the realities of the spirit, to experience the hidden 'thirst and hunger' for communion with God."
I do believe my heart has certainly been softened and opened to an increased "'thirst and hunger' for communion with God".
Highly recommended
"Like John the Baptist before us, we decrease so that Jesus can increase in and through us." Chole takes us on a journey of discovery. One where this indeed takes place. As we set aside aspects of our own life, we get to experience more of Jesus.
Some of the daily fasts were: isolation, spectatorship, apathy, leavened bread, sound, comparison and self-confidence. I'll confess I didn't apply all of the fasts but most and found it to be of benefit. Interestingly, I found Chole's introduction for each day to be wonderfully inspiring and challenging.
This quote from Alexander Schmenmann perhaps best sums up this very helpful 40 day practice that I believe could very easily be followed at other times of the year outside Lent:
"The purpose of Lent is not to focus on a us a few formal obligations, but to 'soften' our heart so that it many open itself to the realities of the spirit, to experience the hidden 'thirst and hunger' for communion with God."
I do believe my heart has certainly been softened and opened to an increased "'thirst and hunger' for communion with God".
Highly recommended
January 20, 2016
In an era when society tells us to accumulate more, whether its possessions, self-confidence, or clout, Chole wants us to practice the spiritual discipline of decrease. This is a Lenten devotional unlike any I've read before.
Through an experience of surgery and loss of strength, Chole realized clutter had been collecting around her faith. She identified “sins of addition” in her life. She knew that Jesus lived an uncluttered life and she longed to follow His example.
There are so many aspects of this book I really like. One is the format. The forty devotions follow along the life of Jesus, each one based on a scene or saying. She adds guidance for reflection, then a suggested fast, a quote for meditation, information on Lent, a suggested Scripture reading, and space to journal.
I like the suggested fast for the day. There were some I expected to see in a Lenten devotional, like fasting a meal. But most of them were surprising. Her emphasis is less about the sacrifice of stuff and more about the surrendering of our souls. Her suggestions included fasting collecting praise for a day, and fasting stinginess for a day, halos (false definitions of holiness), apathy (in the face of justice), intimidation, willful sin, and criticism. These suggested fasts go to the core of our spiritual character. Each day's suggestion really made me think about my spiritual journey in a way I've not had a devotional do before.
I like her extra sections on Lent. Many Protestants do not understand the origin, history, or early practice of Lent. The information Chole includes is very enlightening in conveying the roots of this practice of voluntary discomfort to remind us of the discomfort of the cross.
Chole reminds us of the example of John the Baptist, saying that he must decrease while Jesus must increase. She has done an excellent job of encouraging us to have that same attitude. She reminds us that some of these fasts representing character traits and spiritual practices are really a lifetime commitment. Reading these devotions will help us take one step of that journey right now.
I highly recommend this book to those who have practiced Lent in the past. Chole will encourage you to have a fresh experience. I highly recommend this book to those for whom a Lenten experience is foreign. You'll learn about the origin and meaning of the practice and be encouraged to engage in it on a spiritually transforming level.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
Through an experience of surgery and loss of strength, Chole realized clutter had been collecting around her faith. She identified “sins of addition” in her life. She knew that Jesus lived an uncluttered life and she longed to follow His example.
There are so many aspects of this book I really like. One is the format. The forty devotions follow along the life of Jesus, each one based on a scene or saying. She adds guidance for reflection, then a suggested fast, a quote for meditation, information on Lent, a suggested Scripture reading, and space to journal.
I like the suggested fast for the day. There were some I expected to see in a Lenten devotional, like fasting a meal. But most of them were surprising. Her emphasis is less about the sacrifice of stuff and more about the surrendering of our souls. Her suggestions included fasting collecting praise for a day, and fasting stinginess for a day, halos (false definitions of holiness), apathy (in the face of justice), intimidation, willful sin, and criticism. These suggested fasts go to the core of our spiritual character. Each day's suggestion really made me think about my spiritual journey in a way I've not had a devotional do before.
I like her extra sections on Lent. Many Protestants do not understand the origin, history, or early practice of Lent. The information Chole includes is very enlightening in conveying the roots of this practice of voluntary discomfort to remind us of the discomfort of the cross.
Chole reminds us of the example of John the Baptist, saying that he must decrease while Jesus must increase. She has done an excellent job of encouraging us to have that same attitude. She reminds us that some of these fasts representing character traits and spiritual practices are really a lifetime commitment. Reading these devotions will help us take one step of that journey right now.
I highly recommend this book to those who have practiced Lent in the past. Chole will encourage you to have a fresh experience. I highly recommend this book to those for whom a Lenten experience is foreign. You'll learn about the origin and meaning of the practice and be encouraged to engage in it on a spiritually transforming level.
I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.
February 8, 2016
About the Book:
We ache deep within to meaningfully honor Christ’s resurrection. Yet, in practice, this focal point in the liturgical calendar is often a celebration of public holiday more than it is of humanity’s hope. At day’s end, we fall asleep well-fed and perhaps even grateful, yet still somehow something short of awed. Enduring awe is rarely the fruit of a morning’s celebration. Enduring awe is the fruit of daily participation with Jesus, our resurrected Love. 40 Days of Decrease invites readers to walk with Jesus through the holy decrease of less and loss that led Him cross-ward and beyond.
Each day offers a meaningful consideration of Jesus’ journey through reading and reflection and then issues a challenging daily fast. Instead of social media, chocolate, and designer coffee, 40 Days of Decrease calls communities to a Lenten fasting of apathy, injustice, resentment, hypocrisy, and more for the love of God. After all, in the same way self cannot satisfy self no matter how long it feasts, self cannot starve self no matter how long it fasts. Decrease is only holy when its destination is love. We thin our lives to thicken our communion with God.
My Review:
40 Days of Decrease is a DIFFERENT type of fast more different than anyone I have ever seen before. And it definitely would not be considered traditional. I picked up this book to review in the hopes that it would give my family and I a guide to traditional fasting but it is quite the contrary. I know at this time it is quite popular but unless you are looking for something completely different than traditional this may not be the book for you.
The author takes you on a 40 day journey that can be done anytime throughout the year but is typically or recommended for those days preceding lent or right up until Easter. Each day is a different type of fast. I believe there was one that centered around food they rest centered around behaviors, tendencies, and issues or strongholds we may need to be free from.
While I agree with the author on her very well researched and thought out commentary, this just wasn't the fast I was looking for. The author is very profound and cerebral in her speaking and she discusses the call for change as well as Jewish traditions. Again a very good book if you are looking for something different from traditional way of fasting.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the author.
We ache deep within to meaningfully honor Christ’s resurrection. Yet, in practice, this focal point in the liturgical calendar is often a celebration of public holiday more than it is of humanity’s hope. At day’s end, we fall asleep well-fed and perhaps even grateful, yet still somehow something short of awed. Enduring awe is rarely the fruit of a morning’s celebration. Enduring awe is the fruit of daily participation with Jesus, our resurrected Love. 40 Days of Decrease invites readers to walk with Jesus through the holy decrease of less and loss that led Him cross-ward and beyond.
Each day offers a meaningful consideration of Jesus’ journey through reading and reflection and then issues a challenging daily fast. Instead of social media, chocolate, and designer coffee, 40 Days of Decrease calls communities to a Lenten fasting of apathy, injustice, resentment, hypocrisy, and more for the love of God. After all, in the same way self cannot satisfy self no matter how long it feasts, self cannot starve self no matter how long it fasts. Decrease is only holy when its destination is love. We thin our lives to thicken our communion with God.
My Review:
40 Days of Decrease is a DIFFERENT type of fast more different than anyone I have ever seen before. And it definitely would not be considered traditional. I picked up this book to review in the hopes that it would give my family and I a guide to traditional fasting but it is quite the contrary. I know at this time it is quite popular but unless you are looking for something completely different than traditional this may not be the book for you.
The author takes you on a 40 day journey that can be done anytime throughout the year but is typically or recommended for those days preceding lent or right up until Easter. Each day is a different type of fast. I believe there was one that centered around food they rest centered around behaviors, tendencies, and issues or strongholds we may need to be free from.
While I agree with the author on her very well researched and thought out commentary, this just wasn't the fast I was looking for. The author is very profound and cerebral in her speaking and she discusses the call for change as well as Jewish traditions. Again a very good book if you are looking for something different from traditional way of fasting.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the author.
April 10, 2023
Love this devotional! This was my 2nd time through, I might do this every year!
April 3, 2018
Excellent Lenten devotional. This book definitely enhanced my thoughtfulness and prayer life through this holy season.
April 3, 2021
My favorite book to read during the Lenten season. It completely elevates the entire 40 days and bring Jesus close. Highly recommend!
April 5, 2024
“Decrease is only holy when its destination is love.” This book stirred up a deeper love of Jesus for me through the season of Lent; I’ll definitely be returning to it year after year (especially since I couldn’t engage with it as fully this year newly postpartum). This book lays out an unorthodox way of fasting, but it is powerful and enriching.
April 8, 2023
An excellent resource for understanding Lent better.
April 20, 2019
I didn’t quite know what to expect with this Lenten devotional book, but I thoroughly enjoyed going through it, reading the Scripture for each day, and examining the strange and different things we were encouraged to fast for that day. Alicia Britt Cole is an excellent writer as well as a very intelligent and well-spoken author. I love the fact that she is a woman! Please let there be more female theologians in the world.
Things I loved about this book: the focus on decrease for 40 days, the journey through Jesus’ last days on earth, the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection for all of us, and the author showing how it changed history and continues to change us!
Things I found tedious: the sidebar each day called “On Lent” was part interesting, part boring, and part confusing. She lost me pretty early on with endless explanations about Lent and what it did and did not mean historically and what it does and does not mean today and how we do and do not interpret fasting and all the rituals and celebrations that go along with the Lenten season, Easter, and Holy Week. After the first week, I just stopped reading them. It was too much detail, and it took my focus off of the content of the lesson for that day.
I would have liked the “On Lent” part to have been a completely separate part of the book. I would have also liked the “Reflection” and “Today’s Fast” to have been a little more meaty, with more explanations and examples. Sometimes the day’s fast was so short that it left me wondering if I had interpreted it correctly. I needed more instruction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book as one of the best Lenten season devotional books out there. The unusual daily fasts are a unique concept and all are based on the Scripture reference for the day or the lesson being taught. This Lent was especially meaningful for me this year because of this book.
I would like to read more books by Alicia Britt Chole and hope that she continues to write.
Things I loved about this book: the focus on decrease for 40 days, the journey through Jesus’ last days on earth, the implications of Jesus’ death and resurrection for all of us, and the author showing how it changed history and continues to change us!
Things I found tedious: the sidebar each day called “On Lent” was part interesting, part boring, and part confusing. She lost me pretty early on with endless explanations about Lent and what it did and did not mean historically and what it does and does not mean today and how we do and do not interpret fasting and all the rituals and celebrations that go along with the Lenten season, Easter, and Holy Week. After the first week, I just stopped reading them. It was too much detail, and it took my focus off of the content of the lesson for that day.
I would have liked the “On Lent” part to have been a completely separate part of the book. I would have also liked the “Reflection” and “Today’s Fast” to have been a little more meaty, with more explanations and examples. Sometimes the day’s fast was so short that it left me wondering if I had interpreted it correctly. I needed more instruction.
Overall, I highly recommend this book as one of the best Lenten season devotional books out there. The unusual daily fasts are a unique concept and all are based on the Scripture reference for the day or the lesson being taught. This Lent was especially meaningful for me this year because of this book.
I would like to read more books by Alicia Britt Chole and hope that she continues to write.
September 29, 2020
This year for Lent I committed to reading through Alicia Britt Chole’s devotional 40 Days of Decrease. Here’s my book review:
Here’s a little about the author: Alicia holds a doctorate in leadership and spiritual formation from George Fox Seminary and serves as the founding director and lead mentor of Leadership Investment Intensives (www.leadershipii.com), a nonprofit devoted to providing customized soul-care for leaders in business and ministry.
In 40 Days of Decrease, she poses different questions designed to encourage daily pondering rather than guiding the reader to focus on one single sacrifice. Traditionally people give up something like sugar, TV or social media for Lent, however Chole’s approach is to bring the reader through the days leading up the Jesus’ Crucifixion in John while at the same time offering a history of the Church practice of Lent through the centuries. She asks:
What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What if your generation fasted escapism? What if your community fasted spectatorship? Such heart-fasts could trigger a spiritual revolution!
From 40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole:
As with many things in church history the practice of Lent has gone through several evolutions. Chole doesn’t comment on what is “right or wrong” she simply presents different traditions. Each day includes a reflection of the Bible verses, historical information about Lent, a challenge to fast something, and a reading in John that begins the next day’s reflection.
Lenten Fasts
Lent began in February this year and obviously this book was written years before we experienced a global pandemic, however, each day I found myself in awe as present-day news and Chole’s reflections around the days leading up to Jesus’ Crucifixion called for similar considerations.
Chole encouraged daily fasts that created space for reflection in the following areas:
Loving your neighbor
Isolation
Selfishness
Truth from fiction
Poor leadership
Identify crisis
Stewardship
Reflecting on how we would spend our last days if we could choose
Dancing in the dark days to display trust
Reality vs. Hypocrisy
Obedience
Restricted freedom
Throughout the 40 days of Lent, I was continually reminded there is nothing is new under the sun just like it says in Ecclesiastes. I found this oddly comforting, even if it was also a bit gut-wrenching some days. Ultimately, the reminder that Jesus understands our anguish, fear, and hope that God will intercede and change our circumstances was comforting. The fact that Jesus followed through even when his circumstances didn’t change, especially after he spent sp much time loving the disciples and reminding them to love their neighbor was a timely reminder of Jesus’s compassionate love for us even though it was incredibly painful for him.
Ultimately, my hope was that focusing on this devotional over the Lenten days would be another layer of perspective on my OneWord for 2020 which is Pursue. Most days I spent time reflecting on the challenge Chole posed. No challenge was easy enough to resolve in a 24-hour period. In fact, my guess is many would take a lifetime to master.
Our Responses Matter
In the last few days of the devotional Chole shifts to remind the reader that the disciples spent time mourning the loss of a dream. Their teacher and friend died before their eyes and with it so did the future they thought they were planning together.
Chole points out that even though we may be drawn to numb ourselves in seasons of mourning and grief spiritual formation calls us to a different response. God pursues our hearts and asks us to trust him even when we’re facing an unknown future.
1 Peter 1:3-9 The Passion Translation says:
“Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you! Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time. May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately you’ve had to put up with the grief of many trials. But these only reveal the sterling core of your faith, which is far more valuable than gold that perishes, for even gold is refined by fire. Your authentic faith will result in even more praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One is revealed. You love him passionately although you did not see him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory. For you are reaping the harvest of your faith—the full salvation promised you—your souls’ victory!”
For me, what stood out about 40 Days of Decrease was how Jesus pursued relationships with the disciples up until the last moments he was with them. He modeled for them how to care for each other and when he was gone they instinctively gathered back together to support each other. Jesus knew Judas would hand him to his enemies and he knew Peter would betray him three times before he hung on the cross. He knew his mother would need someone to lean on and John would take the job seriously. He knew his friends intimately, and he knows us intimately too because he pursues relationships with us as well.
I’m thankful for the opportunities to pause and reflect over the past 40 days and while this is a study that focuses on Lent I encourage you to consider carving out time to go through this devotional anytime you’re looking to reflect on your relationship with Jesus and flesh out ways you may need to purge your opinions for God’s because the more we reflect Christ the more peace we’ll find within ourselves. I know because I’m currently living through a global pandemic and most days I describe myself as grateful.
Here’s a little about the author: Alicia holds a doctorate in leadership and spiritual formation from George Fox Seminary and serves as the founding director and lead mentor of Leadership Investment Intensives (www.leadershipii.com), a nonprofit devoted to providing customized soul-care for leaders in business and ministry.
In 40 Days of Decrease, she poses different questions designed to encourage daily pondering rather than guiding the reader to focus on one single sacrifice. Traditionally people give up something like sugar, TV or social media for Lent, however Chole’s approach is to bring the reader through the days leading up the Jesus’ Crucifixion in John while at the same time offering a history of the Church practice of Lent through the centuries. She asks:
What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What if your generation fasted escapism? What if your community fasted spectatorship? Such heart-fasts could trigger a spiritual revolution!
From 40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole:
As with many things in church history the practice of Lent has gone through several evolutions. Chole doesn’t comment on what is “right or wrong” she simply presents different traditions. Each day includes a reflection of the Bible verses, historical information about Lent, a challenge to fast something, and a reading in John that begins the next day’s reflection.
Lenten Fasts
Lent began in February this year and obviously this book was written years before we experienced a global pandemic, however, each day I found myself in awe as present-day news and Chole’s reflections around the days leading up to Jesus’ Crucifixion called for similar considerations.
Chole encouraged daily fasts that created space for reflection in the following areas:
Loving your neighbor
Isolation
Selfishness
Truth from fiction
Poor leadership
Identify crisis
Stewardship
Reflecting on how we would spend our last days if we could choose
Dancing in the dark days to display trust
Reality vs. Hypocrisy
Obedience
Restricted freedom
Throughout the 40 days of Lent, I was continually reminded there is nothing is new under the sun just like it says in Ecclesiastes. I found this oddly comforting, even if it was also a bit gut-wrenching some days. Ultimately, the reminder that Jesus understands our anguish, fear, and hope that God will intercede and change our circumstances was comforting. The fact that Jesus followed through even when his circumstances didn’t change, especially after he spent sp much time loving the disciples and reminding them to love their neighbor was a timely reminder of Jesus’s compassionate love for us even though it was incredibly painful for him.
Ultimately, my hope was that focusing on this devotional over the Lenten days would be another layer of perspective on my OneWord for 2020 which is Pursue. Most days I spent time reflecting on the challenge Chole posed. No challenge was easy enough to resolve in a 24-hour period. In fact, my guess is many would take a lifetime to master.
Our Responses Matter
In the last few days of the devotional Chole shifts to remind the reader that the disciples spent time mourning the loss of a dream. Their teacher and friend died before their eyes and with it so did the future they thought they were planning together.
Chole points out that even though we may be drawn to numb ourselves in seasons of mourning and grief spiritual formation calls us to a different response. God pursues our hearts and asks us to trust him even when we’re facing an unknown future.
1 Peter 1:3-9 The Passion Translation says:
“Celebrate with praises the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has shown us his extravagant mercy. For his fountain of mercy has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. It is promised and preserved forever in the heavenly realm for you! Through our faith, the mighty power of God constantly guards us until our full salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time. May the thought of this cause you to jump for joy, even though lately you’ve had to put up with the grief of many trials. But these only reveal the sterling core of your faith, which is far more valuable than gold that perishes, for even gold is refined by fire. Your authentic faith will result in even more praise, glory, and honor when Jesus the Anointed One is revealed. You love him passionately although you did not see him, but through believing in him you are saturated with an ecstatic joy, indescribably sublime and immersed in glory. For you are reaping the harvest of your faith—the full salvation promised you—your souls’ victory!”
For me, what stood out about 40 Days of Decrease was how Jesus pursued relationships with the disciples up until the last moments he was with them. He modeled for them how to care for each other and when he was gone they instinctively gathered back together to support each other. Jesus knew Judas would hand him to his enemies and he knew Peter would betray him three times before he hung on the cross. He knew his mother would need someone to lean on and John would take the job seriously. He knew his friends intimately, and he knows us intimately too because he pursues relationships with us as well.
I’m thankful for the opportunities to pause and reflect over the past 40 days and while this is a study that focuses on Lent I encourage you to consider carving out time to go through this devotional anytime you’re looking to reflect on your relationship with Jesus and flesh out ways you may need to purge your opinions for God’s because the more we reflect Christ the more peace we’ll find within ourselves. I know because I’m currently living through a global pandemic and most days I describe myself as grateful.
April 23, 2025
4.75⭐️ (own physical). I used this book for my Lent devotional and found it to be very compelling in its premise which was to consider small “daily” fasts for the Lenten season. These were not food or consumption related fasts as much as encouragement each day to consider fasting from particular thought patterns or habits related to our faith.
From the first chapter “God seems more interested in what we are becoming that in what we are giving up. …….Faith, in general is less about the sacrifice of stuff and more about the surrender of our souls. Lent, in kind, is less about well-mannered denials and more about thinning our lives in order to thicken our communion with God.
Decrease is holy only when its destination is love.”
It certainly caused me to contemplate things I hadn’t. The author also includes a daily reading schedule using the last half of John to walk thru the season as well as a small section on the history and changes in Lenten observations throughout history.
From the first chapter “God seems more interested in what we are becoming that in what we are giving up. …….Faith, in general is less about the sacrifice of stuff and more about the surrender of our souls. Lent, in kind, is less about well-mannered denials and more about thinning our lives in order to thicken our communion with God.
Decrease is holy only when its destination is love.”
It certainly caused me to contemplate things I hadn’t. The author also includes a daily reading schedule using the last half of John to walk thru the season as well as a small section on the history and changes in Lenten observations throughout history.
April 11, 2022
40 Days of Discovery
“Christ’s sacrifice is now clearer and that His resurrection is now dearer.”
Yes. I have not come from churches that practice Lenten traditions, but the title of this book drew me because I’m so weary of my ‘self’ in all I do. With research, poetry, hymns, and narrative, the author shares the history of Lent, defines the purpose of fasting, and leads readers through fasts of self, such as fasting “escapism” or “comparison” or “isolation.”
This really needs to be read repeatedly and prayed through, with attention on the notes and scriptures that Chile shares as well.
“Christ’s sacrifice is now clearer and that His resurrection is now dearer.”
Yes. I have not come from churches that practice Lenten traditions, but the title of this book drew me because I’m so weary of my ‘self’ in all I do. With research, poetry, hymns, and narrative, the author shares the history of Lent, defines the purpose of fasting, and leads readers through fasts of self, such as fasting “escapism” or “comparison” or “isolation.”
This really needs to be read repeatedly and prayed through, with attention on the notes and scriptures that Chile shares as well.
March 24, 2024
The historical background of Lent combined with the intentional and specific things to fast from brought me so much wisdom! This book challenged me so much while simultaneously meeting my heart gently with relatability to members in scripture.
Some of the most challenging days of fasting (in the BEST way!):
Fasting from formulas in my life.
Fasting from acting out of tidy faith.
Fasting from speeding past sorrow.
So. Good 🙌🏼
Some of the most challenging days of fasting (in the BEST way!):
Fasting from formulas in my life.
Fasting from acting out of tidy faith.
Fasting from speeding past sorrow.
So. Good 🙌🏼
April 12, 2021
I really liked that this book provided a daily study through Lent. The book brought up a lot of really great topics. However my struggle with this book was the amount of information each day held with a Bible verse, devotional thought, something to fast and information about the history of Lent it felt like an information overload at times.
March 31, 2024
A great Lent devotional! Challenging daily fasts alongside a slow-moving deep dive into the book of John, focusing on Jesus’ and experiences and emotions heading crossward. It also changed my perception of Lent by including bits about its history and why and how it has been observed over time. I’ll probably do it again next year!
April 21, 2025
A Lenten Devotional that focused on decreasing to make space for God in your daily life. Practicing discipline & walking with Jesus on his journey to the cross. At the end of every devotional there was a history lesson on Lenten as well.
April 21, 2025
Enjoyed this very much. It gives a daily reading/study, a reflection, a passage to read, a fast, and some Lenten history. The daily fasts were a challenge and I can’t say I was always successful! Look forward to reading this each year.
February 6, 2020
Excellent book for any season, but great for Lent.
April 11, 2020
The best Lenten devotion I have ever read. So looked forward to reading it each morning. I listened to the passage each day instead of reading it which really enhanced my experience. Highly recommend!
August 11, 2021
Loved the daily challenges and the different perspective it gave for the season of Lent
April 21, 2022
A totally different and personal way to journey through Lent. The author teaches us to fast comparison, noise, regrets, revisionism and 36 other habits, hang ups and mindsets in a daily fast and 40 day journey.
April 1, 2024
My favorite quote from this book.. “We thin our lives to thicken our communion with God.” What a great read during the season of Lent.
April 10, 2024
Great companion book for the Lenten season!
August 19, 2024
One of the most influential books I’ve ever read.
December 26, 2023
I observed Lent for the first time in my life this year, and had a marvelous experience! This lovely book was part of that. Here I have saved some thoughts from the reading, intermixed with broken thoughts of my own.
“We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word.” ("Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."—Mark 1:15, Gen 3:19)—reformed church in America
The Rev. Jarred Mercer said, “In Holy Week we seek to journey along with Jesus through the last week of his life. And on Maundy Thursday we sit in the lonely emptiness of the Garden of Gethsemane and the shame of his trial, on Good Friday with the brokenness of the cross, Holy Saturday in the despair of the grave.”
Fasts are more love offerings than disciplines, though it certainly requires discipline to maintain them. In short, I ache. I ache for my bridegroom. I ache to live every waking moment conscious of his presence.
“Christian spirituality, the contemplative life, is not about us. It is about God. The great weakness of American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition. The more there is of us, the less there is of God.”—Eugene Peterson
“It’s an act of reference to ask questions of the story. The Jews are confident that the story is strong enough to be tried and tested…. Questions are at secret as answers.”—Dr Leonard Sweet
The author of our faith is more than able to address the identity crisis His unexpected words and ways may trigger.
We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” —CS Lewis
“To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When it comes, it is not an accident, but a necessity.”—Deitrich Bonhoeffer
“In a world where people are afraid to fast because it may seem too difficult, inconvenient, and burdensome, the Church reminds us of the meaning of fasting: to hunger and tire to the point of physical exhaustion for the sake of uniting with our heavenly Bridegroom.”—John Paul Abdelsayed
“No matter how we rationalize, God will sometimes seem unfair from the perspective of a person trapped in time…. Not until history has ran its course. Will we understand how ‘all things work together for good.’ Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” —Philip Yancey
Be they plain or shrouded in mystery, God’s words are infinitely more needful. So let us post them on our minds and hide them in our hearts. Let us honor God’s words and be encouraged: our lack of understanding cannot sabotage the power or the purpose of His voice.
“When we were children most of us were good friends with mystery. The world was full of it and we loved it. Then as we grew older we slowly accepted the indoctrination that mystery exists only to be solved. For many of us, mystery became an adversary; unknowing became a weakness. The contemplative spiritual life is an ongoing reversal of this adjustment. It is a slow and sometimes painful process of becoming ‘as little children’ again, in which we first make friends with mystery and finally fall in love again with it.”—Gerald G. May
Backstories matter little once Jesus enters the room.
“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
“To be is to inter-be. We cannot just be by ourselves alone.”
Draw a web of the people in your faith story. Intentionally nurture your God-given web of relationships.
I am not moved, my God, to love you
By the Heaven you have promised me.
Neither does he’ll, so feared, move me
To keep me from offending you.
You move me, Lord, and I am moved seeing you
Scoffed at and bailed on a cross.
I am moved seeing your body so wounded.
Your injuries and your death move me.
It is your love that moves me,
And in such a way that even tho there were no Heaven,
I would love you,
And eve tho there were no hell,
I would fear you.
You do not have to give me anything
So that I love you,
For even if o didn’t hope for what I hope,
As I now love you, so would I love you.
—John of the cross? (Spanish)
Love does not calculate. What an honor: to be remembered as one who loved lavishly. Seek an opportunity to be irrationally lavish toward someone who cannot possibly return the favor. Give because you love. Give without letting reason ration out your love in stingy portions.
Fasting is valuable to the extent that it reflects a posture of the heart.
Our deep self-protective defaults can only be exposed, examined, and abandoned through suffering.
Ask God where He is weeping in your life and in the world and join Him there. It is never weakness to grieve where God is grieving.
Apathy: freedom from or insensibility to passion or feeling; passionless existence. Antonyms: sympathy, sensitivity, and concern.
What then is our responsibility as non-apathetic disciples when we witness injustice? The fact that
Jesus witnessed injustice in the temple courts years before his protest affirms that timing matters.
The Lenten spring has come
The light of repentance!
I brothers, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil, crying out to the Giver of Light:
Glory to Thee, O Lover of man.
—Hymn
Jesus, evidently, finds utter fruitlessness frustrating. …The appearance of faith without the fruit of faith is, in Jesus’ words, “vain.”
Easter is our return every year to our own baptism, whereas Lent is our preparation for that return.
John 12:27 A troubled soul is something the signature of obedience-in-the-making. …And, evidently, I’m the process, it is Christlike to on occasion blurt out, “My soul is troubled!”
Process can be a troubling thing. It disrupts us and disorients us and we would much rather skip to the end. But to live true, we must allow process to run its course. Question it, weep through it, agonize over it…but, for the sake of our souls, we dare not truncate process because time alone makes its work soul-deep.
Resist tidying up when you are in the muddy middle of the process of obedience-in-the-making. Befriend undone. Name the trouble. Like Jesus, talk to yourself and your Father God. Ask Him if alternative routes exist again and again and again…until you push through resistance, pass around resentment, press past resignation, and emerge into willful (even if tearful) partnership with God.
Christ loved in continuous attention to Father’s inaudible voice.
Love needs time to grow before it has the strength to go.
Deny self or deny Jesus. Choose Jesus over self.
Jesus was victorious not because he lacked uncooperative feelings but because he affirmed and reaffirmed his commitment to honor Father’s will above his emotions.
Fasting is never engaged in as a duty. Fasting is an ascetic practice, meaning it is viewed as spiritual training, much in the same way that lifting weights or running, would be for the body.
When discouraged, we are far more vulnerable to deception.
We know that Jesus‘s presence is valuable to us, but we rarely consider the possibility that our presence is valuable to him.
“Refuse to allow discontentment brain space”. **gratitude crowds out discontent
“[Almsgiving] is to give not only our money but our time, not only what we have but what we are; it is to give a part of ourselves.” —Ibid., 19
Lent is “a time of identifying more closely with the poor. That is where almsgiving comes in.” —Fr. Lewis
Personal decrease is connected with community by making generosity an intended outcome of fasting.
“Throughout his life on earth, [Christ] resisted every impulse to work more rapidly for a lower good.”—George Macdonald
Timidity is fear-driven.
Hesitation is doubt-driven.
Restraint is obedience-inspired.
The crowds thought themselves the victors as they led their prisoner out of the garden. In truth, prisoners were escorting the Victor to a triumph that would shake the gates of hell.
Abstinence: the practice or discipline of resisting self-indulgence; self-restraint.
“Abstinence is the mother of health. A few ounces of privation will prove an excellent recipe for any ailment.” John Eudes, French missionary and priest
Rev 5:6, 8-9 LAMB
Lent is “thinning” season—as thinning carrots etc.
Sacrificial fellowship
40 bags in40 days memories on clover lane
Singing without accompaniment
Prayer and sharing, silence and fasting
Moment (minute, hour) of silencr
Stations of the cross: would we “live differently if we remembered more frequently (and more accurately) what the cross cost?”
Ritual walking Christ through His sacrifice as support and gratitude to Him
Video of crucifixion
What the rulers saw as defeat, Jesus, saw as the finish line. With his “it is finished,” Jesus entered triumphantly into death.
Joseph of Arimathea
When we offer to Jesus, that place we have reserved for our SELVES, he surprises us by filling that space with his resurrected life.
“If the enemy forces us to give up our quietness, we must not listen to him. For nothing is like quietness and abstinence from food. They combine to fight together against him. for they give keen insight to the inner eyes.” Abba Douglas
Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.
Hollands death quote on my FB page
“Labor is a craft, but perfect rest is an art.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Could it be that a legitimate stage of hope is hopelessness?” —Dr A. J. Swoboda
Obedience is never a waste; it is an investment in the future we cannot see.
He is risen
“The soul must learn to love God, just for Himself in such a manner that He, and not the need to be loved, is the center of all things.”
We decrease so that Jesus can increase in and through us.
“ crown him with many crowns,” by Mathew Bridges
Dear lord, for these three things I pray:
to love the more dearly…
“The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it has established a rule and order, the chief end of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.” GK Chesterton.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty (Rev 4:8).
“We begin this holy season by acknowledging our need for repentance and our need for the love and forgiveness shown to us in Jesus Christ. I invite you, therefore, in the name of Christ, to observe a Holy Lent, by self-examination and penitence, by prayer and fasting, by practicing works of love, and by reading and reflecting on God's Holy Word.” ("Repent, and believe in the Gospel" or
"Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return."—Mark 1:15, Gen 3:19)—reformed church in America
The Rev. Jarred Mercer said, “In Holy Week we seek to journey along with Jesus through the last week of his life. And on Maundy Thursday we sit in the lonely emptiness of the Garden of Gethsemane and the shame of his trial, on Good Friday with the brokenness of the cross, Holy Saturday in the despair of the grave.”
Fasts are more love offerings than disciplines, though it certainly requires discipline to maintain them. In short, I ache. I ache for my bridegroom. I ache to live every waking moment conscious of his presence.
“Christian spirituality, the contemplative life, is not about us. It is about God. The great weakness of American spirituality is that it is all about us: fulfilling our potential, getting the blessings of God, expanding our influence, finding our gifts, getting a handle on principles by which we can get an edge over the competition. The more there is of us, the less there is of God.”—Eugene Peterson
“It’s an act of reference to ask questions of the story. The Jews are confident that the story is strong enough to be tried and tested…. Questions are at secret as answers.”—Dr Leonard Sweet
The author of our faith is more than able to address the identity crisis His unexpected words and ways may trigger.
We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” —CS Lewis
“To endure the cross is not tragedy; it is the suffering which is the fruit of an exclusive allegiance to Jesus Christ. When it comes, it is not an accident, but a necessity.”—Deitrich Bonhoeffer
“In a world where people are afraid to fast because it may seem too difficult, inconvenient, and burdensome, the Church reminds us of the meaning of fasting: to hunger and tire to the point of physical exhaustion for the sake of uniting with our heavenly Bridegroom.”—John Paul Abdelsayed
“No matter how we rationalize, God will sometimes seem unfair from the perspective of a person trapped in time…. Not until history has ran its course. Will we understand how ‘all things work together for good.’ Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse.” —Philip Yancey
Be they plain or shrouded in mystery, God’s words are infinitely more needful. So let us post them on our minds and hide them in our hearts. Let us honor God’s words and be encouraged: our lack of understanding cannot sabotage the power or the purpose of His voice.
“When we were children most of us were good friends with mystery. The world was full of it and we loved it. Then as we grew older we slowly accepted the indoctrination that mystery exists only to be solved. For many of us, mystery became an adversary; unknowing became a weakness. The contemplative spiritual life is an ongoing reversal of this adjustment. It is a slow and sometimes painful process of becoming ‘as little children’ again, in which we first make friends with mystery and finally fall in love again with it.”—Gerald G. May
Backstories matter little once Jesus enters the room.
“It really boils down to this: that all life is interrelated. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied into a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. We are made to live together because of the interrelated structure of reality.” —Martin Luther King, Jr.
“To be is to inter-be. We cannot just be by ourselves alone.”
Draw a web of the people in your faith story. Intentionally nurture your God-given web of relationships.
I am not moved, my God, to love you
By the Heaven you have promised me.
Neither does he’ll, so feared, move me
To keep me from offending you.
You move me, Lord, and I am moved seeing you
Scoffed at and bailed on a cross.
I am moved seeing your body so wounded.
Your injuries and your death move me.
It is your love that moves me,
And in such a way that even tho there were no Heaven,
I would love you,
And eve tho there were no hell,
I would fear you.
You do not have to give me anything
So that I love you,
For even if o didn’t hope for what I hope,
As I now love you, so would I love you.
—John of the cross? (Spanish)
Love does not calculate. What an honor: to be remembered as one who loved lavishly. Seek an opportunity to be irrationally lavish toward someone who cannot possibly return the favor. Give because you love. Give without letting reason ration out your love in stingy portions.
Fasting is valuable to the extent that it reflects a posture of the heart.
Our deep self-protective defaults can only be exposed, examined, and abandoned through suffering.
Ask God where He is weeping in your life and in the world and join Him there. It is never weakness to grieve where God is grieving.
Apathy: freedom from or insensibility to passion or feeling; passionless existence. Antonyms: sympathy, sensitivity, and concern.
What then is our responsibility as non-apathetic disciples when we witness injustice? The fact that
Jesus witnessed injustice in the temple courts years before his protest affirms that timing matters.
The Lenten spring has come
The light of repentance!
I brothers, let us cleanse ourselves from all evil, crying out to the Giver of Light:
Glory to Thee, O Lover of man.
—Hymn
Jesus, evidently, finds utter fruitlessness frustrating. …The appearance of faith without the fruit of faith is, in Jesus’ words, “vain.”
Easter is our return every year to our own baptism, whereas Lent is our preparation for that return.
John 12:27 A troubled soul is something the signature of obedience-in-the-making. …And, evidently, I’m the process, it is Christlike to on occasion blurt out, “My soul is troubled!”
Process can be a troubling thing. It disrupts us and disorients us and we would much rather skip to the end. But to live true, we must allow process to run its course. Question it, weep through it, agonize over it…but, for the sake of our souls, we dare not truncate process because time alone makes its work soul-deep.
Resist tidying up when you are in the muddy middle of the process of obedience-in-the-making. Befriend undone. Name the trouble. Like Jesus, talk to yourself and your Father God. Ask Him if alternative routes exist again and again and again…until you push through resistance, pass around resentment, press past resignation, and emerge into willful (even if tearful) partnership with God.
Christ loved in continuous attention to Father’s inaudible voice.
Love needs time to grow before it has the strength to go.
Deny self or deny Jesus. Choose Jesus over self.
Jesus was victorious not because he lacked uncooperative feelings but because he affirmed and reaffirmed his commitment to honor Father’s will above his emotions.
Fasting is never engaged in as a duty. Fasting is an ascetic practice, meaning it is viewed as spiritual training, much in the same way that lifting weights or running, would be for the body.
When discouraged, we are far more vulnerable to deception.
We know that Jesus‘s presence is valuable to us, but we rarely consider the possibility that our presence is valuable to him.
“Refuse to allow discontentment brain space”. **gratitude crowds out discontent
“[Almsgiving] is to give not only our money but our time, not only what we have but what we are; it is to give a part of ourselves.” —Ibid., 19
Lent is “a time of identifying more closely with the poor. That is where almsgiving comes in.” —Fr. Lewis
Personal decrease is connected with community by making generosity an intended outcome of fasting.
“Throughout his life on earth, [Christ] resisted every impulse to work more rapidly for a lower good.”—George Macdonald
Timidity is fear-driven.
Hesitation is doubt-driven.
Restraint is obedience-inspired.
The crowds thought themselves the victors as they led their prisoner out of the garden. In truth, prisoners were escorting the Victor to a triumph that would shake the gates of hell.
Abstinence: the practice or discipline of resisting self-indulgence; self-restraint.
“Abstinence is the mother of health. A few ounces of privation will prove an excellent recipe for any ailment.” John Eudes, French missionary and priest
Rev 5:6, 8-9 LAMB
Lent is “thinning” season—as thinning carrots etc.
Sacrificial fellowship
40 bags in40 days memories on clover lane
Singing without accompaniment
Prayer and sharing, silence and fasting
Moment (minute, hour) of silencr
Stations of the cross: would we “live differently if we remembered more frequently (and more accurately) what the cross cost?”
Ritual walking Christ through His sacrifice as support and gratitude to Him
Video of crucifixion
What the rulers saw as defeat, Jesus, saw as the finish line. With his “it is finished,” Jesus entered triumphantly into death.
Joseph of Arimathea
When we offer to Jesus, that place we have reserved for our SELVES, he surprises us by filling that space with his resurrected life.
“If the enemy forces us to give up our quietness, we must not listen to him. For nothing is like quietness and abstinence from food. They combine to fight together against him. for they give keen insight to the inner eyes.” Abba Douglas
Other sheep I have which are not of this fold.
Hollands death quote on my FB page
“Labor is a craft, but perfect rest is an art.” Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
“Could it be that a legitimate stage of hope is hopelessness?” —Dr A. J. Swoboda
Obedience is never a waste; it is an investment in the future we cannot see.
He is risen
“The soul must learn to love God, just for Himself in such a manner that He, and not the need to be loved, is the center of all things.”
We decrease so that Jesus can increase in and through us.
“ crown him with many crowns,” by Mathew Bridges
Dear lord, for these three things I pray:
to love the more dearly…
“The more I considered Christianity, the more I found that while it has established a rule and order, the chief end of that order was to give room for good things to run wild.” GK Chesterton.
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty (Rev 4:8).
April 12, 2024
This book was so profitable that I will probably re-read this every Lenten season now.
May 8, 2025
What a wonderful book. Each day is something new to give up but nothing physical! For example Giving up regrets and worry. Each day it’s something that we can focus on to give up and let go!
And all the while we understand more about each day that led Christ to the cross.
I will try and do this each year!
And all the while we understand more about each day that led Christ to the cross.
I will try and do this each year!
May 29, 2025
I’d read this book every year. Love the Lenten focus , the history of it, the walk through the Bible leading up to Jesus sacrifice. I’d recommend this book to anyone! Borrowed from the library but would love it in print format. Be great for small group Bible study and is excellent for personal growth
May 22, 2019
Highly recommend this book. It was challenging and convicting, but also powerfully drew me closer to God. The idea of decreasing self in various creative ways throughout the 40 days of Lent (but it can be read anytime) with "fasts" I wouldn't have even thought of before.
The 40 day Scripture readings are from John, and the slower journey through familiar stories and passages made me catch things I've never noticed before and wonder deeper and find applications to my own life. Very interesting and rewarding how she helped bring those new thoughts about.
The only thing I didn't care for was the way she ended each day with a brief discussion on the history of Lent. And I'm usually very interested in anything and everything history, but in this case, it seemed to distract from the rest of the day's reflection, in my opinion.
Still, I will definitely be reading this again and again for the Lenten season (or maybe any season).
The 40 day Scripture readings are from John, and the slower journey through familiar stories and passages made me catch things I've never noticed before and wonder deeper and find applications to my own life. Very interesting and rewarding how she helped bring those new thoughts about.
The only thing I didn't care for was the way she ended each day with a brief discussion on the history of Lent. And I'm usually very interested in anything and everything history, but in this case, it seemed to distract from the rest of the day's reflection, in my opinion.
Still, I will definitely be reading this again and again for the Lenten season (or maybe any season).
March 27, 2016
For Lent 2016 I used this book to guide what I call my "Lent warm up." I wasn't practicing Lent as much as I was/am warming up to the idea of practicing it. See, I'm not about the whole fast from something for 40 days only to gorge on it Easter Sunday and no difference has been made in my life or heart as the result of my 40 days of denial. Lent is more than giving up coffee, Faceook, beer, or slurpees for 40 days. Lent is supposed to be a season of preparation that leads to transformation. So when I found this book I internally leapt because it was describing the kind of Lent (or 40 days) practice that I am about.
I'm SO glad I got the book.
In 40 Days of Decrease Chole takes the reader through a decrease of the things that truly clutter our lives - most of them unseen to the naked eye. This book helps guide the reader through a decluttering of faith. As Chole says in the Prologue, "Though I had purposed to live simply, clutter was collecting around my faith. I was becoming more vulnerable to sin, but sin of a slightly different strain than in earlier years. We all guard against sins of commission and we are vigilant toward sins of omission. But achievements - even in small doses - can make us vulnerable to sins of addition: adding niceties and luxuries to our list of basic needs, adding imaginations on the strong back of vision, adding self-satisfaction to the purity of peace." Strike a chord? It did, it does with me. I can see it in my own life and I can see it in the lives of many other believers I know. But I can't do anything about them, just me.
The clutter that collects around a faith that Chole chose to discuss and decrease from was so deep and profound, not obvious. Which made it even more meaningful. Day One Fast Suggestion? Lent as a Project. Selah. Other decreases Chole walks the reader through included regret, rationalism, neutrality, God-as-job. I highly recommend this book for a guide during Lent or a season in which you know God is calling you to decrease so that he can increase. This won't be the only time I use this book, I anticipate it becoming an important guide in the decrease of me and the increase of HIM.
I'm SO glad I got the book.
In 40 Days of Decrease Chole takes the reader through a decrease of the things that truly clutter our lives - most of them unseen to the naked eye. This book helps guide the reader through a decluttering of faith. As Chole says in the Prologue, "Though I had purposed to live simply, clutter was collecting around my faith. I was becoming more vulnerable to sin, but sin of a slightly different strain than in earlier years. We all guard against sins of commission and we are vigilant toward sins of omission. But achievements - even in small doses - can make us vulnerable to sins of addition: adding niceties and luxuries to our list of basic needs, adding imaginations on the strong back of vision, adding self-satisfaction to the purity of peace." Strike a chord? It did, it does with me. I can see it in my own life and I can see it in the lives of many other believers I know. But I can't do anything about them, just me.
The clutter that collects around a faith that Chole chose to discuss and decrease from was so deep and profound, not obvious. Which made it even more meaningful. Day One Fast Suggestion? Lent as a Project. Selah. Other decreases Chole walks the reader through included regret, rationalism, neutrality, God-as-job. I highly recommend this book for a guide during Lent or a season in which you know God is calling you to decrease so that he can increase. This won't be the only time I use this book, I anticipate it becoming an important guide in the decrease of me and the increase of HIM.
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