Carol Penner’s devotional diary, UNBURDENED, offers readers an opportunity to contemplate higher realities during the Lenten season, guided by lofty spiritual conviction.

The 40 days of Lent are directed toward the commemoration of Easter. For many Christians, it is typical to “fast” in some way, either by giving up food or setting aside temporarily another of life’s enjoyments. Penner believes that such sacrifice will turn one’s mind toward God. She provides underpinning for this dynamic treatise with stories from her own life, that of family and friends, and selections from world history and biblical accounts. Each day’s entries conclude with a related prayer.

"As a pastor, an author and a professor of theological studies, Carol Penner brings her scriptural knowledge, private experience and wide-ranging interests to bear in this engaging --- indeed magnetic --- collection."

Day 1, Ash Wednesday, opens an exploration of the book’s persistent theme --- forgiveness --- using the remarkable example of an Amish community in West Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. There, in 2006, a man shot and killed five young schoolgirls before committing suicide. The Amish community made public their forgiveness and even reached out in sympathy to the perpetrator’s family.

Penner’s personal relations form the focus for a segment on fasting, in which she raises questions about her grandmother, who rejected her father when he married outside their faith yet cared generously for her. In the prayer that follows, Penner expresses her hope that God will “deliver forgiveness into our lives.”

Other examples include an Amish family’s kindness to a man who came to them years later to confess that he had been among the soldiers who, in World War I, tormented their son because of his religion convictions, and the saga of Carrie Nation, who saw the destructive results of alcohol consumption and took up the cause of fighting against drinking and drunkenness. Although she was arrested numerous times, she persisted and managed to effect change in the way alcohol was sold and used.

As a pastor, an author and a professor of theological studies, Carol Penner brings her scriptural knowledge, private experience and wide-ranging interests to bear in this engaging --- indeed magnetic --- collection. Each of the book’s daily entries shines light on significant spiritual issues and God’s care for those who turn to Him, with a concluding section that gives clear advice for using the journal and sharing its message with others.

This new work will please Penner’s dedicated readership and attract a new base of interest. It will be appreciated for private meditation and used as a fresh focus for group discussion.