Holding Onto Hope: 40 days of God’s encouragement through art and reflections
A hope-filled illustrated gift book to lift the spirits
Amy Boucher Pye and Leo Boucher return with a 40-day journey exploring the themes of hope and new life through vivid biblical images, Holding onto Hope can be used through Lent or during any 40-day period. We start with how all creation praises God, from the flowers of the field to the streams in the desert and the trees clapping their hands. We then explore the agricultural pattern of sowing, growing and harvesting before moving to the gracious promises and invitations God makes to his people, such as how he writes eternity onto our hearts. Next come compelling images of God as our help and refuge, including God being our shade and rear guard, before seeing how God changes his people – he clothes us, renews our minds and strengthens us. Finally, we focus on our new life in Christ through images such as new wineskins, the imperishable seed and the city to come.
Title | Holding Onto Hope: 40 days of God’s encouragement through art and reflections |
Author | Amy Boucher Pye / Leo Boucher |
Description | Amy Boucher Pye and Leo Boucher return with a 40-day journey exploring the themes of hope and new life through vivid biblical images, Holding onto Hope can be used through Lent or during any 40-day period. We start with how all creation praises God, from the flowers of the field to the streams in the desert and the trees clapping their hands. We then explore the agricultural pattern of sowing, growing and harvesting before moving to the gracious promises and invitations God makes to his people, such as how he writes eternity onto our hearts. Next come compelling images of God as our help and refuge, including God being our shade and rear guard, before seeing how God changes his people – he clothes us, renews our minds and strengthens us. Finally, we focus on our new life in Christ through images such as new wineskins, the imperishable seed and the city to come. |
Details |
|
Amy Boucher Pye and Leo Boucher return with a 40-day journey exploring the themes of hope and new life through vivid biblical images, Holding onto Hope can be used through Lent or during any 40-day period. We start with how all creation praises God, from the flowers of the field to the streams in the desert and the trees clapping their hands. We then explore the agricultural pattern of sowing, growing and harvesting before moving to the gracious promises and invitations God makes to his people, such as how he writes eternity onto our hearts. Next come compelling images of God as our help and refuge, including God being our shade and rear guard, before seeing how God changes his people – he clothes us, renews our minds and strengthens us. Finally, we focus on our new life in Christ through images such as new wineskins, the imperishable seed and the city to come.
Amy Boucher-Pye
Amy is a writer and speaker with a thousand devotional reflections in print, including with New Daylight and Our Daily Bread. She has previously written The Living Cross and Celebrating Christmas for BRF Ministries.Leo Boucher
Leo is a retired data systems analyst who paints in his art shack and volunteers with his church and other organisations, including teaching art to seniors at retirement communities.
Transforming Ministry online 19.02.24. Review by Betty Taylor
This is a beautiful book in so many ways! The binding is tactile and eye-catching, and the pages are a delight to turn. The small, hardback artistic cover immediately attracts our attention.
For each of forty days we have a painting to absorb, an accompanying reflection and a relevant prayer. There are also questions for further thought, and for possible discussion if the book is used in a group situation.
Six topics are divided mainly on a weekly basis, covering creation, agriculture, God’s promises, his help, how he changes people and brings new life in Christ. All is enveloped in faith, hope, love and joy as we are taken on a journey filled with personal snippets, historic moments, and biblical references. In a world where so many are weary and burdened, this lovely book brings encouragement for rest and renewal in God’s love and care.
The talents of a father and daughter partnership are richly displayed as Amy Boucher Pye brings imagery through carefully chosen words, and Leo Boucher through his illuminating artwork. The two combine to knit together the concept of a God who reaches out to us and longs for us to reach out to Him in return.
Holding on to Hope seeks to be an inspiration for God’s voice to be heard in a troubled world and to bring a sense of peace and security. Let us pray it does just that, becoming a treasured companion for all who delve into its pages.
Reviewed by Betty Taylor
Together magazine Jan-Feb 2024. Review by Daryl Wearring
This beautiful Lent devotional includes stunning artwork, alongside encouraging writing, as we journey through Lent to Easter. Each week focuses on a different aspect of God’s character, from his creation to the different ways he beckons and encourages us, through to our new life in Christ. Each day’s text is accompanied by a beautiful painting to aid reflection.
Review by Anne le Tissier, writer.
Holding Onto Hope is a timely gift to a world that attempts to steal hope through conflicts, natural disasters, economic pressures, broken relationships, sickness, memory loss, disappointment, grief… and so much more. Written to be read over forty days, Amy gently encourages us to grasp hold of the hope God gives through his truth and promises, while Leo’s simple yet vivid and poignant paintings, draw us to another level of engaging with God’s love and reassurance.
Each devotion settles our heart and focuses our mind by starting with a painting and an engaging story. Both dovetail with insights that Amy then provides from scripture, conveying the hope we have in God through life’s varied experiences, before she concludes the day with a short prayer; prayers which often resonated deeply in my heart. There are also daily questions to reflect on individually or discuss as part of a group, plus a guide to visio divina to help readers pray with the paintings.
Holding Onto Hope is a beautifully crafted book to read and ponder, helping us grasp tight to God’s presence and truth when hope feels out of reach. As Amy says, ‘We can put our hope in [God], trusting him to follow through on the promises he made to his people centuries ago, because we know him to be faithful and true.’ (page 126)
Reviewed by Anne le Tissier author of The Mirror that Speaks Back