In this Lenten conversation, host Tressa Spingler sits down with longtime bookseller and friend of Upper House, Byron Borger of Hearts & Minds Books, to explore how the church year—and especially Lent—can shape our discipleship. They reflect on wilderness imagery, repentance, almsgiving, contemplative reading, and what it means for Jesus to meet us in our “low places.” Byron introduces a rich range of Lenten books—from devotionals and art‑driven prayer resources to weighty theological works on sin, the cross, and Holy Week.

In This Episode

• Why Lent is a season of wilderness, repentance, and preparation
• How traditions like Anglicanism and Lutheranism shape our imagination of sacred time
• The power of silence, solitude, and contemplative reading
• A new theological work on sin by Timothy Keller
• Fleming Rutledge’s classic writings on the crucifixion and death of Christ
• Creative Bible studies integrating art, QR‑coded media, and peace/reconciliation themes
• Art‑driven prayer resources for seasons of depression or disorientation
• Reading as a spiritual discipline during Lent

About Our Guest

Byron Borger is the owner of Hearts & Minds Books in Dallastown, Pennsylvania. Learn more or subscribe to his Booknotes newsletter at: heartsandmindsbooks.com

List of books mentioned in the episode

• Rhythms of Faith: A Devotional Pilgrimage Through the Church Year — Claude Atcho (WaterBrook, 2025)
• Reading Black Books: How African American Literature Can Make Our Faith More Whole and Just — Claude Atcho (Brazos Press, 2022)
• A Beautiful Year: 52 Meditations on Faith, Wisdom, and Perseverance — Diana Butler Bass (St. Martin’s Essentials, 2025)
• Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal — Esau McCaulley (IVP Formatio, 2022)
• What Is Wrong with the World — Timothy Keller (Zondervan, 2025)
• The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ — Fleming Rutledge (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2015)
• The Undoing of Death — Fleming Rutledge (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2005)
• Why Did Jesus Have to Die?: The Meaning of the Crucifixion — Adam Hamilton (Abingdon Press, 2025)
• Liberated at the Cross: Peace and Reconciliation in God’s Kingdom — Crystal Acevedo (IV Press, 2026)
• May It Be So: 40 Days with the Lord’s Prayer — Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson (WaterBrook, 2019)
• Prayer — Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson (WaterBrook, 2019)
• In the Low: Honest Prayers for Dark Seasons — Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson (Baker Books, 2025)
• Walking in the Wilderness — Beth Richardson (Upper Room Books, 2020)
• Pauses for Lent: 40 Words for 40 Days — Trevor Hudson (Upper Room Books, 2015)
• Pauses for Advent — Trevor Hudson (Upper Room Books, 2017)
• Pauses for Pentecost — Trevor Hudson (Upper Room Books, 2018)
• Lent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Objects — Jill Duffield (Westminster John Knox Press, 2020)
• Advent in Plain Sight: A Devotion Through Objects — Jill Duffield (Westminster John Knox Press, 2021)
• Christ in Our Midst: Daily Lenten Reflections Through Scripture and Gregorian Chant — (Paraclete Press, 2025)
• Wardrobes and Rings: Through Lenten Lands with the Inklings — Julia Golding, Simon Horobin & Malcolm Guite (Canterbury Press Norwich, 2025)
• The Art of Lent: A Painting a Day from Ash Wednesday to Easter — Sister Wendy Beckett (InterVarsity Press, 2022)
• Celebration of Discipline — Richard Foster (HarperOne, 2018)