The Lenten Journey

Once again, we find ourselves in the season of Lent. Can you believe it?! Time flies when you're... not writing in your blog! The Lenten season is a time for reflection, which means that it is also a great time to share some of these reflections.

Ash Wednesday was two days ago; Lent has officially begun. When I talk about Lent with others, the most common question they ask me is, "What are you giving up?" Making a sacrifice for Lent is a long-standing tradition which seems to have overflowed into the secular world. Even people who consider themselves "spiritual, but not religious" enjoy the challenge and personal growth involved in a 40+ day sacrifice. As a Christian, I see this as a great opportunity for discipleship. With this common ground as a foundation, I like to share a different outlook on the traditional sacrifice--

A personal sacrifice takes something out of your normal routine. Where once there was something, now there is nothing. Inevitably, we will try to fill that void. What are you going to do with the time spent not watching television, not checking your Facebook, or not playing video games? How will you spend the money you save by not drinking alcohol, not eating chocolate, and not dining out at restaurants? Considering the outcome of personal sacrifice helps to breathe new life and, more importantly, purpose into this Lenten tradition with the hope that, through spiritual discipline, you may form a closer relationship with Christ our Lord. What are you adding to replace what you have given up?


Last year, my church challenged us to focus each week on a different spiritual discipline centered around the words of the Lord's Prayer. I like this idea, so I'm doing it again this year. Will you join me on this Lenten Journey?


February 22: Hallowed be Thy Name
Focus:  Giving up a form of media (TV, Radio, Newspaper, etc.) and replacing with prayer.


Here's to Days Just Packed with Lenten reflection!

Day 182:

If at first you don't succeed... try, try again! We will continue this discussion later.

Day 7:

What is it about Saturday? I can wake up on Saturdays.  Maybe it's because it's my "special day" -- the only day that I don't have anywhere I have to be before 10am. But here I am: Day 7, one week, half a fortnight.

So far so good? I'm thinking so. It's quarter til 7 and I'm bright-eyed.  If I had a tail, I'm sure it would be bushy.

Day 4:

So Tired.

Day 3:

Found myself snugly tucked into bed by 10pm last night. Success!  After just a couple days of my new routine, I found myself sleepy enough by "new bedtime" to convince myself that I would not just lay in bed for hours and hours.  I don't think I finally fell asleep until close to 11:00, but it's a start!

This morning I woke up to the sound of my... cell phone? I set it for 7:00 as a "just in case" precaution. I must have turned off my alarm clock when it went off at 6 this morning.  I blame Night Man. He's still not thrilled about this new arrangement.  I'll consider this morning to be a minor victory. I have time to blog, putter around a bit, eat breakfast, and get to work.

Baby steps.

Becoming a Morning Person...

I've been a long-time admirer of people who manage to wake up and see the sunrise every morning.  These people seem like they've got a good thing going.  They get up, eat a good breakfast, work out, and plan their day long before the bleary-eyed most of us finally stop hitting the snooze button. I want to be one of those people, but... I hate mornings. Check that. I love mornings-- I hate getting up!

Yesterday I finally decided to undertake the bold adventure into the morning mist. I read some articles, made a trip to Vitamin Cottage for some herbal sleep aids (I could write an entire post about why I probably won't go back there), and hit the sack at about 9:30 on a Friday night. I slept horribly.  My body fought the sleep aid with a fiery vengeance and I kept waking up throughout the night. It was as if the little "Night Man" inside of me kept poking me in the ribs and saying "Hey, what are you doing? It's time to play!"

Day 1:

6:00 am. My alarm went off. I sat up in bed, rubbed my eyes, hit the "off" button instead of that horrible invention we know as "snooze," and dragged myself out of bed.  I wasn't necessarily tired anymore, but I was groggy.  Night Man launched his final assault,

"It's Saturday, you fool. Why are you up? Go back to bed! If you get up now, you won't be able to stay up and play! Tonight is poker night, remember..."

I almost gave in. Almost-- except I remembered... I dreamed of pancakes.

Here's to Days Just Packed with early mornings to come. And pancakes!

Lent: A Journey in Spiritual Discipline

I admit it.  I've never given up anything for Lent.  Part of the reason is due to the fact that I never actually "had to"  (it was more of a suggestion rather than a requirement).  No, I didn't switch churches, and I still don't "have to" give anything up for Lent, but I was missing part of the point of this whole Lenten sacrifice thing.

This year my church as taken a different spin on the tradition of Lenten sacrifice.  We printed off bookmarks and handed them out to those in attendance at Wednesday night worship during this Lenten season.  We were encouraged to keep these bookmarks someplace where we would see them regularly in order to remind us of the depth and true nature of the spiritual journey upon which we were about to embark.

Instead of following the tradition of giving one thing up for Lent, we were given a list of 6 different aspects of our lives that we would focus on during each week.  The idea was to be able to build a stronger relationship with Christ through more areas in our lives than that gained through the sacrifice of one indulgence for a full 40 days.  I thought it was an interesting twist and one worth blogging about.  The following is from the bookmark:

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Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lenchten, which menas "spring." The season is a preparation for celebrating Christ's victory over death on Easter Sunday.

To assist our faith community in this journey, we will focus on a unique spiritual dscipline each of the 6 weeks of Lent. You will be challenged to give up something new each week, replacing it with  spiritual discipline such as prayer, fasting, givng to the poor, etc. Our prayer is that by engaging in these disciplines, you will draw closer in relationship to your Savior Christ Jesus.

March 9: Hallowed be Thy Name
Focus:  Giving up a form of media (TV, Radio, Newspaper, etc.) and replacing with prayer.

March 16: Thy Kingdom Come
Focus: Giving up a social activity and replacing with service to an organization or individual.

March 23: Thy Will be Done
Focus: Giving up social media (Facebook, email, etc.) and replacing with scripture reading and devotions.

March 30: Give us this Day our Daily Bread
Focus: Fasting for a day or giving up a comfort food or drink (dessert, alcohol, coffee) and replacing with financial support and prayer for the poor.

April 6: Forgive us our Trespasses, as we Forgive those who Trespass against us
Focus: Giving up a grudge and replacing with prayer for our enemies and seeking reconciliation.

 
April 13: Lead us not into Temptation, but Deliver us from Evil
Focus: Giving up individualism and replacing with accountability and mentorship.

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The good news: Because the ultimate sacrifice as already been made through the blood shed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross, no further sacrifice is necessary among believers to gain admittance into Heaven.  Lent is a season for prayer, humility, honor and glory to God in remembrance of what He has done for us.  Personal sacrifice, although not required as a merit to receive the grace and mercy that God has shown us, does have benefit in the penitent heart and prayerful stance called forth in building a stronger relationship with our Father in Heaven.  

As God's children we are called to spread the good news of this Gospel to all the earth.  Not with a pious "My Lenten sacrifice is greater than thine" attitude, but with good cheer and pure hearts.  In building a stronger relationship with our Lord in our own lives, we are better able to serve Him and spread this good news!

Here's to Days Just Packed with spiritual discipline this Lenten season and spreading the Gospel to others!