I stand (well sit) before you humbled and ashamed. I cannot believe it has been so long since my last blog post and there are no excuses for it. Simply poor time management, but I have arisen from the grave. Of course now is not the time to speak of resurrections, that will be in 40 days ;)
So I'll catch you up on my life a bit first:
Christmas! was simply fantastic, as it always is. Time with family and friends, beautiful lights and decorations, fun parties, thoughtful gifts, and tons and tons of food!
Then I welcomed in a brand new year, 2014! We celebrated here in the south with the only way we knew how, the biggest traffic jam EVER (otherwise known as snowpocalypse 2014)
Dooleydog wasn't exactly the biggest fan of the snow, thank goodness she lives in the south, but she did enjoy it more once she discovered she could eat it!
Now we enter the period of time in the south, where the weather vacillates between Christmas and Almost Summer. Don't get me wrong, it's weather like this that makes me love living in the south more than anything, but I'm starting to wish it would make up it's mind. 70 degrees on the weekend and 40 degrees during the week is wrecking havoc to my wardrobe haha
But I'll enjoy every day we have that doesn't bring any more snow and ice!
Even my chalkboard is hopeful for the spring-time weather this month! Maybe if we are thankful enough for it, then it will stick around for a while!
With spring (or almost summer here in the south), comes so many wonderful things: warmer weather, sunshine, flowers, birds, baseball. And a pretty important season: Lent.
Celebrating Lent is definitely a hit or miss practice with a lot of Christians today, and is quickly being shoved only on "those catholics".
Let's start with the basics first and work our way from there. What is Lent?
The Lenten season is the 40 day period leading up to Christ's crucifixion on the cross and resurrection celebration of Easter. It is the time that coincides with Christ's fasting in the desert for 40 days and being tempted by the devil. He went to the desert to fast to prepare to be sacrificed on the cross for our sins. In remembrance of that, we are called to fast from something ourselves. To truly sacrifice so that we may grow closer to God and remove any worldly barriers that keep us from developing a more intimate relationship with Him or from living our daily lives according to His guidance.
So, why do I observe Lent if I'm not catholic?
I believe Lent is an important holiday for those of us that follow Christ. Daily we give thanks to Him for His great sacrifice in dying for our sins. We might not curse, or drink, or we might abstain from sexual relationships until we are married. But what do we truly do in our daily lives that enable us to have a close and committed relationship with the being that not only saved our lives, but ensured us eternal lives? I know most all of my "Christian" friends struggle to carve out time in our busy, jam-packed, 21st century lives to spend even 5 minutes in prayer or Bible study. We barely make it to church on Sunday, and look down as we quickly pass the offering plate without contributing. Committing to an additional night for a small group? Forget it.
But then what are we really doing with all of our time? Facebook? Pinterest? Twitter? YouTube? TV?
Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that my God is going to stop everyone at the gates of heaven and ask them for their attendance record from Sunday School, but I do know that if we don't come to a place of truly knowing God then we are not truly saved. If our commitment to Christ is true, then we won't change our actions because we are "supposed to", but because we are compelled to because we are driven by the Holy Spirit that has arisen within us. I don't think being a true follower of Christ is about how often you show up in church, but by how deep and personal your relationship with the Father is. This isn't a holiday designed to get you in to a church, but designed to foster a personal relationship that YOU build with God.
That being said, please let me also admit that I am fully addicted to Pinterest and spend my fair share of time on the internet or watching television just like everyone else. But, I also know that most of the things that I encounter on the internet are not things that inspire me back to Christ. My surroundings are so inundated with worldly values that it's hard to separate out the justification of normalcy from the truth of God's calling.
What better time to shuffle through all the excess and start fresh and new in our faith and not just in our diet or work out plans. Pick one thing, just one small little thing and give it to God for 40 days. Share in the smallest amount of His suffering and see what He can teach you. See what He can do with even 5 minutes a day. Commit to parking in the furthest parking space away from your office and every day while you walk the extra 100 feet in to the building, pray. Prepare your heart for the day. Turn your music off in your car and while you drive listen to God.
Our God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and He can do amazing things with the smallest materials. Just for 40 days, what have you got to lose? Think of everything that you could gain.
I'll be with you every step of the way, I promise!!!!
And if you're still not sure, pray about it! Observe it any way you feel led, but just think about it. I'm praying for y'all, as always. And I'm so thankful to have each and every one of you in my life!
<3 ME
