Lent - Monday February 18 Day #6

I collect crosses. And I wear one almost 24/7, in fact its rare to see me without one. I change them out depending on my mood and what I'm wearing. This is one of my favorites, turquoise which is my birthstone. It seemed appropriate for me to wear during Lent.

Speaking of Lent, it's going well. I'm praying every day, working on that sin and still haven't had a soda. I won't lie, I do miss my Dr Pepper, but honestly it's going pretty well. I've only had one instance of withdrawal, and I just had some strong tea to give me the boost I needed instead.

Lent Day One - Ash Wednesday

Last year on Easter, I came back to God in tears and on my knees after the end of an abusive relationship. That's why this year is so important to me, why I'm making such a big deal about Lent, because I want to truly celebrate Easter in remembrance of what last year meant to me, and to do that I feel the need to practice Lent and focus on God for the next 40 days.

Yesterday, I attended my very first Ash Wednesday service. These services are not the norm in my church, so even though I grew up in the First Church of God (Anderson), I've never attended one.

It was amazing. A time for reflection and prayer, mainly. I found it meaningful. We took our ashes, got our communion and went to the altar to pray and take the communion as we felt moved to. Perfect.

Ash Wednesday.

And seeing my church friends in the middle of the week was also nice. :)

As for giving up soda and working on that sin, so far so good. I honestly don't really miss soda that much yet, but I did have a coworker lock up my last Dr Pepper in her filing cabinet. And I'm not missing that sin either. Both do cross my mind, but I just take a deep breath and say no and move on.

“I know that You can do all things,
And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.”
‘Hear, now, and I will speak;
I will ask You, and You instruct me.’
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my eye sees You;
Therefore I retract,
And I repent in dust and ashes.”

Job 42:2-6 (NASB)

Fasting

And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers, the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same, but Yours eat and drink.” And Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.”

                Luke 5:33-35 (NASB)

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.

               Matthew 6:16-18 (NASB) 

I added the bolded letters. This sounds like a pretty definite when statement to me. When you fast, not if.

On the Eve of Lent

Happy Mardi Gras!

Of course, that only means that tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

My church encourages 'giving something up' for Lent, but we're not strict about it and we don't fast or anything like that.

However...I personally am FASCINATED by the idea of penance, fasting and abstinence. So I'm going to (planning to, hoping to):

• Give up soda. It's minor, but trust me, I really love Dr Pepper. Giving up my beloved soda is definitely a sacrifice.
• Work on a sin that's been bothering me. 
• I've been meaning to start working out, now seems like a perfect time to focus on it. And I just got a couple of friends together who are also working out so now I have a support group!
• And get closer to God. Work on our relationship. Because that is really want Lent is about, focusing on God.
• I have the Lenten booklet my church put out
• As well as a Focus 40 prayer schedule that I'm going to follow, also from my church
• And a Sunday bible study that I found through another denomination online
• I'm going to pray, daily, which I already try to do but it's going to be a definite focus for me. One thing I liked was the idea of giving up your lunch (fasting) to take a walk and pray.
• I'd like to go to church more, but since my church only has weekend services I don't know how that'll work. 

Since I'm focusing on my relationship with God, my daily Bible verse amused me today:  
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8 (NASB) 

PS I just volunteered for a Christian music festival this summer. I really feel that God needs me there, so I just bit the bullet and filled out the form. I've been agonizing over volunteering for a few days so it was a big step! and partially inspired by my Bible study group last night, we talked about doing what God calls you to do even if it's a step out of your comfort zone.