Lent

I have felt very much removed from the general flow of things lately.  I don't know why, but it seems as if my life is surrounded by chaos and drama.  I am not a chaotic or dramatic person, so I'm not certain how, exactly, this happened.  I don't gravitate towards drama and chaos, but lately it seems as if it's following me everywhere I go.

This Lenten Season, I have decided that I am going to be searching for Christ in all the usual places - and a few unusual ones, too.

I began with Ash Wednesday.  I went to church, but not my church.
It was a solemn service, filled with all of the tradition, pomp, and circumstance that my heart desired.  At the end of the service, we were each given a small prayer touchstone - a small piece of fired clay that fits in my pocket.  When I find it in my pocket, I am reminded to send up a quick prayer.

I've been to a Labyrinth on the grounds of the Retreat and Conference Center at Bon Secours.

I made a very nice porcelain bowl that I donated to the Empty Bowls dinner sponsored by the Human Services Organization in our county.

I've signed up to attend a Sacred Drum Circle.

In an attempt to get back to my roots, I'm visiting the churches of my youth - Baptist, Catholic, and Lutheran.

It promises to be a very different kind of Lent for me this year!  I am hoping that I can find my center, and redefine my relationship with the Holy in the process.

I'll be posting pictures here and there from my Lenten journey.  No words, just pictures.

A Reflective Lent to you.....

Lent Madness

When most people think about the end of April, they think about basketball, March Madness, and their brackets.

A friend pointed me to a different kind of madness earlier this week, and I wanted to share it with you today.

It's Lent Madness.

Lent Madness began in 2010.  Rev. Tim Schenk is the genius behind this wonderful way to celebrate Lent.

At the beginning of Lent, 32 saints are placed into a single elimination bracket.  The same kind of bracket you'd find for basket ball.  Each pairing remains open for one day.  Followers of Lent Madness vote for their favorite saint.  16 saints make it to the round of Saintly Sixteen, 8 go on to the Elite Eight, four make it to the Faithful Four, but only ONE makes it to the end and wins the Golden Halo.

The very cool thing about Lent Madness is that the saints that are featured are not just what we think of as the "traditional" Catholic saints.  No indeed.  These are people who have made a difference in the Kingdom of Heaven here on Earth.  Johann Sebastian Bach, Thomas Galludet, and Harriet Beecher Stowe are among some of the saints that have already been featured this year.

The Lent Madness blog entries are well written.  They are funny.  They are informative.  I have found out about people who have made a huge difference in the world around me that I never, ever knew about before.

It's a devotional, it's fun, and it's very well written.

I do have to state here that Lent Madness began as an idea in the Episcopal Church.  However, the Lent Madness movement itself has become Ecumenical and has transcended all boundaries of religion.

I'm going to quote here from the Lent Madness Website, just a little more information about the purpose of Lent Madness:

As Lent Madness continues to grow and evolve, what won’t change is the essence of Lent Madness: allowing people to get to know some amazing people who have come before us in the faith and reminding one another that there’s no reason for a dreary Lenten discipline. If this helps people connect with the risen Christ during this season of penitence and renewal, and have a bit of fun in the process, then it continues to be worthwhile.

It's not too late to join in the fun for this Lenten season! 

 

My Lenten Journey Begins

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow.  For Christians, Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  40 days of looking inward, reflection, and meditation.  Lent concludes with Easter Sunday.

When Lent approaches, many people take things away to help bring them closer to God.  Social Media, chocolate, caffeine, the list goes on and on.  I've found over the years that craving chocolate for 40 days does absolutely nothing to draw me closer to God.  It does bring me closer to Dove chocolate, which culminates in a good 24 hour binge of chocolate eating on Easter Sunday.  I'm still not sure how this brings me closer to God....

Years ago, I decided to start adding something to my life in Lent.  Something to help draw me closer to God every day.  Something I should be doing, but don't always do.  Praying, Bible study, mediation, the list goes on.  Over the years, I have always done something to help me walk a little closer to God.

This year, I am going to be keeping a Gratitude Journal.


Inside the front cover of my journal.
I've got a plan for the front cover, but it won't be ready until tonight,
we will be burning the palms from last year to make the
ashes for the Ash Weds. service tomorrow.

40 days of thankfulness of the things I am thankful for.  I can draw a picture, take a picture, add a memento, etc., but each item that goes into my journal must have a quick sentence or two, telling why I am thankful, what great thing it represents, or it's significance to my life.

Can you imagine?  40 days of focusing on finding the good in my life. 

I try to do it here.  I really do search for the good and the funny as much as I can, or else I find myself spiraling down into a bottomless pit of depression and bad thoughts.  Not every day is a good day, but every day has something good about it.  The sunrise.  (Hey!  I'm here for another day!)  The sunset.  (I survived this day.  Tomorrow is a new one, with no mistakes in it yet!)  The amazing kids I work with, my own children, the lady in the grocery store who hands her extra coupons to people in the check out line.  The young man with Down's Syndrome who bags at the grocery store and always has a smile and a positive thing to say to every person who comes through his line.

If you are a Christian, and you are looking for a way to observe Lent this year, I invite you to join me in keeping a Gratitude Journal for the next 40 days. 

What a difference we can make in the world when we focus on finding the good in the world around us.



I added this to my journal last week.
One of my little girls made this for me.
She came to this country 4 years ago from an orphanage.
When she came, she couldn't walk, or hold up her own head.
After running down the hall to come to class,
she made this bracelet for me, all the while chatting about
what she is learning in school, and the latest book she was reading.
What a gift this young lady is.
And what a gift her family is to this young lady.