So, today is Ash Wednesday. Up until last year, I had never observed Ash Wednesday, or Lent. I loved last year's Ash Wednesday service though and am hoping to go tonight (Anna's been sick so we need to wait and see how she's doing.)
I don't know if I'll be giving anything up for Lent, but I'll definitely be doing daily Bible reading (hopefully also reading some stuff in No Greater Love and maybe from another book I got) and I'm also planning to devote more time to prayer...prayer for various friends of mine who are hurting, and then also about our family and what God may have for us in the next couple of years in terms of adoption.
Do you observe Lent?
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
I was raised Greek Orthodox and I do observe lent but in a non traditional Orthodox way. Some Orthodox fast from meat for 40 days and others go to the extreme and also eliminate dairy from their diet. That seems overboard to me. While fasting is obviously Biblical, 1 Cor. 8:8 tells us "But food does not bring us near to God, we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do." I told my children if you are not right with God than what you eat or don't eat means nothing, it will not guarantee salvation, that would be like saying we are saved by our works. I gave them some examples of things they can work on giving up that can draw them closer to God. Such as, not fighting with eachother, displaying more patience and using kinder words and more prayer time, also giving up some free time and spend it with someone who is hurting or lonely. Giving up foods and not behaviors doesn't seem right to me and I don't like being bound to tradition that is why we have been going to a Bible church.
I haven't done anything for Lent since I quit going to the Catholic church. But after reading some of past students' FB statuses, I decided to also give up FB for that time. It is such a time waster for me, I had to at least try. I may open it up for messages (but only once a week to see if there is a message and then logout). It'll be hard for me because I know I'll miss some fun stuff - maybe even an engagement or baby or two. And I hope to use that time more wisely, especially doing my studies or my Bible reading in a "year". Blogging I'll try to do and I'll just read my friends' blogs rather than all the others I have on my list just because they've got good advice or crafty ideas. Anyway, that's a start for me again. So far, so good.
I do observe it, including giving something up or specifically working to improve something I know needs improving in addition to extra Bible reading/Lenten-specific add-ons. I think it's really a shame more Protestants don't at least mention Lent, even if they don't choose to actively partake in its meaning.
Post a Comment