Lent: A Forty-Day Fad Diet?

As a kid, Lent was super strange to me. I always had tap rehearsal on Wednesday nights, so once a year my Catholic friends came in with their black, ashy foreheads, my Jewish friends could giggle at them, and I would just be confused. There was a smeared black cross on their face and they weren't allowed to eat meat. Well actually that was just on Fridays. But fish was always OK. So no filet mignon, but lobster tail is approved? And some gave up sweets too, so no dessert for them. What was with all these 40-day no-no's? I didn't get it.

As I grew up, physically and spiritually, I slowly came to really appreciate the season of Lent. I even look forward to it. While society has seemed to make it into some sort of religious, fad diet, Lent simply comes down to sacrifice. Small, temporary, personal sacrifices in order to prepare our hearts to commemorate the Ultimate Sacrifice made through Christ. So if cutting out soda is really what it takes for you to reflect on the Cross for a few weeks, then go for it! But maybe we can actually gain something and glorify Him through this tradition of "giving up" something. Here's just a few ideas, feel free to add more in the comments



     Sacrifice       ----------------------       To Gain

 - Time on Facebook                                     - Time reading the Gospels

 - 15 Minutes of Sleeping-In                           - 15 Minutes in Prayer

 - Listening to Mainstream Radio                    - Praising God with Christian Music

                         

 - A favorite television show                           - Quiet time with your spouse

 -Your Daily Starbucks                                  - Extra cash to donate

                        

 - Going for Seconds at Dinner                      - Appreciation for our abundance

Let's remember also that Jesus said to keep these forms of  "fasting" between God and ourselves, not on display for show or merit. Matthew 6 : 16 -18 says, “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

I pray we can commit to some small sacrifices over the next few weeks in order to gain intimacy and the ability to grasp (or re-grasp) what has already been sacrificed and accomplished for us.  Love to you! :)

Honeymoon  in Nicaragua -"In Jesus We Trust" Monument 

The Battle

People who know me well know I like the "legends"... Michael Jackson, Madonna, Cher, Whitney. My friends made fun of me growing up and my husband always says, "I didn't think anyone really listened to this stuff." LOL But I'll admit it, Jackson 5 is probably my favorite band, I thoroughly enjoyed the Superbowl halftime show this year, I do a killer Cher impression, and I've sung "I Will Always Love You" around the house more times to count. So when another legendary entertainer dies to (most likely) drug overdose, of course I was seriously saddened.

But unlike my other divas and kings, Whitney's heart was strong for the Lord. She always talked openly about her faith in God, and has some beautiful, only like Whitney could sing em, Gospel songs ("I Look to You" & "I Go to The Rock" are my favs). A couple years back she talked on Oprah about her struggles with drugs.. 

Oprah: Would you just sit in your room and do drugs?

Whitney: Yeah. Talk on the phone. Watch TV. Listen to gospel. I would still read my Bible, amazingly enough. I would still read my Bible. I still had it in me. I knew God was there. I knew the light was there and I was just trying to get back to it. I just kept trying to get back to that spirituality.

Today I heard a message that said something along the lines of... "Repentance is not so much "saying sorry", but instead surrendering." All of us need the reminder that repentance isn't a one-and-done kind of thing, but is more of a daily handing-over of one's self. Just take a look at Steps 1-7 in AA and apply it to any sin or struggle; that's repentance.

It's been rumored that the last performance Whitney gave was a casual rendition of "Jesus Loves Me." The video above is a live version of the song from 1994, perhaps around the peak of her cocaine usage. Yet she still knew Jesus Loved Her, even in her mess. Sadly, Whitney may not have "won" her battle, but oh how we need to remember that the battle is not ours, it's the Lord's. So give it over to Him, again, and again, and again, and watch Him make a blessing out of your repentance. 

Hosea 14:1-2

Repentance to Bring Blessing

Return, Israel, to the LORD your God. 

   Your sins have been your downfall! 

Take words with you 

   and return to the LORD. 

Say to him: 

   “Forgive all our sins 

and receive us graciously, 

   that we may offer the fruit of our lips..

True Love

My husband isn't much into Valentine's Day. I'm sorry to say he is indeed one of those downers who calls it a corporate-invented holiday that forces people to buy stuff. Whether there is truth to that or not, Valentine's Day no doubt makes us think about love. Who we love, why we love them, maybe our lacking in the love department... but I've been reminded this week who loved us first.

(that cloud is legit - amazes me every time!)

The Bible tells us that God is Love. Not only is He Himself love, but He has expressed it to us in it's truest form and commands us to do likewise. Jesus said, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends." (John 15:12-13) And this directive is not as difficult when you know wholeheartedly that the Creator of the Universe loved you first: "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19)

Being the dork I am, let's pretend we're back in English class. If I was asked to identify the main theme of the entire Bible, I would confidently answer with one word: LOVE. One little verse sums up not only the Bible, but love, life, and everything in between for me...

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us"  

(1 John 3:16a)

If you walk into Hallmark this week (which my husband probably will not do  haha), you can clearly see how obsessed our world is with love. We LOVE love, but do we really live love in our day-to-day? 

Sometimes it's hard for me to grasp that as much as I love my husband, or even as much as I love my children, God loves them so much more. I could never love them as much as He does, no matter how much I tried!  

This Valentine's Day we are bound to be disappointed by someone. Now I don't say that to be a V-day downer like Doug, but to remember we are just people. The hard truth is we can not love as well as the One who is Love. And so our relationship with Him needs to be our most treasured relationship, the only one we put our complete trust in. 

HE. LOVES. ME.  It's taken me awhile to be able to confidently say those three words and I don't think I'll ever really get it or understand why .. but Love is who God is, and He doesn't contradict Himself. 

Remember your not-so-secret admirer this Valentine's Day 

and show Him some love back 

(listen and meditate on these awesome lyrics with me)