A Journey In The Desert~

I am Catholic and Lent is here. So what does that really mean?

Some people think Lent is just rules,rules and more rules! It really is not that at all. Its a time for a spiritual walk with the Lord. A journey of sorts with the Lord as he walked in the desert.

Lent starts with Ash Wednesday and lasts 40 days until Easter. That is when Jesus died for our sins on the cross. During the 40 days of Lent its a time to let God transform us...mold us into something new. (Yes, we ask God to change us all through out the year but Lent is a time to really scale things back and simplify.)

Lent is a time to draw yourself closer to God. During Lent we are called to add time for QUIET PRAYER in a society that is always on the go.

We are called to FAST and ABSTAIN.
FASTING from meat on Friday and to eat only 1 full meal and the rest of Friday eating only lightly. This is meant to have us relate to those with less food. (We already eat vegetarian once a week and have a soup day to cut our food budget.) Its also about doing more activities that draw us closer to God and ABSTAINING from things that take time away from what the Lord wants us to be doing. Its slowing down things in your life just a bit. Its a SPIRITUAL WALK with our Lord.

Our church also offers "Stations of the Cross" and a simple soup supper with fellowship every Friday during Lent.
There are placks with scenes (visual reminders) of Jesus walk to Calvary.
We say prayers and read scripture stopping in front of each scene (I think there are 12)along the way. Jesus was scared and treated terrible. He was nailed to the cross. He did it for us. WOW! Very Powerful.

We are also called during Lent to ALMS GIVING.
That is simply giving MORE money than you already give. Give to those Brothers and Sisters that are really in need and are hungry. In our church we call it the Rice Bowl collection. The children of the church love to give their money(coins) and help the ushers pass the burlap bags around for this special collection during the Sundays of Lent!

God is not looking for perfection. In fact HE already knows we will not be perfect. We will stumble,fail to a degree. He wants us to lean on HIM to seek his face. We are nothing without HIM. If you journey with Christ you really never fail...you grow spiritually into someone new!

Jesus gave HIS life for us.
I will be taking time to walk even more closely with HIM.
I will be quieting my life and be extra mindful of the things I choose to do.

Regardless if you are Catholic you can still take these next 40 days until Easter to Journey closer with Christ. HE walked alone in the desert and asks YOU to walk with HIM!

Lent is simply:

Prayer
Fast and Abstain
Alms giving

I will still be posting during Lent but will not be spending as much time at the computer.. among other things, I will be spending more time with my kiddos teaching them about our Lord,cooking and baking,reading their favorite story "just one more time!" and enjoying more fully the precious gifts in my life! (Given to me from the Lord.)

I will be quieting my mind so I can more fully hear the Lord!

Even the best of Christians can get comfortable with there walk with Christ. Its human nature to become complacent with things. So comfortable we take what we have for granite. Lent is a time to take a spiritual cleansing of sorts. Renew yourself in Christ!

Blessings,
Georgiann