Ash Wednesday 2013 - Lenten Disciplines

It is hard to believe that in forty days Christians shall gather to celebrate the great feast of Easter. Where does the time go? In order to arrive at that glorious Sunday, the Christian journey takes a period of introspection: to be in “the desert”, so to speak, – experiencing the season of Lent.

Blue Eyed Ennis Blogspot

Following up on my post from last year at this time, I am offering some suggestions of things you can do to assist in making these next forty days a time of blessing and renewal. Some of the suggestions are mine and others have come from different sites on the web. In such cases I have included the name of the author or the website. I encourage you to make any additional suggestions in the comment section of this blog for the benefit of other readers from across the globe.

May you have a blessed forty day’s journey which will end with a joyous celebration of Easter.

10 Questions to Ask Yourself (Rachel Held Evans)

1.When I wake up on Resurrection Sunday morning, how will I be different? 

2. From what do I need to repent? 

3. Is there one particular sin in my life that repeatedly gets in the way of loving God with my whole heart or loving my neighbor as myself? How do I address that sin over the next 40 days?

4. Is there anyone in my life from whom I need to ask forgiveness or pursue reconciliation? 

5. What distractions most commonly interfere with my time in prayer/Scripture?

6. What spiritual discipline do I need to improve upon or want to try? 

7. What are some things in my life that I tell myself I need but I don’t? 

8. Why am I giving this particular thing up? How does giving it up draw me closer to God and prepare me for Easter? 

9. What am I going to tell myself when self-denial gets hard? 

10.Is it necessary/helpful for me to share the nature my fast with others or should I keep it private?

10 Book Recommendations  

1.    40 Days of Living the Jesus Creed by Scot McKnight 

2.    Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

3.    The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

4.    The Divine Hours: Prayers for Springtime by Phyllis Tickle

5.    The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

6.    A Gift For God: Prayers and Meditations by Mother Teresa

7.    Followers of the Cross – Daily Devotions for Lent by Martin Marty

8.    Following Jesus by NT Wright 

9.    Show Me the Way: Daily Lenten Readers by Henri J. M. Nouwen

10.The Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross 

Other ideas…

Choose a saint or a Christian you deeply admire to “guide” you through the Lenten period. (Consider St. Francis of Assisi, Mother Teresa, Oscar Romero, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther King, Jr., or St. Teresa of Avila). In addition to studying his/her work and meditating on his/her prayers, learn about his/her life. Journal through the experience. 

Incorporate the color purple into your home, office, and church. A simple purple candle or orchid or note card with a verse can remind you of the season and help keep you focused. 

Choose to make water your only beverage for 40 days to help Blood: Water Mission provide clean water for people in Africa who don't have a choice. Check out their website for more information by clicking here.

Traditionally, Christians abstained from eating meat during Lent, so consider joining millions of fellow Christ-followers around the world in this fast.   

Give up eating out for 40 days and donate the money you save to The Battered Womens Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties. Their website is here. Or join The Community of Saint John in the Shelter’s Suitcase Campaign (more information can be found by clicking here.) 

Do a 40-day purge of all your excess stuff and donate the best of it to Goodwill or a local thrift store that benefits your neighbors. 

Unplug—TV, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, etc. This is perhaps the single best way to carve out some extra time in your day for prayer and meditation. 

Write 40 Lenten Love Letters to people who have had a big impact on your life, both in the present, and in the past, including some people who don't like you and some who have passed away...and especially to God.

At the suggestion of theologian Phyllis Tickle check out Paul Soupiset's awesome website and meditate on the amazing art which he creates. Truly outstanding and original. Click here.

Here is a great idea from Rethink Church. For the creatives in the group, a chance to use your gifts for photography and introspection. Lenten photo-day challenge. Click here for more information.

Some helpful prayers and poetry for the journey…

· This is a prayer used during Great Lent in the Eastern Orthodox Church:

O Lord and Master of my life, grant not unto me a spirit of idleness, of discouragement, of lust for power, and of vain speaking. But bestow upon me, Thy servant, the spirit of integrity, of meekness, of patience, and of love. Yea, O Lord and King, grant that I may perceive my own transgressions, and judge not my brother, for blessed art Thou unto ages of ages.  Amen.

· From the Book of Common Prayer

"Keep watch, dear Lord, with those who work, or watch, or weep this night, and give your angels charge over those who sleep. Tend the sick, Lord Christ; give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for your loves sake. Amen."

· A beautiful poem by Madeleine L'Engle

“For Lent, 1966”

It is my Lent to break my Lent,
To eat when I would fast,
To know when slender strength is spent,
Take shelter from the blast
When I would run with wind and rain,
To sleep when I would watch.
It is my Lent to smile at pain
But not ignore its touch.
It is my Lent to listen well
When I would be alone,
To talk when I would rather dwell
In silence, turn from none
Who call on me, to try to see
That what is truly meant
Is not my choice. If Christ’s I’d be
It’s thus I’ll keep my Lent.

·  Poetry of Carl Sandberg

Last Answers

I wrote a poem on the mist

and a woman asked me what I meant by it.

I had thought till then only of the beauty of the mist,

how pearl and gray of it mix and reel,

and change the drab shanties with lighted lamps at evening

into points of mystery quivering with color.

I answered:

The whole world was mist once long ago and some day

it will all go back to mist,

our skulls and lungs are more water than bone and tissue

and all poets love dust and mist because all the last answers

go running back to dust and mist

 

· From Patrick Overton’s “The Leaning Tree” Book of Poetry

When you come to the edge of all the light you have,

And must take a step into the darkness of the unknown,

Believe that one of two things will happen.

Either there will be something solid for you to stand on –

Or you will be taught how to fly.

 

Wellness includes body, mind and soul! Take advantage of this Lenten period to reflect, to listen, and to understand what God is seeking for your life.

Love One Another - Brian