Well hello there! Are you still with me? It's been a while, but guess what?
The Lenten season is upon us. Fat Tuesday is tomorrow, which really means nothing to me except that it happens to be the day before Ash Wednesday. (Which I realize is the whole premise behind Fat Tuesday, but that's neither here nor there.) I don't live in New Orleans, and I'm not Catholic, so it's just another skinny Tuesday to me. But after Tuesday comes Wednesday, when we observe the need to repent (am I getting this right?) while remembering Jesus' 40 days of fasting and temptation (of which he did not indulge) before his ministry began. It also begins the 46 days (or 40 days if you don't observe Sundays) (cheaters) of fasting before Easter Sunday.
The past couple years, I have not really observed Lent. I didn't give anything up. And I'm not giving anything up this year, either. Instead, I'm committing myself to practicing good housekeeping. You should see my house right now. No, actually you shouldn't. I'd be too embarrassed. Apparently not embarrassed enough to clean, but enough to think about should we ever need the EMT's or Fire Department to visit, I'd be mortified. You know, kind of like how some people consider wearing clean underwear just in case they are ever in a car accident. That's not me. I always have clean underwear.
Now that we have that covered;
This doesn't mean that for the next 46 days, I will keep a pristine house. (That would take a miracle, not Lent). It just means that I will be more mindful and more committed to keeping up a house and home for my family. Kind of like taking Proverbs 31 a little more seriously. Or a lot more seriously in my case. So any time the house needs a little sprucing, and I'm not feeling up to doing it, I will pray. I'll pray for strength, for patience, for energy and I'll thank God for providing a warm place to live and a family to share it with. Then maybe my attitude about housekeeping will change. If anyone can change my attitude, it's Jesus, so I've got high hopes for this one!
Are you thinking about observing Lent this year?
That is a great Practice Kate! I too decided that it is not really giving up something I need to do but actually practice something more with help from prayers and encourage ment from the scriptures. I want to listen to God more carefully and I want to listen to those around me more carefully. James 1:19 says this : Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; I can't do it myself but with a lot of prayer and practice I should be able to get in some good practice in 40 days...
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