Lenten Journey 2012

So last year was the first time since elementary school that lent really meant something to me. I say "since elementary school" because I went to Trinity Lutheran, so naturally we attended lenten services every week for chapel on wednesday and sunday morning church. It always felt like a weeks long journey of big events leading up to Easter. But after leaving Trinity that was kind of lost for me. Last year Peter's Aunt Jan organized a study for us to do individually at home with the book "Reliving the Passion", but there was also a blog that she updated frequently where we could discuss what each portion of the study meant to us. Since I was undertaking the discipline of doing the study and focusing my heart and my mind on lent I also decided to give up sweets, and tackle a Jillian Michaels workout program. (I'm not sure whether the workouts were really related to lent, but it worked for me!)

I made it the whole nearly 7 weeks without sweets and I lost inches, but most importantly I really felt the weight of Christ's sacrifice. Too often Easter sneaks up on us and we haven't even had the time to stop and think about what it really means. I'm not saying you should give something up for Lent but I am saying that for those weeks leading from Ash Wednesday to Easter you should do something unique to you that will help you journey toward Easter stopping to think about each major event that took place on the way to the cross. For me giving something up was a physical reminder of the season. Every time I had to turn down dessert I was reminded that it was Lent. Doing the study helped me to think about each event in great detail. He died for us! That is huge! We should feel the gravity of that every day of our lives. Instead I think we take it for granted. We forget what he suffered. We forget that Jesus knelt down in the garden the night He knew He would be betrayed and He wept. He begged that it could be done another way. He asked God to spare Him. It wasn't easy for Him, but He gave His life for us.

I challenge you to remember everything this year. Don't just wait until Easter morning to be thankful that He died and rose again. Carry it with you for these next several weeks. Let it sink in. Think about all the unpleasantness and fully realize the magnitude of His love for you!

This year I am giving up Facebook. Hopefully every time it crosses my mind to go on Facebook it will remind me to stop and ponder. I also hope to use this time to think more clearly about what I do or do not need to buy. A financial challenge should be good for me :)

And finally, I began reading "He Chose the Nails" by Max Lucado. This should be an excellent book to facilitate deeper thought. Lucado focuses on the "gifts" of the cross. Every little thing, the nails, the robe He wore, the spit, the crown of thorns, all of them translate into a gift that has been given to us. Ideally I will use this blog to further my study by posting my thoughts and favorite passages. Feel free to follow along :)