Lent:
The period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday and so includes forty weekdays.
The season of Lent began yesterday. I love this time of year. It's a time of reflection after the overloaded holiday season. Lent is a season of reset; a time to look into our lives and see if we are truly living for Jesus and like Jesus.
Lent is a time of remembrance. Many sacrifice or give something up in order to remember the sacrifice Jesus made through his fasting and sacrifice on the cross. While I completely understand this practice and have participated, I felt a need to change things up this year. You know me, I am a lifestyle change person. When I do something like giving something up, I want it to be for good not for forty days.
I hadn't really thought about what I wanted to do to reset myself this season until yesterday. I was having lunch with a friend and we were discussing a myriad of topics. One thing we talked about was living an intentional life. We are currently going through a study called, Anything. In this study, Jennie Allen discusses a moment in her life when she felt called to live beyond just knowing God and going through the routine. She wanted to give God anything. As we talked about life and intention, I realized that giving my anything doesn't necessarily have to mean giving something up. While life may shift and move and things may make an exit, I learned that giving my everything meant living daily with intention.
Lent, for me, will be getting into the habit of living intentionally for God. My life may not look that much different to the outside world, but, on the inside, everything has changed. I can live intentionally for God while still going about my daily life. What is my attitude when I am doing the dishes or folding clothes for the bazillionth time? How am I speaking to my children? Am I building my husband up with my words or tearing him down? Do I respect him with my actions? How am I treating my friends? Am I nurturing my relationships? Am I spending more time talking behind their backs or having healthy conversations with them face-to-face? All of this is living intentionally for the Lord.
If I choose to live intentionally for Jesus, then my daily life should reflect him, his love, and his sacrifice. Living intentionally means I love the one who is difficult to love. I sacrifice my time or comfort for the sake of someone else. I serve for the glory of God not the glory of self. I give freely not with a tight fist.
For the next 40 days I choose to live intentionally hoping to make this a lifestyle change and not just a seasonal shift. Jesus gave his life for me. He didn't just give me forty days. He gave everything. Wouldn't it behoove me to give everything to him by living intentionally for him in my daily life? I think so.
'Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.' Matthew 16:24
Love & Blessings,
Megan
The period preceding Easter that in the Christian Church is devoted to fasting, abstinence, and penitence in commemoration of Christ's fasting in the wilderness. In the Western Church it runs from Ash Wednesday to Holy Saturday and so includes forty weekdays.
The season of Lent began yesterday. I love this time of year. It's a time of reflection after the overloaded holiday season. Lent is a season of reset; a time to look into our lives and see if we are truly living for Jesus and like Jesus.
Lent is a time of remembrance. Many sacrifice or give something up in order to remember the sacrifice Jesus made through his fasting and sacrifice on the cross. While I completely understand this practice and have participated, I felt a need to change things up this year. You know me, I am a lifestyle change person. When I do something like giving something up, I want it to be for good not for forty days.
I hadn't really thought about what I wanted to do to reset myself this season until yesterday. I was having lunch with a friend and we were discussing a myriad of topics. One thing we talked about was living an intentional life. We are currently going through a study called, Anything. In this study, Jennie Allen discusses a moment in her life when she felt called to live beyond just knowing God and going through the routine. She wanted to give God anything. As we talked about life and intention, I realized that giving my anything doesn't necessarily have to mean giving something up. While life may shift and move and things may make an exit, I learned that giving my everything meant living daily with intention.
Lent, for me, will be getting into the habit of living intentionally for God. My life may not look that much different to the outside world, but, on the inside, everything has changed. I can live intentionally for God while still going about my daily life. What is my attitude when I am doing the dishes or folding clothes for the bazillionth time? How am I speaking to my children? Am I building my husband up with my words or tearing him down? Do I respect him with my actions? How am I treating my friends? Am I nurturing my relationships? Am I spending more time talking behind their backs or having healthy conversations with them face-to-face? All of this is living intentionally for the Lord.
If I choose to live intentionally for Jesus, then my daily life should reflect him, his love, and his sacrifice. Living intentionally means I love the one who is difficult to love. I sacrifice my time or comfort for the sake of someone else. I serve for the glory of God not the glory of self. I give freely not with a tight fist.
For the next 40 days I choose to live intentionally hoping to make this a lifestyle change and not just a seasonal shift. Jesus gave his life for me. He didn't just give me forty days. He gave everything. Wouldn't it behoove me to give everything to him by living intentionally for him in my daily life? I think so.
'Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.' Matthew 16:24
Love & Blessings,
Megan
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