Isaiah 58

First of all, a funny note: My mom figured out I had a new blog and posted it on her Facebook page yesterday morning. Subsequently, yesterday resulted in more than half of the total pageviews since the creation of the blog. Thanks, Mom.

I mentioned last week in my first Lenten post that I would be devoting more time in the mornings to reading and prayer. I won't talk about this every day, but my intent is to update you periodically on what God is teaching me through that time.

Much of the reflection I've had so far has centered around compassion. I know that I used to be a more compassionate person. Honestly, I think it's easy to get cynical when you work in the church (maybe not for everyone, but I'm sure at least some pastors would agree with me). You know in Jeremiah where God is talking about the new covenant and says "I will give them a heart of flesh instead of a heart of stone"? Yeah, my heart had gotten a little rocky over the past year. But I didn't even realize it until now.

Through these morning readings and meditation times, I've felt one little piece of that callousness breaking off at a time. And I rejoice in that.

One of the readings last week was from Isaiah 58. If you haven't read this chapter, I'd encourage you to. It portrays God speaking to Israel about the kind of "fasting" they do--the kind that's just outward show to honor themselves and uphold ritual. Instead, he instructs them to pursue another type of fast, the kind "acceptable to the Lord." The whole chapter is great, but here are the verses that stuck out to me:

"If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday." (verses 9b-10)

I had been pretty consumed with my own problems as of late, but reading this brought me back to the fact that it's not all about me. There are so many things bigger than myself and my own quandaries. Real needs all over the world and in people around me that should break my heart every day.

Out of this, I felt led to add something else to Lent: Each week until Easter, I will participate in some sort of activity that provides for someone else, for "the needs of the afflicted." Most of them probably won't be too groundbreaking, but all will be meaningful. I'll be posting about these as they happen, so keep watching! :)

Fun Five Friday [Hydrangeas and Cheerios]

Did you know that it's physiologically impossible to feel stressed out and thankful at the same time? (Try it next time you're about to hyperventilate.)

I love that idea. There was a time when I kept a "gratitude journal" where I'd write down all the things I was thankful for at the end of each day. It really helped to keep things in perspective.

I decided to have one day where I post five things about the week that I'm grateful for/that make me happy. I probably should have put this on a stress-prone day, like Monday or Tuesday, but I liked the alliteration of "Fun Five Friday" too much to give it up. These may be events, songs, things, whatever. Hopefully they'll put you in mind of your own blessings, or at least make you smile. :)

So, without further ado, the pilot post for Fun Five Friday...

1. Hydrangeas. I never thought I liked hydrangeas all that much...they were just okay. But Travis bought me some for Valentine's Day, and they look so pretty bunched together in a vase!

Excuse the bad phone pic.

2. Fridays off work. This semester, I've ended up working at the coffeehouse from 7:30am - 4:30pm almost every Saturday. It isn't that bad until you consider that I also always work Fridays from 2pm  - 7pm.
Leave at 7pm, back at 7:30am, work all day, and work at the church on Sunday morning? Goodbye, sweet weekend. I'm glad we had so many years together.
But! I talked to my general manager, who was very understanding, so I should have Fridays off from now on. At least for a while.


3. Night Club Cardio. Fridays off means I get to attend this afternoon workout class with my dear friend Katherine D. We used to go to Zumba, but those mid-week classes at our gym get sooo crowded that they're not fun. So we're glad to go to this class together!

4. Florence and the Machine's new album, Ceremonials (except for the one creepy-sounding song). My friend Laura gave me this CD a few weeks ago and I literally have not taken it out of the player in my car. Well, I did once, but that was only because Travis was tired of it. After he got out of the car, I sneakily put it back in. 

In particular, check out "Shake It Out," "No Light, No Light" and "All This and Heaven Too." 

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Laura and I aren't digging Flo's hair on the album cover, so I chose this instead.

5. Peanut Butter Cheerios. They have been sold out every week at both HEB's. Until now.

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Behold the glory.

What are you thankful for this week?

A post for Ash Wednesday

A large part of the reason I chose to begin this blog at this particular time is because today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

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Not this kind. This is lint.

I really love Lent. Many people would probably say that Advent (the time leading up to Christmas) is their favorite season in the church, because of the inherent joy. I love Advent, too, but Lent is my favorite because it's a time of contemplation. I don't think we allow ourselves enough time for contemplation in the church as a whole.

Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are probably my two favorite services of the whole year, as weird as that sounds. I love the raw reality and the contemplative aspect. I love the symbolism of stripping the sanctuary, and I love to see it decorated again on Easter morning. I love the ashes on our foreheads that remind us of how small and broken we truly are, and how big the grace of the cross is.

These forty days are a time of preparation for Easter (traditionally a time of preparation for baptism into the Christian faith), and they also bring to mind the forty days that Christ spent in the wilderness preparing for his ministry and work on earth. Because of this, many believers in different traditions choose to "fast" from something during Lent--it could be food-related, technology-related, money-related. Others choose to add a new task, something they wouldn't normally do--spend time in solitude and meditation, spend time in service to others.

My Lenten practice this year encompasses both of those aspects. Because my husband often has work at 7 am or class at 8 am, and I work a lot of afternoons at the moment, I end up wasting a lot of time in the morning perusing the internet. Or watching Downton Abbey on Netflix.

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Yes, somehow I got hooked, too.

I love getting up and getting things accomplished in the morning. Morning time is my best time of day, energy-wise and brain-wise. So I realized that I was wasting a lot of it, and that I really wasn't using my "best" things for God. Thus, during Lent this year, I am devoting my morning "alone" time (lately spent in frivolous occupation) to reading and reflection on Scripture, then either journaling or blogging about it. 

I'll talk about other things on here besides my readings, but I may talk about them sometimes, and I hope that this will help me be more accountable to this blog.

What are you doing for Lent?

The start of something.

This is the third blog I've had in my lifetime. (If you don't count that weird "xanga" craze in ninth and tenth grade...let's hope those things never resurface.)

The first blog was created when I went to China for six weeks, the summer after my sophomore year of college.
The second blog had its heyday during my wedding-planning stage. As of today, I've been married for exactly nine months (yeah, I know, getting super old). And thank the Lord, I never have to plan my wedding again.

I did like my wedding blog, but it was attached to my maiden-name email, which was kind of annoying after a while. I'm sure I could have switched it over (hello, this is Google), but I just felt like leaving it as a complete unit. We're on to new adventures now...

My husband is finishing undergrad as a married person, which is sort of weird.
But that means for our first year of marriage, we've gotten to stay in our college town with the majority of our friends, which has been wonderful.
I applied to three seminaries in January, and I've been accepted to two so far!
We have no idea where we're going to live next year.
Or how we are going to pay for my schooling.

So this is a new stage of life, and it deserves a new internet start. Thanks for joining me--I hope you enjoy. :)