Did you know Lent starts Wednesday?

An Ash Cross

Lent is 40 days long = 6 1/2 weeks (minus Sundays, which the Church counts as feast- rather than fast-days). Catholics prepare tomorrow with the feast of Mardi Gras. The Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday. (Subscribe to my daily Lenten blog on the right or in a reader feed.)

Travel broadens the horizons, they say. One of the best spiritual surprises while living in England was how much I love Lent. It's a time of deprivation. Of reflective loss. Of putting aside.

But mostly, it's a communal season for joy and gratefulness during the countdown to the celebrations of Easter. Jesus left the wonders and perfection of heaven to live with us. In the Church calendar, we set aside 40 days for a deeper awareness of God's goodness. Protestants tend to get caught up in Christmas (the arrival of the heavenly babe) and Easter (Jesus death and resurrection). We sometimes forget to live out the model of God-among-us-in-Christ that falls between.

During Lent we consider how Jesus willingly suffered to repay our debts to God. How he bridged the gap between our heavenly Father and us by taking our sins from us. How His glorious resurrection demonstrates our hopeful future. (Ah... don't you love the anticipation of new life during Lent?)

Prayer is one of the focuses of the Lenten season. This year, I'm going to find the prayers of scripture and make them - one at a time - my meditation for a day.

What ways of praying have been meaningful or helpful to you? Please share them with us.

Read more:
*The ransomed of the Lord shall return, they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Isaiah 51:11 ESV

*Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.

"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry. It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it. Isaiah 55:6-11 NLT

*In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 1 Peter 1:6 (NIV)

Moravian Prayer: Save us, O God, from the worldly distractions and petty obstacles that capture us daily. Release us from the bondage of grief and sorrow and self-pity, that we might ever enjoy the blessings you bring. Amen.

What a fast feels like

Do you fast? If so, how - or why? 

Scripture instructs us to do most disciplines in private. However, sometimes it's good to know what we can expect during those disciplines. In a country of food overabundance, fasting food is considered difficult and even impossible.

As Lent approaches, many of us may consider leaving out something in our routines. Food fasting is not impossible, but it can be difficult at times. Here are some insights from a recent 3-day food and tea fast:

Day 1: I'm hungry and looking away from food all day. This is the day of distractions. I purposefully must find things to do, reminding myself of the importance of the discipline. This fast was in conjunction with my breath-prayer: O Lord, free me to love you. The fast's purpose - freedom from the love of food to love Christ more - helped me through the day.
Day 2: I feel nauseated, cold, and have headaches as my body detoxes. I plan work that requires focus on this day. My walk seems longer, the air fresher, and the rain soothing on my face. My thinking is a bit clouded.
Day 3: Today requires mental stamina and determination; my early morning checklist develops clarity and direction about what I need to do. I wake up dizzy and cold. After a few glasses of water, my stomach settles down and my dizziness diminishes. A low-grade headache persists. I'm really hungry, but knowing I'm going to eat supper helps. (I start a fast after supper and return to eating at supper on Day 3 = 72+ hours total.) I have to run some errands, which helps pass the final longest hours.

A funny sign on the side of a building
we walked by in Baltimore

Afterwards, it's a relief to eat again. My legs ache for a day or two and I don't have energy for long walks. Gradually things return to normal.

I'm hungry, but my eating and tea intake comes under control. I gained 10 lbs last year, 5 of them on our eat-the-best-food-ever! binge in Switzerland at Christmas. I couldn't shed those pounds: my continual craving for food - especially sweets - needed resetting.

I learned at least 10 things from my
latest fast:

1. Fasting is a progressive discipline. You decide, then you determine to do it, then you do it. At any point, if the discipline breaks down, you'll cave in to the craving for food.
2. Fasting is hard work. Our bodies protest the change of pace. Our minds try to fend off hunger and food preparation. Our spirits feel deprived unless they are filled with grace by spending mealtimes with God. Emotions roller-coaster from highs to lows and back. Initially, fasting is an unpleasant chore.
3. Fasting requires rerouting our habits. Our days are regulated around meals and food. We start with breakfast and may pause for a mid-morning snack. We sip a cup of coffee or tea at our desks. We break for lunch. Later, we eat supper with friends or family. Those of us at home cook and plan the rhythms of the day or evening around the table.
4. Fasting points out longings that are excessive or unhealthy. In my case, my worst physical craving was for tea. I counted 11 teabag wrappers in the catch-bowl by our kettle. I'd had that many 14-16 oz cups of tea in two days, not including 3 teas drunk away from home. I was shocked. That's too much and became the catalyst for examining my food intake. I wanted to know if there was something behind my need to hold a cup of tea. What comfort? What provision? What habits did it reveal?
   
5. Fasting requires focus and redirection. My spiritual craving is to know God, to follow him beyond the routines of eating and drinking. My mind was scattered; I had to willfully redirect my mind to a to-do checklist because my thinking was fuzzy. Without clear goals - seeking God and accomplishing work at home (thinking through the agenda for a meeting, writing mission newsletter and an article), public meetings that followed would have been less effective.
6. Fasting is more than a physical deprivation. It reminds me that my appetites serve me; I do not serve them. Food fasting frees up time and mental space: when you don't eat, you don't have to decide what you're hungry for, hunt up a restaurant or prepare meals, or spend time eating. 
7. Fasting is detoxing. You're more aware of your surroundings in the smells, textures, sounds, and sights. The physical symptoms - which may include hunger, nausea, bad breath, headaches, dizziness, or feeling cold - are a reminder that the body is cleansing itself. I drink only filtered water (and during other fasts, herbal teas) which help process the toxins.
8. Fasting bring spiritual focus. If you offer your fast to God, he comes near to you. Not every fast is a spiritual high. Sometimes it's slogging hard work, like crossing a desert rather than refreshing one's self at a riverbank. Sometimes it's pure joy, offering up food to God as a sacrifice of praise.
9. Fasting can be creative. Not every fast is food-related. You can fast from addictions like TV, novels, computer games, or compulsively being with/out people. Listen to hear what God would like you to give to him for a day or longer. Then listen for what you want to accomplish: intercession for others? refocusing self on God's will? direction for the future? Keep that focus in mind, whatever the fast requires you to give up.
10. Fasting is rewarding. After a fast, you know you can go without. You have given yourself space to meet with God. That challenge you're facing? It may feel less daunting after you've persevered through a fast. If you've focused on hearing God's voice during the fast, you may receive clarity about priorities, how to proceed, and expected outcomes for your next tasks. 

Have you fasted? If so, what did you give up? What did you learn from your fast/s?

Read more:

*Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him. Deuteronomy 30:19,20 ESV

*Yet I planted you as a choice vine, from the purest stock. How then did you turn degenerate and become a wild vine? Jeremiah 2:21 ESV

*Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Joel 2:32 ESV

*Jesus says, "Very truly, I tell you, if you ask anything of the Father in my name, he will give it to you." John 16:23 ESV

*For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:37-39 NIV

*Paul wrote: I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. Galatians 1:6 ESV

Moravian Prayer: Loving Savior, you know that too often we stray from the way you would have us to go. We confess that we follow things of the world; we fail to seek your will for us; we do not do the things we know to do. Lord, we ask your forgiveness. Give us strength to live as you would have us live. 

Merciful God, we know that we sin and that we are in need of your saving grace. Thank you for reaching out when we call upon you. Draw us closer to you, and may we joyfully serve you. Amen.

30-Day Spiritual Bootcamp

Rebekah Metteer calls her book a "devotional and workshop," but Faith, Friendship, and Focus is a spiritual bootcamp for women. Here's the idea: get a few friends together, set aside a month of days, and plunge into these life-changing, soul-expanding spiritual disciplines.

My physical bootcamp trainer, Mark Haner, is a really nice guy. He never shouts, always encourages, and pulls you forward. But by the end of the half hour, your body has had a workout. I highly recommend his 3X/week gym session OR his online 5X/week option.

Rebekah is similarly a great encourager. Her book takes you and your girlfriends along a path of stretching your spiritual muscles, understanding God's plan for your lives, and ordering your priorities. She presents four daily prayer chores (physical reminders of our spiritual reality) and a daily focus word, prayer walks, a fast, and other encouragements. There's room to journal your progress, too. And it ends with a celebration with your friends!

I highly recommend this book to women who value:

• new life in their spiritual journey
• spiritual community as a part of friendship
• new ways to learn about God
• flexible structure that fits into your day

Have fun! It may hurt a bit. You'll learn things about God and you that surprise you. And you'll finish the month with a new awareness of your walk with Christ.

Let us know how it goes!

Rebekah's blog is "Take the Leap." Click here.

Unsatisfied? Reconsider self-gifting

An NPR comment caught my ear: "Self-gifting is a new thing. People would never have purchased for themselves fifty years ago! That would have been considered a lack of humility."

Humility is hardly a valued characteristic in a generation that grew up singing, "I Did It My Way," or their children who hummed along to, "Break Your Heart." It's all about me, my values, my wants. MY presents! Even if I buy them myself.

Around Thanksgiving I decided to "fast" from shopping until after Christmas. Our kids could pick ornaments, china, electronics, crystal, or chatchkis from our house if they needed more stuff. They sure don't want my husband or me buying junk to pile on top of their things, no matter how nice we think that junk is or how much we spend. Do your family and friends feel the same?

I can't tell you how often I've clicked out of an online shopping cart since my spending fast began. Or how many times I've forgotten and purchased a trinket or indulgence. Last weekend, I splurged on salted caramel handmade chocolates. Not because I needed them but because my eyes desired them and I forgot about my fast. Consumerism makes it easy to splurge on self-gifts: "You deserve this." "You have looked for this for a long time." (Do three weeks feel long to you?) "It's on sale." Etc.

In contrast, God's self-gifts are unlike ours. He doesn't look for His own advantage, for what we can give Him. Instead, He spends Himself freely on us as a response of His loving character. He wants to be with us. He cherishes the creatures He has made enough to reach out to us through Jesus (aptly cliched  as "the Reason for the season.")

God refuses to be our Gimme-Genie. The biblical writer James warns, "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures." (James 4:3)

I've asked God for a lot of things: health, safety, money for school, and peace in the family. He's often responded with, "Yes, gladly!" But not always. Sometimes we get sick. We run out of resources. Relationships churn through difficult times. God doesn't always give us what we think we deserve or want. Faith demands trust in a God who knows what is best and right for us and those we care about.

Instead of spending money and resources on our pleasures, shall we consider giving ourselves away this month? After all, when we belong to God, we should imitate him in all things. We can gift love to the unlovable. Justice instead of self-service. Mercy instead of punitive action. Grace to the most undeserving. Friendship with the unlovely. Generosity to the poor.

That kind of self-giving is ultimately satisfying and soul-filling. Plus you skip the huge debts and financial self-immolation that hits after the holidays are over. What do you think?

Read more:
*You are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long. Psalm 25:5

*Christ says, “Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.” Matthew 7:7

*Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” John 6:35 NIV

*[In the last week of his life, Jesus said,] "Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." John 16:22-24

Moravian Prayer: O God of our salvation, eternal hope and source of strength, let our lives be a response to your steadfast love and grace. Amen.