How’s your Lenten journey going? Has it slipped by without notice, or have you felt your relationship with God being refreshed and renewed?
I’m a tad late posting this blog this week. I attended a three day retreat entitled, “The Courage to Live Authentically,” Monday through Wednesday. I’ll write a later blog describing my experience. The retreat both helped me and hindered me as I sought to live out my four wholistic Lenten habits.
The retreat gave me plenty of time for silence, and I was able to really appreciate being quiet and still before God.
The retreat setting was in Carefree, Arizona and there were a multitude of reasons to give thanks and praise. I found that I’m more likely to offer words of thanks when I slow the pace of my life. Often I’m going so fast that I not only don’t have time for thanksgiving things are such a blur that I don’t see anything for which to be thankful.
I was able to keep up my habit of expressing my appreciation of at least one person during the day. This has been a blessing. Most of us receive enough negative messages during our normal day. It is enjoyable seeing the smile, the sparkle in the eye, and a straighter posture in people when they receive a word of appreciation. We all want to matter. We all want to be noticed, and we all want to be appreciated. I have felt good being able to give that simple, inexpensive (in time and money) gift.
All though is not good in my wholistic Lenten habits. The retreat center, where I stayed, had delicious food and a lot of it. I found myself chowing down losing all of my recently found discipline and control. As I confess this, I must also admit that my first priority in the food chain was not fruits and vegetables. Since returning home, I’ve been able to practice this Lenten habit more successfully.
Isn’t this like life though? We will never be perfect at it. We will stumble and fall, but we pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and continue our journey. We rejoice that we have a loving and forgiving God who wants the very best for us. As we step into the future, we celebrate this truth.
A gift, is a gift, is a gift when it comes to being appreciated, receiving forgiveness or accomplishing a task. I don’t know why these three things came to mind. Maybe because they have been the most recents gifts that I have received personally.
Again, reading the article, ‘got Lent’, I was reminded that whatever I do to bring glory to God, is honorable and accepting. By Him. He is who I do the things I do for, and in return, He blesses me. Like helping others in need seems like blessing ‘them’, in truth, it blesses me. I am thankful for Lent and the opportunity to be grateful for all that God is, and all that He is to me personally.
A gift, is a gift, is a gift when it comes to being appreciated, receiving forgiveness or accomplishing a task. I don’t know why these three things came to mind. Maybe because they have been the most recents gifts that I have received personally.
Again, reading the article, ‘got Lent’, I was reminded that whatever I do to bring glory to God, is honorable and accepting. By Him. He is who I do the things I do for, and in return, He blesses me. Like helping others in need seems like blessing ‘them’, in truth, it blesses me. I am thankful for Lent and the opportunity to be grateful for all that God is, and all that He is to me personally.
Praising Him,
Robyn
Amen! How true