Starting Something

A little peak inside my soul. During the season of Lent, I have changed some things around. A little adjusting. No big deal. I am fasting via Facebook (FB) for the Lenten season. Also, I am working hard to be more diligent with my quiet time. Really reading the word (Life Application Study Bible NIV) and praying. I wasn't willing to do an actual food fast because I am still nursing Baby Sam. I have had many quiet, but poignant "ah-ha" moments since Ash Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent.

A couple of things have happened...

• I am not sidetracked with FB and I feel inspired to blog.
• I am doing a better job writing down my children's adorable musings. (This is thanks to my Aunt Gayle who reminded me what a treasure my blog will be to my children one day.) Oh, my kids? I had only really thought of how I love my blog, but how great would it be for Jack, Bodie and Sam to know my love for them as a young mother and how I treasure their words and thoughts? Not to mention recording what those sweet words were! Pretty fantastic.
• The baby books are caught up and the babies they honor are happy.
• I get this sense that I am always bumbling, struggling, striving not to feel like a complete train wreck. To keep me, my home, my kids and my state of mind at somewhat of a homeostasis. My FB fast has helped a lot.
• I am reading passages from the Book of Common Prayer. It's a chunk of daily Bible reading and I have grown to love it.
  
• All of this reading made me curious and I have dug in to find out who some of these authors really were and what they were all about.
  
• I have learned that Psalms is a model of Christian life. (I was a little lost as the Psalms seemed to be "all over the place" if you read very many.) Some Psalms are mountain top moments and some are valley bound. They are written during praising, mourning, war time and peace. This simple fact helps me to understand where the Psalmist are coming from. There are also 8+ authors of Psalms, so the fact that the flow is wonky is no surprise. If it is a model of our lives, my life and flow are wonky, too, sometimes. :)
  
• That Jeremiah (the author of my life's verse) was a prophet and no one in Judah listened. He faithfully advised the people for 40 years and everyone ignored his prophesies. He was never what the world would have considered "a success." But, his scriptures inspire me so.
  
• That Paul, in his letter to the Romans, had only heard of the church being started there. He did not know the Roman church, nor had he ever been there. But, he wrote to them to encourage them and teach them what he knew about the Christian faith. Which gives us this awesome road map for faith and our belief in Jesus Christ.
• A few days into Lent, my Aunt Teddi encouraged a group of ladies at a prayer breakfast to "Pray the Word daily." I have. It's funny when someone's words ring in your ears. I put down all of my devotionals that gave me a thimble full of scripture and I picked up the Good Book.
  
• A friend of mine named, Lisa, told me the same day, that she was mentoring some young ladies and she found that they "weren't reading their Bibles!" (a little embarrassed, her words stung). Don't worry, Lisa, in a good way. A kick in the pants is quite often a good thing. Her words are ringing in my ears, too.
  
• My pastor and I talked briefly about the daily scripture readings (which are encouraged church wide and beyond.) I asked what he does before he reads his scripture, trying to get a roadmap, an owner's manual, an idea of how this Bible reading goes? I asked, "Do you pray for clarity or for direction?" He said, "I just pray a very simple prayer and pray for peace and then I dig in." He went on, "If we believe as Christ taught that the Bible is the bread of life, it is like eating. We need to eat everyday to live. But, we don't always need for our meal to be fantastic, we just need to have food to sustain our bodies. We will eat a great meal, every other week, perhaps, maybe more often. Scripture reading is very similar. It won't always be fantastic, but it will sustain you and when you do have a really dynamite revelation, it will stand out, just like a dynamite meal. Relax - in - the - word."
• Really? Wow. His simple advice has meant the world to me. I am able to relax and not wait for God to hit me over the head with revelations and signs and wonders. For the first time, I am not stressed out when reading the Bible, which is awesome.
• Our church observes Lent and being raised Baptist, this is all kind of new to me. It really has been a great experience. I am listening. "Hello God, I've got my ears on."
  
• I have sweet memories of waking up with the sunrise at my grandmother's house. Baba would be curled up in her chair, reading her Bible. Sometimes, she would be praying (with Bible in hand) or just finishing her quiet time. I feel connected to her now as I spend time reading the scriptures. I treasure this.
• I called my Aunt Carole and thanked her for this big Bible that she gave to me the weekend I graduated from the University of Georgia. It is this huge lug of a Bible that has mainly been read on Sundays. It is 12 years old and for the first time, I have really begun to study with it. She doesn't remember giving it to me. Funny and true. She signed the inside, so, I give her credit anyhow. :) You don't really know the impact you make on others. Thank you to my Aunt Gayle, my Aunt Teddi, my Baba, my Aunt Carole, my pastor, Kris McDaniel and my friend, Lisa Inlow for helping to make my Lenten-fast pack a punch.

Fondly,