I want a diet dp about twice a day these days (which is how often I was drinking them before lent). I'm not dying or anything without, but there have been a few times when one sounded realllly good.
I often get the "you're not Catholic" reaction to me giving up things for Lent. That is correct, I am not Catholic, I'm Methodist, but I still like to take part. In the past I have basically just done the "self-denial/fasting" part (i.e. given one or many things up), however this year I am trying to bring more meaning to all of it, and really want to go further into it. The idea of using the time to not only give something up but to also work on bettering myself is flashing like a huge billboard in my mind right now. I have decided to better myself by working on body, spirit, and mind during this time.
Body
I think giving up all the crap food that I gave up along with training for a half ironman pretty much takes care of the body stuff! For this, I'm just trying to be healthy and take care of myself. I am usually pretty good about this, whether it is Lent or not, but it does not hurt to take extra care during this time.
Spirit
I do not write much about my faith and beliefs on my blog. I'm not entirely sure why, perhaps religion in general seems a bit taboo to talk about, but it has occurred to me recently that I would not want anyone to ever doubt that I am a Christian and that my faith is indeed very important to me. During Lent, I have started reading the Bible every night. In college, I set out to read the Bible in a year and am not sure I made it more than two weeks. I cannot think of a more opportune time for myself to take on this challenge again. I have read that it takes forty days to make something habit...and how long does Lent happen to be? I'm not going to say I have to read it all in a year, but I hope I get in a much better practice of reading.
I'm starting from the beginning and going from there. I'm about halfway through Genesis and look forward to getting to read more of the story each night. I honestly have not studied the Bible since high school and earlier, so while I know the general story of many of the books of the Bible, each reading still reads like a brand new story. It is funny to look back to everything I learned when I was little and some of the stories that seemed to have the biggest plot and biggest lesson only take up a few verses in the Bible. By no means does that mean they are not big stories and not important - I'm just shocked how quickly the stories come and go. Adam and Eve? The people were were all made from? They hardly get more than a page or two in Genesis! If you would have asked me before I started reading it all again, I would have assumed they got much more. I am sure some of you who have studied the Bible more recently than myself are laughing right now, but oh well. I'm trying. And I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
I am also going to make an effort to go to church when I can. As triathletes, it is hard to balance everything out, long run Saturday, long ride Sunday...when do you go to church? I think Sunday nights might end up working out well. If it doesn't work out that I can go, I am still going to do "pajama church" as Greg Matte of First Baptist calls it - watch it online. I had my first session of what I call "Biker Church" last Thursday night - watched church online while riding my bike trainer. I was just doing an easy spin keeping my cadence high so was able to entirely focus - it was actually pretty cool. By the end I was sweating, crying, and rejoicing all at the same time.
First Baptist started studying Genesis last August and all the sermons are online. I was a bit torn at first - trying to figure out if I should just read at the pace that I can watch the sermons which are chronologically following Genesis, or just continue to read at my own pace and watch the sermons when I can. There are 18 sermons so far on Genesis, so I know it is going to take me a while to study each of them and catch up to where they are, but I figured I'd continue to read at the pace that I am and watch the videos as they come. The readings are still fresh in my mind, and the sermons go over them in detail as well.
Mind
I was not sure how to entirely address this one, but I have come up with two things: reading more, and working on cleaning/organizing my apartment. The reading is already taken care of somewhat by reading the Bible, but I just need to read more in general. I picked up Gary Chapman's Love as a Way of Life recently and am excited to read that after reading his famous book The Five Love Languages over the summer.
Now for the cleaning/organizing. My apartment isn't exactly messy or crazy out of control, but I just have too much stuff and it bothers me. I need to clean out a lot and donate it to Goodwill or somewhere similar, and need to organize my three walk-in closets as well (well, maybe just two of them...my main one with all my clothes is okay). I also need to organize my drawers/cabinets around my apartment. Some have great purpose and are clean and neatly organized while others are just full of random stuff. So far I have made great progress...I organized the top drawer in my bedside table. Watch out. One drawer down, several more drawers and 2 closets to go!
So I guess to sum it up, I'm using this Lent as a time to better myself, and I hope and pray that I do end up a better person come this Easter. I'm looking at this as a time to renew and appreciate my relationships with God and all the other people in my life. All of this may seem a bit selfish, or "me-centered" in that I don't really talk about doing anything for anyone else during this time. I hope, though, that by reconnecting with me, the true me, that I can then, in turn, help others more than I ever have in the past. I have a lot of soul-searching to do during this time, and even more praying and reading to do. I have prayed every night for a few years that God can give me the faith to trust in His plan for me, and I'm currently being tried more than ever before.
I often get the "you're not Catholic" reaction to me giving up things for Lent. That is correct, I am not Catholic, I'm Methodist, but I still like to take part. In the past I have basically just done the "self-denial/fasting" part (i.e. given one or many things up), however this year I am trying to bring more meaning to all of it, and really want to go further into it. The idea of using the time to not only give something up but to also work on bettering myself is flashing like a huge billboard in my mind right now. I have decided to better myself by working on body, spirit, and mind during this time.
Body
I think giving up all the crap food that I gave up along with training for a half ironman pretty much takes care of the body stuff! For this, I'm just trying to be healthy and take care of myself. I am usually pretty good about this, whether it is Lent or not, but it does not hurt to take extra care during this time.
Spirit
I do not write much about my faith and beliefs on my blog. I'm not entirely sure why, perhaps religion in general seems a bit taboo to talk about, but it has occurred to me recently that I would not want anyone to ever doubt that I am a Christian and that my faith is indeed very important to me. During Lent, I have started reading the Bible every night. In college, I set out to read the Bible in a year and am not sure I made it more than two weeks. I cannot think of a more opportune time for myself to take on this challenge again. I have read that it takes forty days to make something habit...and how long does Lent happen to be? I'm not going to say I have to read it all in a year, but I hope I get in a much better practice of reading.
I'm starting from the beginning and going from there. I'm about halfway through Genesis and look forward to getting to read more of the story each night. I honestly have not studied the Bible since high school and earlier, so while I know the general story of many of the books of the Bible, each reading still reads like a brand new story. It is funny to look back to everything I learned when I was little and some of the stories that seemed to have the biggest plot and biggest lesson only take up a few verses in the Bible. By no means does that mean they are not big stories and not important - I'm just shocked how quickly the stories come and go. Adam and Eve? The people were were all made from? They hardly get more than a page or two in Genesis! If you would have asked me before I started reading it all again, I would have assumed they got much more. I am sure some of you who have studied the Bible more recently than myself are laughing right now, but oh well. I'm trying. And I'm thoroughly enjoying it.
I am also going to make an effort to go to church when I can. As triathletes, it is hard to balance everything out, long run Saturday, long ride Sunday...when do you go to church? I think Sunday nights might end up working out well. If it doesn't work out that I can go, I am still going to do "pajama church" as Greg Matte of First Baptist calls it - watch it online. I had my first session of what I call "Biker Church" last Thursday night - watched church online while riding my bike trainer. I was just doing an easy spin keeping my cadence high so was able to entirely focus - it was actually pretty cool. By the end I was sweating, crying, and rejoicing all at the same time.
First Baptist started studying Genesis last August and all the sermons are online. I was a bit torn at first - trying to figure out if I should just read at the pace that I can watch the sermons which are chronologically following Genesis, or just continue to read at my own pace and watch the sermons when I can. There are 18 sermons so far on Genesis, so I know it is going to take me a while to study each of them and catch up to where they are, but I figured I'd continue to read at the pace that I am and watch the videos as they come. The readings are still fresh in my mind, and the sermons go over them in detail as well.
Mind
I was not sure how to entirely address this one, but I have come up with two things: reading more, and working on cleaning/organizing my apartment. The reading is already taken care of somewhat by reading the Bible, but I just need to read more in general. I picked up Gary Chapman's Love as a Way of Life recently and am excited to read that after reading his famous book The Five Love Languages over the summer.
Now for the cleaning/organizing. My apartment isn't exactly messy or crazy out of control, but I just have too much stuff and it bothers me. I need to clean out a lot and donate it to Goodwill or somewhere similar, and need to organize my three walk-in closets as well (well, maybe just two of them...my main one with all my clothes is okay). I also need to organize my drawers/cabinets around my apartment. Some have great purpose and are clean and neatly organized while others are just full of random stuff. So far I have made great progress...I organized the top drawer in my bedside table. Watch out. One drawer down, several more drawers and 2 closets to go!
So I guess to sum it up, I'm using this Lent as a time to better myself, and I hope and pray that I do end up a better person come this Easter. I'm looking at this as a time to renew and appreciate my relationships with God and all the other people in my life. All of this may seem a bit selfish, or "me-centered" in that I don't really talk about doing anything for anyone else during this time. I hope, though, that by reconnecting with me, the true me, that I can then, in turn, help others more than I ever have in the past. I have a lot of soul-searching to do during this time, and even more praying and reading to do. I have prayed every night for a few years that God can give me the faith to trust in His plan for me, and I'm currently being tried more than ever before.
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