Lent Day 1: Ash Wednesday: A Beginning

To all things a beginning, here it is the first day of Lent, and we stand/sit/jazzercise here at the start of my second 40 day blog journey. Once again these 40 days will be full of random blogs. I have already planned a few blogs and have even started several already, but by and large we will just see where the days and thoughts take us.

Some of these blogs will be serious, some hilarious, some ridiculous, and some perhaps even scandalous. Thanks for joining me on the ride, hope we both enjoy it.

Peace and love
Pastor K

Well, maybe not Peace and love quite yet, or at least not as a goodbye. I sit here and I think that maybe I want to say just a little bit more before I leave you. Today is Ash Wednesday, a day when we set aside ourselves for the 40 odd days of Lent. Most people who participate in Lent do so in part by giving something up. I have decided that this year I will not give anything up. 

I do this in part because most years I end up not making it the entire time, I cave to the desire for pop or chocolate or video games before too long. I also have come to this conclusion for another reason, on the years that I have made it the entire way to Easter it has usually been about me focusing on the one thing that I gave up and Lent was about withholding whatever minimal pleasure I was keeping myself from. 

This year I would like to pay attention to the actuality of Lent, not some minor desire I am trying to keep myself from. This is not to downgrade Lenten fasting specifically, nor is it a knock on fasting in general, it is simply me acknowledging a part of myself that sometimes hinders my spiritual growth. If you have decided to give something up for Lent, to you I say 'Kudos.' If you have not I would say 'Well, don't let that stop you from growing closer to Jesus in this time anyway.'

OK, I think that is enough this time, so let's try this again.

Peace and Love,

Pastor K