Lent and Preparing for the Prize

I'm running a race on Saturday.  It's really not that long - 8K - but the significance of it is HUGE for me.  It is the first race I've run in over 2 years.  My first race since my pregnancy with Brayden, since bedrest and a c-section.  The fact that I'm even up for running it feels like a tremendous victory to me. For the past 8 weeks, I've been focused on preparing for the day - March 12th.   It has been on my calendar for months and all my training was with this race in mind.  The rigor of the training has been so satisfying.  The date on the calendar has been so helpful for my staying focused.  But, truth be told, I'm terribly afraid to face the day after the race.  Will I continue to willingly push myself so hard?  Is my own health and fitness enough of a goal?  If I'm completely honest, I have to admit, sometimes it just isn't.

Until not too many years ago, I thought Lent was about giving up chocolate or sweets.  And maybe for some, it is.  But really, it has the potential to be so, so much more than that.  Lent is, for my heart, what the past 8 weeks have been for my body - a season of focused preparation with my eye on the goal.  This morning, I could almost hear a collective sigh of relief as we all arose to the beginning of this Holy season.   Finally, finally, this sacred season that begins so late this year is here.  This season that, through it's discipline and structure, helps us see more clearly that which we truly long for.  This season that helps us scrape away all the unnecessaries and distractions........those things that "aren't helpful to us", as Fr. Buda said in this morning's Mass.....so that we can see that which we're really made for.  Because, ultimately, heaven is our goal isn't it?  Ash Wednesday, Lent, Easter are all just markers along the path.  Sacred markers, but still not the true prize.  The weightiness of deprivation that Lent can bring serves not only to make the joy of the Resurrection all the sweeter but also to remind me to stay focused on the True Prize the rest of the year as well.

How grateful I am for the gentle cadence of the liturgical year to provide steady rhythm and focus for this wandering heart.  God knows I need it!

Repost: Ash Wednesday

Today marks the beginning of the 40 day period of Lent leading up to Easter. It's a solemn yet rich and beautiful time of focusing on fasting, giving, and praying with the ultimate goal of going deeper in relationship with God and preparing our hearts to more fully experience the celebration of Easter. In our family, Lent has come to be so much more about what we're gaining than what we've given up. The sorrow of Good Friday and the joy of Easter reach new magnitudes for us after journeying through these 40 days.

A blessed Lent to all.

(I've posted some lenten resources on my sidebar including a new one I snagged from my friend Susan. Thanks, Susan!)

Quietly Waiting

We will be taking time to be quiet over the next couple of days as we anticipate the Resurrection.

We wish a blessed Easter to all who stop by here.

Images from www.fisheaters.com

Couch Chronicles - Vol. 6 (Holy Week Photo Edition)

When you haven't the patience to hard boil eggs and Mom and Dad have neglected to pick up an Easter-Egg-Dyeing-Kit, you're forced to get creative and research the ancient art of egg-blowing. (The girls apparently found the syringe to be optional. All they really needed was a mouthful of hot air.)


I entered the kitchen at lunch-time to find this lovely basket of blown beauties. They made the dye with food coloring and vinegar, so I'm told.

(Yes, two are them are "piggy eggs" and a few others are embellished with one of our favorite color combinations, orange and blue - Go Hoos.)

Holy Week: Civil War Reconstruction or the Cross?

August and I made a decision earlier this week which has brought much joy to our children. One evening, during our family devotions, we read these words of Jesus from the Gospel of John.

"You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me."

Hmmm.......that really got my attention. You see, not knowing when this baby may come or how many days I'll spend in the hospital between now and then, it has been my intent to cram in as much school as we can every day. And yet, here we find ourselves in Holy Week, anticipating the Resurrection, and not wanting to miss out on any bit of grace God has for us in it. I'm not implying that the two must be mutually exclusive, but for me, at this particular season, I know that they are. I don't believe our celebration of the Resurrection is meant to be one moment in time but rather an ongoing experience of worship and transformation. Therefore, going back to one of my favorite Laura Berquist quotes, "Formation is more important than information," we have put away the math, grammar, and history books for the week. We've decided, rather than watching Holy Week pass us by, we will actively engage in it, walking the road to the cross with Jesus. I suspect, not only will it be WAY more fun than Civil War Reconstruction, but it will also bear far more eternal fruit.

There is a wonderful centuries old observance called Stations of the Cross (also sometimes referred to as the "Way of the Cross"). The Stations are a series of 14 images representing events on Jesus's road from Pilate's house to the Cross. Interestingly, Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ", out several years ago, was based on the Stations of the Cross. Since I am really only just becoming familiar with this ancient devotion, I went hunting online to understand it better. I found some really helpful articles here (The Stations of the Cross and Other Devotions to the Passion) and here (The Cross as a Journey: The Stations of the Cross for Protestant Worship) about this devotion. I had already been thinking the Stations would be a wonderful way to prepare our hearts for Easter when I received a box full of craft supplies from Jen at Wildflowers and Marbles to make mini-Stations for inside our home!

So Tuesday we covered our family room rug with newspapers and that space became craft central. (Can I just say how much out of my comfort zone having tacky glue in the family room places me!!) I stayed on my usual perch while the girls went to town gluing and creating. Smiles, giggles, and singing (with Meredith Andrews) abounded and I'm glad to report there were no glue catastrophes!

My camera battery was dying so I had no flash for most of these photos. They are also taken primarily from only one vantage point - MINE - since I don't move much. Also, I know we could have moved the laundry baskets out of the family room prior to taking the photos but instead we decided to keep it real for you. Come on along on our journey towards Easter!

Since every worthwhile project needs a Project Manager, Marina stepped up to the plate.












I was delighted to hear Eliza counting her popsicle sticks by 2's!









Oh, and once (just one time!) I moved to the other couch so I could also get pictures of Juliette. (No scolding in the comments box if you notice the different camera angle.)

One down, thirteen to go!

Project complete!

Tomorrow evening (Friday), once the sun goes down, we will turn off all the lights in the house and light all 14 votives. One by one, we'll read and meditate on these 14 events leading up to Jesus's death. After each scene, we will pray together and then extinguish that candle. Upon extinguishing the 14th candle, we will be in complete darkness, waiting in anticipation for the Light that is the Resurrected Jesus at Easter.