Lent: Doing with Instead of Doing without

Lent is the season of remembrance of the sacrifice of Jesus, and most often Christians who participate respond by doing without some treat or delight.  However, I decided this year to do something different than foregoing something like eating my fav treat, dark chocolate.  I am adding the small step of daily exercise to better myself.  Believe me, this is a big sacrifice for me since I have been choosing not to make time for it on a regular basis over the past year or so.  I figure making myself a better, healthier person can't be wrong.  And, as an added bonus, I still get my dark chocolate.  Ha!  :)  

Oh, and if you participate, I'm interested in what you're doing for Lent.  

Please let me know -- it may give me ideas for next year!  

Jesus said, "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." Mark 8:34

Of course, before Ash Wednesday we enjoyed a Mardi Gras celebration at my church, All Saints' Episcopal Church, in Atlanta on Shrove Tuesday.  FYI about Lent and Shrove Tuesday:   Gregory I helped established the type of fast to prepare for Lent.  He wrote, “We abstain from flesh meat, and from all things that come from flesh, as milk, cheese, and eggs.”  This was the standard in the Middle Ages and led to the practice of getting rid of milk and eggs prior to Lent by eating pancakes on the Tuesday prior to Lent, known as Shrove Tuesday.  Here are a few pictures from our Shrove Tuesday:

Father Chuck led a short service for the burning of the palms from last year's Palm Sunday.  These ashes were used during our Ash Wednesday service the next day.  The ashes are symbolic of having our sins from the past year forgiven.

All Saints' had a New Orlean's flair with a low country boil.  And, no, that's not apple juice!  :)  There were pancakes, of course, but I stuck with this!  

My son all decked out in Mardi Gras bling!

The kids started an intense game trading masks and necklaces.

My daughter with her choir and hand bell director.

Journey Down a Spiritual Path

I am so ashamed!  I started this blog about taking "small steps daily" to reflect on what was important to me and all the big goals I want to accomplish.  It is truly overwhelming, so "small steps" in each area really is pretty much all I can do.  My first post on this blog was earlier this week and I listed what I thought were my big areas of concern in my life such as my family and career.  Heck, I even listed my house!

What I forgot to mention, however, was my spirituality.  How could I overlook it!  Spirituality is definitely an area of improvement for me.  Although I grew up going to church weekly, I never felt I connected with the Southern Baptist beliefs.  As a result, I grew away from the church and felt like I was "losing my religion."  <-- nod to REM. :)

After my undergraduate days were over and I got married, my husband and I continued going to the church where I grew up although we both knew it wasn't helping us grow spiritually.  We tried a Presbyterian church for a few months but that particular tight-knit congregation didn't seem to welcome newcomers even though we were involved from the start.  For example, I took off a day from work to help lay sod when they opened up a new building on the campus.  My husband joined their men's softball team only to be ignored and barely see any playing time although he had played softball/baseball all his life growing up as a kid.

Eventually, we discovered a wonderful, quaint Episcopal church that we really liked a few years later.  We were very active in that church and loved the diverse congregation.  I helped tend a section of their flower garden, worked with the youth group and was also a drama teacher for them, and acted in some of the adult productions.  I was the famous Shepherd #5 in the Christmas Pageant once!  LOL  Our quest for a good church home had ended.  Or so we thought.  Alas, all good things must come to an end, and so it did with this church.  A falling out occurred between the rector (who we really really liked) and a very good friend of ours who was probably the most active member of the church.  This happened so long ago that I don't remember all the details, but it involved such conflict of ideology that we left the church.

We felt like the Episcopal church was definitely the denomination of our choice, so we started attending another one on and off.  It was nice but after having our daughter, we just kinda stopped attending.  Then came our little boy and . . . you get the picture.

Now that our children have gotten older, we really felt the need to bring church life back into our family.    My brother suggested an Episcopal church in Atlanta.  We went and LOVED it!  It's quite a haul for us each Sunday since we live OTP (outside the perimeter -- I-285), but the 30-mile trek via a congested interstate (albeit not on Sunday morning) is so worth it!  The music program is amazing there, and our children are both involved in their respective children's choirs.  Additionally, my daughter is in the junior handbell choir.  They LOVE it and do not mind making the trip up there in rush hour traffic each Wednesday afternoon -- and neither do I!   :)

The inside of our church.

My daughter during a hand bell performance.

So . . . I feel my really long spiritual drought is over as we have found our perfect church home.  The congregation is warm and friendly, the rectors are wonderful and caring.  In fact, the head rector called me when he received word that my grandmother passed away -- and we're relatively new there.  It's a HUGE congregation, but I definitely feel I am not just a number there.  We love this church and are home at last.

Oh, and I edited my first post by adding "My Spirituality" to my listing of areas I am focusing on in my life!  It's about time!  :-)

Disclaimer  

This blog post is totally about me and my feelings and no one else.  

It is not meant to guide anyone toward any one particular religious denomination 

or criticize any one particular denomination.  

It is strictly an overview of my particular spiritual journey.

Why Small Steps Daily?

Well, I figure if I sort my thoughts out in this blog format, it would help me . . . and maybe anyone else who reads them, too.  I am like anyone else.  I have a family, a career, a household, and a myriad of interests (see my bio) to keep me occupied.  I do too much and don't know how to have down time.  Take tonight, for instance.  My husband has taken our kids to visit with his dad for two nights.  What am I doing?  I wasted half my time halfway doing chores like washing the sheets, staying away from a deliciously decadent dessert I made last night for a block party, and floating back and forth between Facebook and Twitter.  Oh, and I took a nap.  I mean, really.  I couldn't think of anything better to do!

Anyway, I do have some major areas of my life that need attending:

• My Personal Finances:  My husband and I are strong believers in being debt free.
• My health:  I do my best to eat well.  Also, I hit 40 a few years back and am determined to look like I'm in my 30's (or younger).  :)
• My family:  I mean both my kids and my aging parents.  Talk about two ends of the spectrum!
• My house:  I am constantly trying to decorate, to maintain, and beautify this place I call home.
• My hobbies:  I love to read, craft . . . well, just look at my bio.  :)
• My career:  I am a 21-year veteran in my field and have started grad school recently.
• My spirituality:  I am always on a pathway . . . 

So, anyhoo, these are the topics you may very well find on this blog!  It may sound like a lot, but then again, it's about taking small steps daily!