How bad is it that part of my excitement for Lent is that at the end is Easter and folks Easter is in SPRING? Especially as I sit here with my jeans still a little damp from the snow, and not quite being able to feel my toes inside my Ugg boots I am so thankful that Spring is on it's way! This year for lent I am deciding to add instead of take away. I cannot think of a food item or a social media account that I can get rid of that will really give me what I need out of Lent this year. As you know if you have read any of my other posts or know me in real life (especially if you know me in real life, and especially if you rely on me for things in real life...) I am in probably the busiest season of my life thus far. In this busy season of life I have not been spending enough time with sweet Jesus (guys, the other day the most precious Southern woman said in earnest that she was just relying on God and praying to sweet baby Jesus...love it) and this is apparent in my work and in me stress level. That means that for lent instead of giving up coffee (seriously, no one wants me to do that right now..I would be wretched) or Facebook or chocolate I am adding some time for Jesus. Every day of Lent starting today I will spend 30+ minutes in study and prayer. No matter how much school work I have or e-mails I need to respond to or other things I have to work on I will stop and pause and spend 30 minutes with Him. This will not be easy. I have not always been disciplined in a quite time as it is, so during this busy time it seems impossible. It also seems impossible though to get through the next 5 months without this time. I find time to sleep (because I LOVE to sleep) but I still find myself fatigued and cranky day in and day out. I have very little joy. And I know that it is because I know where my joy comes from and I do not have a lot of him in my life right now. As I read through my first day of the She Reads Truth Lent study this morning I was just convicted over and over to pause, take a breath, and spend some time with my Savior. The last few days I have been thinking about what I should give up and came up with nothing that I thought would really make a change in my life, but as I read just the first few lines of the devotional this morning I was like THIS. this is what I need. I need to take time to rest in Him.
http://shereadstruth.com/2015/02/18/suppressing-alleluia/
http://shereadstruth.com/2015/02/18/suppressing-alleluia/