evangelicals really need lent<\/a>), we tend to bring our particular brand of zestful enthusiasm to the project. Let\u2019s be honest: this means we will probably over-do it.<\/p>\nAt my church we put a high premium on beauty, which means the way we do things, the mode in which we do them, the materials, the methods, the movements, the aesthetic\u2026 these things are as important\u00a0as the words we use.\u00a0Ash Wednesday service is one of the more beautiful, and hence meaningful nights of the year at Redemption Church. The picture above is from the station at which we receive the imposition of ashes. It would be easy to get caught up in the moment and commit to an overzealous lenten fast that\u00a0could turn out to be a bit much.<\/p>\n
The first Friday of lent is always tough for me. One of the\u00a0lenten practices many at my church embrace involves fasting from Thursday after dinner until Friday dinner. It\u2019s a simple fast in which we don\u2019t eat food or snacks for 24 hours. My body wakes up expecting some food, and immediately lets me know about it. My heart wakes up cranky, wondering why I agreed to such a stupid discipline. I can\u2019t be alone.<\/p>\n
If you woke up this morning realizing that you cannot possibly live for six weeks without soda, or chocolate, or caffeine, or whatever your lenten fast was, don\u2019t feel bad. Remember that nearly all growth comes as a result of failure not success. It\u2019s not important to execute\u00a0your plan for lent\u00a0perfectly. It\u2019s important to persevere and adapt and learn. If it\u2019s Friday and you\u2019ve already broken your commitment twice, dust yourself off, get back on the horse, and try again.<\/p>\n
However, if the fast you\u2019ve committed to turns out to be a serious stretch, and you know it\u2019s never going to happen. Here\u2019s a way to make the fast new every morning. Every week\u00a0during Lent I\u2019m going to post a list of daily practices, a fast-like practice for each day that could be a meaningful way for you to clear out room for God to come hijack your day a little bit. The list involves a different activity for each day\u00a0that you can add to your daily routine (or take away from it). They are disciplines you can apply to the little things you already do throughout the day that are meant to change our normal behavioral patterns.<\/p>\n
The hope is that a different lenten fast every day will help you to give yourself a break if you messed it up yesterday. God\u2019s mercies are new every morning, right?<\/p>\n
Remember the point of the lenten fast. When we change these patterns\u2013take something away, add something new\u2013we create space that God can inhabit. We agree to a posture of openness in\u00a0which\u00a0something new becomes possible. These suggestions may not always have an obvious spiritual implication, but the Spirit tends to work pretty well with things that are ambiguous. I\u2019ll post a full 40 fasts for the season of lent. Here are the first four.<\/p>\n
\nFirst Short Week During Lent<\/h2>\n
Wednesday: Go to a prayer service.<\/strong>
\nFind a church that does some sort of Ash Wednesday routine and go be a part of it. If the traditions and prayers seem strangely foreign to you, just roll with it. Embrace it. See if God can come teach you something new .<\/p>\nThursday: Encourage someone you care about.\u00a0<\/strong>
\nTake a few moments to write a card or email to someone you love. Tell them what they mean to you and why you are thankful for that relationship. Follow all the way through to hitting send, or dropping the card in the mail (don\u2019t leave it to another day to send off).<\/p>\nFriday: Skip Lunch.<\/strong>
\nInstead of eating at midday, take a few moments to pray and then go back to work. If you have a lunch break during which you\u00a0can take a few moments to be\u00a0by yourself, then sit down with the psalms. Pick two of them and read through them slowly several times. Listen for God\u2019s voice to you\u2026 and drink coffee\u2026 drink lots of coffee.<\/p>\nSaturday: A walk around the block.<\/strong>
\nAt\u00a0some point during the day go outside and take a walk around the block. If you normally walk the dog, don\u2019t count that. If you normally walk around the block with someone, go by yourself. If you always walk around the block then take a new route, or go at a different time.<\/p>\nSunday: Celebrate Resurrection.<\/strong>
\nNot everybody does it this way, but at Redemption our tradition is that we\u00a0don\u2019t fast on Sundays. Sunday is meant to be the day of week that we celebrate Resurrection. Every Sunday is a feast day, not a fast day. So feast! If you gave up chocolate for lent, go to the QT, grab that Snickers bar and go to town.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As more and more evangelical Christians embrace church traditions such as lent (and\u00a0evangelicals really need lent), we tend to bring our particular brand of zestful enthusiasm to the project. Let\u2019s be honest: this means we will probably over-do it. At my church we put a high premium on beauty, which means the way we do […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1118,"featured_media":4955,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[913,1427,1541,484,1540,426],"class_list":["post-4952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-disciplines","tag-discpleship","tag-evangelicals","tag-fasting","tag-lent"],"yoast_head":"\n
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<\/a>As more and more evangelical Christians embrace church traditions such as lent (and\u00a0evangelicals really need lent<\/a>), we tend to bring our particular brand of zestful enthusiasm to the project. Let\u2019s be honest: this means we will probably over-do it.<\/p>\n