Skip to main content

Fat Tuesday

As I write this, it is Fat Tuesday, or the day before Ash Wednesday. In years past, I would be searching for a King Cake to have for the family, try to eat as many sweets as possible, for tomorrow the season of Lent begins.  For years we have practiced fasting on Ash Wednesday, and for us that now means skipping the snacks between two small meals and abstaining from meat. My heart just is not into gluttony this year. Oh, I'll probably indulge a bit on some leftover chocolate fondue this evening, but that will be about it. I started a new exercise plan the middle of last month and just don't want to mess up the gains I have made in staying on track with my nutrition.

I am getting the house ready. I have hung up a cross that I received at a Presbytery meeting. I need to put together something for the mantle, so I think I will look for sticks after work and see what I can come up with as a reminder of the season of Lent, of a clean slate with fewer distractions, so I can draw closer to God.

I have grabbed my journal and am making notes. I am trying to be ready for this season. I am marking my calendar with my fast days, and what I am to be mindful of that day. I am looking forward to walking with you during the season on Lent.

How are you getting ready today?

...Judi Geistlinger 2/13/18

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Guilt, peace, and call

Betty Hollister shares: Lots of swirly thoughts this week, but they are, for the most part, disjointed and unsettling.  The most consistent battle I have had with this study is the  guilt :  guilt that I am never going to live in a three-by-nine foot closet; guilt that I am never going to travel for days into the mountains enduring physical hardships to meet God, guilt that I can’t even work up a desire to fast on a Friday.  I refuse to feel the slightest bit guilty that I won’t beat myself as penance.  I am one of those people who tends to take on the “guilt of the world,” but I am not even tempted with that practice.  Most of the last five weeks, I have just been thinking what an odd collection of people to use as inspiration.  BUT, as I have admitted repeatedly, this whole study has made me think.  So, once I get past the guilt and look at this week’s contributions, I am struck by the contrasting emotion of peace. Can we feel guilty and sti...

Practicing a holy Lent

As I have grown in my faith, I have come to realize that the time of Lent can be powerful. I did not always know this, especially as a protestant. My Catholic friends would give up things, but I somehow felt superior that I didn't have to go in for that stuff. I could eat all the meat I wanted to on Fridays. And Easter could be powerful, with trumpet fanfare accompanying my mother playing the organ, the glory of Easter lilies, the hymns sung but once a year. Then I married Jay, whose Catholic practices impinged on my feelings of superiority. Lent included fasting and abstaining from meat on Fridays, once we were married.  So I started following some of those practices each year, and I found I really looked forward to Easter, not only to be able to have those things I had given up, but because this season of Lent became real.  I discovered that Easter was far more meaningful if I observed Lent more than just on Sundays.  So, I invite you to join us as we journe...

Pilgrimage Walking

The late Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa was a key figure in bringing about Forgiveness and Reconciliation in the Apartheid Movement.   He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 as a “leader to all individuals and groups in South Africa who, with their concern for human dignity, fraternity and democracy, incite the admiration of the world”.   When asked about his tenacity and strength, Bishop Tutu spoke of his pilgrimage walk every morning.   Every morning, the Bishop took a prayer walk.   These prayer walks provided Desmond Tutu purpose, focus, endurance and resilience for the good fight. Physiologically speaking, walking is an excellent exercise.   After a proper warm-up which usually means walking slowly until one gets up to a brisk pace, typically between five to ten minutes, it provides many of the pulmonary and cardiovascular benefits including stimulating brain endorphin and serotonin without the wear and tear of the knees, hips and back of ...