tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31081635.post6546523816182308715..comments2023-04-06T10:30:07.575-04:00Comments on Words from Washington: Doing Lent WellDonna Claycomb Sokolhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17814361844932567318noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31081635.post-76333136025103912652013-02-26T23:36:37.225-05:002013-02-26T23:36:37.225-05:00sometimes it takes me ALL of Lent to figure out wh...sometimes it takes me ALL of Lent to figure out what God most needs to re-form in me...to which I'd have been completely blind if giving up chocolate or Cokes for 7 weeks had satisfied that need. Although the most interesting years were the one when I gave up sarcasm (can we say, bleeding tongue?) and on a more serious note, the year I tried NOT to multi-task, but to focus on only one thing or person at a time. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31081635.post-20841028540192306282013-02-26T17:32:58.759-05:002013-02-26T17:32:58.759-05:00I hear you, Donna. I've stopped centering my l...I hear you, Donna. I've stopped centering my lenten practice on giving stuff up (although I do give some things up). Rather, I've been thinking about it as a season of concerted discipline to add habits into my life that I already know would be good for me, but that busy-ness, or laziness, or apathy have kept me from doing. Some of them are sacrifices (not eating some foods I like that also happen not to be especially good for me; not using FB during certain hours of the day), but some of them are enriching, like regularly scheduled exercise, or getting up a little earlier in order to spend some time practicing piano in the morning. I suppose one might say these practices aren't really spiritual disciplines, but so much of my life involves thinking about God that the last thing I need is "devotional quiet time" that involves more reading. The kind of mind renewal that comes from exercising my body and creative energies makes me more alive to God's world. And I think that's deeply spiritual, and quite appropriate for Lent.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31081635.post-30110046261311112822013-02-26T16:58:39.099-05:002013-02-26T16:58:39.099-05:00Not very well. But to me, Lent is something that h...Not very well. But to me, Lent is something that happens TO me. Marjorie Thompson says of spiritual practices that the relevant question is "What does God want to accomplish in me through this practice?" Or words to that effect. Perhaps Lent is a journey we embark on that is more about experiencing what God is doing than our "doing?" Just a thought.Pastor Mandyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14054532169204492990noreply@blogger.com