The Bald Goat

Last year, 2010, was the first time I ever observed the Lenten season. I grew up in the Church of Christ tradition and Lent was just not one of those things that we participated in. But I once attended a lecture at Abilene Christian University called “Discovering Your Inner Catholic” that changed the way I viewed so many of the traditions outside of my own. I decided last year was time to try Lent.

I gave up carbonated drinks.

This may not seem like a big deal, but I really like Coca-Cola (It’s the real thing!)

And honestly I made it through Lent without much of a problem. Was I glad to get my hands on an ice cold, sweat on the side of the glass, right out of the fountain, Coca-Cola? Absolutely! But doing without it was not the end of the world and there were days that went by that I did not think about it at all.

I spent much of the time during Lent trying to understand what the sacrifice was for. I wanted to get into this and make it meaningful and special and in some ways it was, but as I became more informed about Lenten ideas, I already knew I wanted to do for Lent this year…sort of.

I read that instead of giving up something for Lent some people actually started doing something that they would do every day during the season. Kind of a reverse Lent. Instead of showing God how much we love him by sacrificing something (usually insignificant) for Lent, people began investing themselves in a daily practice to draw closer to God.

I was intrigued by this and as this year’s Lenten season approached I tried to decide what I wanted to do each day of Lent in order to draw closer to God. And a thought came to mind and I tried to dismiss it because I thought there was no way I could accomplish this goal.

But the idea would not go away…

So here I commit to this year’s Lenten season to blog everyday.

Here are my guidelines:

• I want my posts be about God, Christianity, Faith, etc. This exercise is to help draw me closer to God and so my daily post must be one that accomplishes that goal.
• I do not want my posts to be written in advance. Ideas can be jotted down whenever they occur, but the idea is to go through this process daily, so the blogs will be written daily.
• I want to actually flesh out a thought and not just post a picture or quote. I am not getting out of my challenge that easy!

So here is what I ask of any who know me or find their way to my blog.

Leave me a comment or words of encouragment!

This process is for me to grow, and I feel some of the greatest growth I have ever had in my spiritual walk is when I have been able to share thoughts and ideas within relationships.

“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another” Proverbs 27:17

Thank you! Day one begins tomorrow!