Keep the faith. Finish the race. Fight the good fight.
2 Timothy 4:7
Is it Easter yet? No, seriously, I try to think about “giving things up” in a new way. Hopefully it can make me a little stronger, a little wiser. Anything you give up?
Let’s give it up for Lent, people!
Just finished reading American Deverish by ayad akhtar. Great story. Questions faith, choice, religion.
What a perfect book for any season of spirituality. We’ll have to discuss this one during one of our sadly infrequent chats. 🙂
Maam-
Rather than viewing Lent as a time for giving up certain things, we prefer to view the Lenten season as a journey to get closer to God. We believe that reflective prayer accompanied with fasting allows us to grow hungrier for spiritual food as we get closer to God. Recall that the apostles asked Jesus why they could not cast out the demons of the wild, crazy fellow (I believe he also ran naked in the area around some caves?), and Jesus replied something to the effect that this requires fasting, prayer and the giving of alms. So we annually avoid dairy and meat products for a week and then avoid heavy red meats for as long as we can hold out during Lent; sometimes up to 2-3 weeks or longer. I also recall our ancestors did a lot of fasting for many reasons but one of the reasons was so they could afford to share their wealth with the poor, hence the alms. So there was a humanitarian aspect to the fasting and giving of alms.
Love,
Larry & Ivanka
Wonderful, insight my friends! I admire the thought behind your actions. For me, it is about getting closer to God by realizing nothing in this life is truly ours forever. Keep the faith!
Giving up napping and sweets. Also going to a soup kitchen every Friday afternoon!
Dan
Very hard to give up naps when you go as hard as you do…we’ll be able to discuss over dinner at Jonah’s! See you tonight sweet boy!