A short break from hibernation...

Hibernation is WAY harder then I thought... but... I am enjoying it... besides a few obligations that I made before deciding to go on hiatus are still on the table, but everything else is quiet sailing till Easter.. .

I'm still undecided on "how" i want to hibernate... at first it was just a full "run, hide, disappear, move to Alaska or Mexico, the latter being a more logical choice, or just sleep". (does the punctuation mark go before the " or after the"... i can't ever remember).  Anywho~ let me break down my hibernation.

1. Lent... I am going to dedicate myself to Lent this year... What is Lent?? Sometimes in the Methodist/Baptist Church world, we have gotten so far form the sacraments and seasons of worship... taking Communion every Sunday is important! Why don't we?... I grew up with Lent being practiced every year... History fact: Do you know why people from New Orleans celebrate Mardi Gras / Fat Tuesday... becuase they want to sin as much as they can before Ash Wednesday starts!!  Now back to "What is Lent" (Thank you Wikipedia for the definition)

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer – through prayer, penance, repentance, alms-giving and self-denial. Its institutional purpose is heightened in the annual commemoration of Holy Week, marking the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events of the Passion of Christ on Good Friday which then culminates in Easter Sunday, marking the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

During Lenten season, some faithful observants generally commit to a form of fasting or (temporarily) give up certain types of luxury. Many Roman Catholic and some Protestant parishes often bare their altars of candles, flowers and other devotioTnal offerings while Crucifixes, religious statues and other elaborate religious paraphernalia are often veiled in violet fabrics in pious observance of this event.

I think the most important part of this definition is in the 1st paragraph "marking the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ"... when was the last time we celebrated him, through worship? I see us celebrating him with cute outfits... remember my blog post last Easter? Jacob and I having a throw down over white linen pants that screamed Miami Vice. How do we celebrate him? How can we celebrate his Resurrection with sin on our hearts? Look at what he is bringing to the table, then what we are... when's the lat time you gave up a luxury for your Savior?

2. So what luxuries am I giving up?? All social media... Facebook, Pinterest :( , Twitter (yes I have a twitter account.. after Easter you can follow me @thehuntingwidow), and I'm still contimplating the blog.

3. Why keep the blog? Because the point of Lent is not to just "give something up"... Best example: when people say (and I've been guilty of this) "I'm giving up diet coke for Lent"  Really? thats all you can do? Um.. didn't Christ die on the cross for our sins, and all you can do is give up diet coke?? Lets revert back to the definition of Lent:

The traditional purpose of Lent is the penitential preparation of the believer – through prayer, penance, repentance, alms-giving and self-denial.

I don't think diet coke is the best example of self-denial... Look at the section that says "preparation of the believer. " Lent is to prepare us understand Christ! We cannot begin to fathom what Christ did for us by dying on the Cross, but through prayer, penance, repentance, alms-giving (I interpret this as giving a tithe or giving of ones time) and self-denial.  What takes up your time? My time is filled with social media.... so in the time that I spend facebooking, blog surfing, pinning, tweeting, getting caught up in mindless junk and petty gossip (Lord,,if you change anything in me over the next 40 days, let it be that!) etc... I should spend it preparing my heart and soul for the celebration of Christ death and resurrection.... you get me??

4. Why keep the blog? While away this weekend at GASC (Georgia Association of Student Council) Convention (yes, I was with 400 students from all over GA as well as 20 of my own, learning about leadership). The other adviser with me is a good friend from work, who knows her scripture! I need to take lessons from her... i can barely remember what I read yesterday let alone memorize scripture on command... I envy her!.... So I was telling her about my "Hibernation /Lent" ( I should call it Lent, not Hibernation).  Side note: My dogs are running into the door of the office trying to get to me... they HATE it when I close myself up in the office... I just didn't feel like having a slobbery ball or toy duck constantly placed in my lap in hopes that I would throw it!).  La'Toyia, my friend from work, said that she had gone through the same thing... and the book that helped her through it : The Frazzled Female by Cindi Wood



La'Toyia stated that it changed how she juggled her life and her walk with God... Answer to prayer.  So over the next 40 days, I'm going to learn, with the help of the "Frazzled Female" and my trusty bible, how to let go, spend my time wisely and allow more time for my husband and God... preparing my life and heart for what is to come.  Now... the difficult part is knowing if I want to blog about this book?? What I've learned, what it is saying or should i give up ALL distractions and just let me be God, me, Jacob, Molly/Grace, my bible and devotional book.  The latter of this sounds like the better choice.

Ash Wednesday starts this Wednesday, February 22nd... I pray God moves with you during this season and you can draw closer to him.  I'm looking forward to what he is going to do for me!

See you all April 8th!!