Resources for Lent

My heart longs. I’m making pancakes for tonight’s Shrove Tuesday celebration, but my soul has moved on. Past the celebration, forward to the thin place where the Holy Spirit draws near as breath.

Tomorrow, black ash will mark me. An outward sign on my forehead of an inward condition of my heart. I welcome Lent always, but this year I’ve thrown the door wide open and begged the season inside. I’ve never felt the solemn time of preparation beckon me so surely, so strongly before. I feel the rhythm of the Kingdom beating, moving me from feasting, to fasting, into the promise of love everlasting.

Growing up with a liturgical tradition of Lent, I’ve fasted, given up, taken on, and even ignored the 40 days leading up to Easter. I do not have fond memories of my earliest knowledge of Lent from my Catholic school days. But, the Lord has redeemed the pain of those years and what I once abhorred and resisted, I now crave. It’s not Lent I abhorred, it was religion. And it’s not Lent I crave, it’s Jesus.

In a favorite book Thin Places: An Evangelical Journey into Celtic Christianity by Tracy Balzer, she defines:

A thin place is any place that creates a space and an atmosphere that inspires us to be honest before God and listen to the deep murmurings of the His Spirit within us.

A thin place is a tangible expression of what I call a Sabbath Moment. I’m welcoming this season of Lent as a thin place, a sacred space of sabbath. For the first time in years, I do not have a plan. What to give up? What to take on? I’m trusting that if I show up faithfully to sabbath with my Father in the thinnest of places, He will provide. I’m giving Him a surrendered heart and embracing the season of refinement I know in faith He will provide.

Lent as a thin place is a huge leap of faith for me as I stir pancakes for tonight’s feast.

I suffer from First World Malaise – a muchness of everything. I’m over-consumed, over-committed, over-indulged, and over-wifi’d! And, I’m over it.

I wonder how many times a week I say and hear the phrase, ‘it’s all good’? There’s so much clutter in my life and almost all of it IS good. Oh and I’m so very grateful. But, I’m feeling far from the sabbath-y, sacred places I know with Him. I hear His voice, ‘return to me’. Yet, I feel as if I’m drowning in a sea of worldliness and my outstretched hands aren’t long enough to reach heavenly. I remember it is not my arms that will lift me out, but His.

Throughout the Old Testament, our forefather’s named places and built altars to honor and glorify God. I’ve named a few recently, too. I don’t have a name for this Lenten season. But, I’m laying the foundation, smoothing the stones, and trusting that the Lord will show up in mighty and wonderful ways.

A few Lenten resources and traditions I’m using this year:

Not By Bread Alone (2013) Lenten Devotional by Bishop Robert Morneau

Holey, Wholly, Holy: A lenten journey of refinement by Kris Camealy

Knowing Jesus Better: 2013 Lenten Devotional from The High Calling

For the children: Through the Cross {Lent Table Cards} from Candle Press

For our family: Lent Gratitude Ribbons ~ Years ago, our beloved kindergarten teacher began the tradition of tying ribbons to an old, ugly, chain-linked fence at school. Each day, on the way to the playground the children tie a brightly colored ribbon to the fence and take a few moments to think of a blessing in their lives. By the time Easter arrives, that bare fence has transformed into a beautiful canvas of gratitude. We have adopted this tradition in our own home. Every night we tie ribbons to the iron grillwork upstairs and share something we are grateful for that day.

Do you have special traditions or ways you prepare for the season of Lent? I’d love for you to share.

Love,