I took a day off work today. Yesterday, as I was leaving work, my lead was congratulating me about being able to stay inside and spend the whole day in my pajamas. Unfortunately, that is not happening, m friend.
I schedule a personal day the Friday before the Catholic Women's Conference so that I can get my Saturday chores and errands done and not have to worry about them after spending a long day at the conference. Thus, I was out in the cold more today than I would have been had I gone to work.
I got groceries, had my taxes done (not a banner tax year for me, but still on the plus side of things!), went to the Post Office to buy stamps, dropped off my recycling and went to Dollar General (forgot to get cat litter at the grocery) . . . in the midst of the errand running, I also discovered that I was low on gas. And when I say "low on gas" I mean very low . . . my gas gauge in my car no longer works, so I usually discover that I am low when the "idiot" light comes on. With the tank that low (and temps even lower), I don't dare park anywhere for any length of time or I will have a frozen fuel line. So this day off also found me jumping up and down beside my car, urging the pump to pump faster while it filled my tank . . . not quite thawed out yet.
I have also promised a couple of friends that I would meet them at the Fish Fry at church tonight - followed by Stations of the Cross. I could call and back out, but that would be cowardly and rude, so I will brave the outdoors again in just a couple hours.
I know winter cannot and will not last forever. But right now, I can hardly remember what it feels like to be too hot.
Friday, February 20, 2015
Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Into the Wilderness
Welcome to Lent 2015. We observe Lent for 40 days because that is the symbolic time period of God forming his people. The Israelites were in the desert for 40 years in preparation to enter the promised land (Dt 8:2), Moses fasted and prayed for 40 days to prepare to meet the Lord and receive the commandments (Ex 24:18), Jesus went into the desert and fasted for 40 days before starting his ministry (Mk 1:13) . . . . etc. So welcome to the wilderness.
This does not mean that we have to all go out and become hermits until Easter. We live in the world and have our obligations. But we do need to separate ourselves in some way from the everyday demands on our lives so that we can find a quiet space in which we can be formed by God in preparation for the Resurrection. I am already beginning to wonder if I have found more quiet than I had bargained for.
I gave up TV for Lent.
Actually, I am just curtailing my TV watching for Lent . . . limiting myself to just the morning news so that I know what to wear and if I need to leave for work earlier than usual (weather and traffic, in other words). I have actually done this before, but that year I was gone to some meeting or event almost every weeknight, so I really didn't give up much. This winter, I have cut back on many of my outside activities (some by design, others just didn't pan out) and have been home in the evenings more than not. So, day 1, and I already don't know what to do with myself.
Of course, that is not strictly true. Having thought about this Lenten discipline for several weeks now, I do have some ideas of how I will better use my time while not watching TV . . . I just expected somehow to ease into these activities - not to try to do them all on Ash Wednesday. My plan? I will read more (done some of that), pray (done some of that), journal (started), craft and start Spring Cleaning. As it is almost 9:00, I think I will leave off the crafting and cleaning for another day. I think I will try also to dovetail blogging in with the journaling . . . we'll see which (if either) I can actually keep up with. I don't have a good track record with either.
This does not mean that we have to all go out and become hermits until Easter. We live in the world and have our obligations. But we do need to separate ourselves in some way from the everyday demands on our lives so that we can find a quiet space in which we can be formed by God in preparation for the Resurrection. I am already beginning to wonder if I have found more quiet than I had bargained for.
I gave up TV for Lent.
Actually, I am just curtailing my TV watching for Lent . . . limiting myself to just the morning news so that I know what to wear and if I need to leave for work earlier than usual (weather and traffic, in other words). I have actually done this before, but that year I was gone to some meeting or event almost every weeknight, so I really didn't give up much. This winter, I have cut back on many of my outside activities (some by design, others just didn't pan out) and have been home in the evenings more than not. So, day 1, and I already don't know what to do with myself.
Of course, that is not strictly true. Having thought about this Lenten discipline for several weeks now, I do have some ideas of how I will better use my time while not watching TV . . . I just expected somehow to ease into these activities - not to try to do them all on Ash Wednesday. My plan? I will read more (done some of that), pray (done some of that), journal (started), craft and start Spring Cleaning. As it is almost 9:00, I think I will leave off the crafting and cleaning for another day. I think I will try also to dovetail blogging in with the journaling . . . we'll see which (if either) I can actually keep up with. I don't have a good track record with either.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)