Welcome to Journey through the Season of Lent!

We've just begun the journey through Lent -- a season of 40 days (not counting Sundays) beginning with Ash Wednesday (super early this year... February 6) and continuing through Holy Week until dawn on Easter Sunday.

For some people, Lent is all doom and gloom -- depressing with its emphasis on giving things up, its focus on repentance and sin and self-denial. We want to suggest a new approach to Lent, though: not doom and gloom, but rather a season filled with opportunity -- opportunity for self-reflection and renewal and recommitment to the way of Jesus and to living a Christ-centered life.

Instead of giving something up this Lent (or in addition to!), how about taking something on? How about taking on a more faithful practice of prayer? How about commiting to a regular practice of reading and reflecting on Scripture, using the Guide to Daily Devotions that we offer here on this blog, or following some other plan for Scripture reading that works for you? How about taking on a practice of spending some time in silence each day -- in a quiet room, going for a walk, even in the car while driving without the radio or CD playing blaring (but keep your eyes open and focused on the road, and your hands firmly on the steering wheel, please!)? These are just a few ways to make this a meaningful season of spiritual preparation.

This is the season in which we remember, on one hand, Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness at the beginning of his ministry, and on the other hand his journey to the cross. Both were times of great difficulty and struggle for him. But for us, the point of Lent isn't, after all, to wallow in misery or suffering or to beat ourselves up for our sinfulness, but rather to look inward in order to prepare our hearts for a deep and joyful experience of Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday! Lent invites us to live abundantly!

Here are a few other suggestions for making this a meaningful Season of Lent:

• Skip one meal a day (or fast one day a week) and donate the money you save on food to help feed hungry people through a hunger relief organization.


• Start a prayer “rhythm.” Say a prayer every time you brush your teeth, see a commercial on television, or check your e-mail.


• Read from the Bible every day. (Use the Guide to Daily Devotions.)


• Forgive someone who doesn’t deserve it — maybe even yourself.


• Give up soda or chocolate or TV or something else that will create a hunger in you, as a way of focusing on your hunger for God.


• Spend thirty minutes a day in silence.


• Write someone a thank you letter.


• Plan to visit a home-bound neighbor, a nursing home resident, or an elderly friend weekly during Lent.


• Invite a friend, neighbor, relative, or co-worker to come to a New Light gathering with you.


• Pray for help in resisting racial prejudice, and for the courage to oppose it.


• Tithe: as an act of worship and an expression of gratitude, return 10% of your income to God during this 6-week period.


• Volunteer one afternoon a week at a local shelter, a tutoring program, a feeding ministry, or some other worthy organization.