Lenten Experiment - Day 40 Something!

How is it that old cliche goes? Better late than never. Ha ha ha. Well, I guess that about sums up my struggle this week with completing my commitment to my blog for Lent. Easter weekend was busy with commitments and activities despite our small family. And, as I began to reflect more on how to summarize the Lenten blog experience, I got bogged down in a quagmire of indecision and exhaustion.

Here it is Friday after Easter, 4:47 a.m. and I decided it is very important to finish what I started no matter what time it is, no matter how tired I am, and no matter whether I finish successfully or not (at least in my own limited mindscape).

I've felt for some time that the summation of 40 days of thoughts might be a bit daunting task to undertake. And, frankly, I may ruminate over this thing a bit more before I get it all down on cyber-paper. The 40 days of Lent have revealed much to me about wonder, family, life, death, God's work in this world and in my life and many other things.

To begin, I need to share a list of words that summarize this recent learning experience.

Life

Death

Family

Contemplation

Understanding

Darkness

Light

Chosen

Joyful

Hope

Blessings

Faith

Listening

Peace

Observation

Friends

Encouragement

Persevere

Prayer

Penitence

Giving

Self-Denial

Last night I watched another Skit Guys video on YouTube and it spoke to me in a deep way because as I tallied up the list of words that capsulized the Lenten Experiment, I realized those words represented something much more. While, just words, they are qualities, attitudes, ideas, and thoughts that have indeed enriched and shaped my existence. Simply put, they have been tools in God's hands - tools to mold me into something new; someone new.

So, watch God's Chisel from the Skit Guys and let it shape your thoughts, your heart, your life. Only as we submit to God's work in our life, can we truly grow and develop and become more like Him. We are God's masterpiece!

Lenten Experiment - Day 31 (So, Who's Old?)

As an adult, what do you do when a small child says something "bad" about you? This weekend, I was confronted by this when a little girl Brinna's age turned to me and told me another little girl said something "bad" about me. My mind quickly wondered "what on earth did I do?"

Anyway, I did ask my daughter if she knew what was said and, of course, she did. As I discovered, it all revolved around the fact that I'm OLD! Yep, that's all it was. I mean isn't everyone old? Is it "bad" to be old? My eldest daughter is 23 years OLD, my middle daughter is 19 years OLD, my youngest daughter is 9 years OLD. I'm 51 years OLD. We, each of us, is some type of OLD, are't we? It is just a number, though, at its core. So what's the big deal?

Poor Brinna, though, was made to feel like an outcast because her Mom is old enough to be a grandmother. And, I can sympathize because I lived through the exact same thing having an older Mom and a Dad who was 50 years older than me. No, I'm not her grandmother, as some kids might think when they see my gray hair and wrinkles. aah . . .

And, just for the record - I don't think being 51 years OLD is bad - nope. Actually, Brinna and I had a good talk about the whole situation and, with that wonderful resilience of youth, she bounced back quickly. Her joy and acceptance, as always is an encouragement to me. We'll face these challenges together. We're family no matter how OLD we are.