Our Journey Through Lent Begins

Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Lent Season. Today we begin a journey of reflection and sacrifice, mourning and celebration, abstinence and engagement. We set aside this season of Lent as a time of remembering the sacrifice of Christ, and in turn committing to sacrifice as well, following in His steps. We practice spiritual disciplines, not as a way to gain God's favor and holiness, but as a way to mourn our sinfulness, lest we take for granted the gift of grace through salvation in Christ. Today, if we participate in an Ash Wednesday service, we will receive ashes on our foreheads in the shape of a cross to remind us that there, on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sin to redeem us.

"For you are dust and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:19

Throughout the Bible ashes or dust are used symbolically of mourning, death and repentance. 2 Samuel 3:19, Esther 4:1-3, Job 42:6, Ezekiel 27:30-31, Matthew 11:21 are just a few examples of how ashes/dust are used. Author Ruth Haley Barton explains the significance of Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent well:

"Ash Wednesday also initiates a season of acknowledging our sinfulness. In very intentional ways, we invite God to search us and know us and (eventually) to lead us into resurrection life. The ashes marking our foreheads carry the same meaning contained in the Old Testament practice of covering oneself with ashes: they are an outward sign of an inward repentance and mourning as we become aware of our sin. This, too, is good for us because we live in so much denial. Facing our sin in the shadow of Christ’s cross and impending resurrection is the healthiest way to deal with our sin.

The inner dynamics of Lent have to do with fasting or abstaining from the ways we normally distract ourselves from what’s really going on in our lives spiritually—the reality of our sin and the deeply patterned behaviors that keep us from our calling to follow Christ. We allow some of the external trappings of our lives to be stripped away so that we can find our true identity and calling in God once again. We acknowledge the subtle temptations to which we are prone rather than pretending we are beyond temptation. We face the spiritual reality of the battle being waged for our very souls."

I have not participated in the Lent practice of fasting or self-denial in the past. But this year as I have prayed and looked at what God's Spirit has been pressing into in my life, I decided to participate by engaging in some practices that in so doing are actually a practice in abstinence. Over the past year God has enabled me to experience some healing in some areas of my life. Emotional and relational areas that became damaged as a result of my not dealing well with loss and disappointment over a period of time. As is often the case, when you become healthier in one area it opens your eyes to other areas that need restoration. For me, I have become aware of a lack of loving others well in some areas of my life. I wrote the other day about how spending some time studying Hebrews 12:1-3 opened my eyes to the reality that being "weighed down and entangled" keeps me from living in the flow (my word for the year) of the Spirit. How I react to people and not  loving others well is something that weighs me down. So, for this Lent season I am going to try to abstain from the feelings and habits that get in the way of loving others. I'm going to engage in kindness and extend grace and forgiveness in those times when I feel inclined to have my way or feel defensive or the need to be right. I'm going to be asking myself questions like, what do I need to give up to be more loving and what do I need to practice? I have not totally figured out what this looks like or even what to call it, but I feel the need to practice it. To deny myself in those times when ego or pride want to have their way and instead to practice humility and kindness. 

So, how are you practicing sacrifice in this season of Lent? Are you participating in Lent in any way this year? 

Here on my blog I'll be posting a few devotional writings/Bible studies each week surrounding Lent words. I have also invited some fellow sojourners to write guest posts in the weeks ahead. On this post from last week you'll find a list of 40 words with corresponding Bible verses or passages. We have a group of people who are responding creatively to these Lent Words for 2018. They will be sharing their responses in a private Facebook group or on Instagram.

Join us, it's simple:

• Follow this blog by putting your email address in the box in the right hand column to be notified when new posts are published
• Join the Lent Words 2017 Facebook group where you can share your art and ideas and join the conversation through the Lent season. www.facebook.com/groups/LentWords. 
• Share on Instagram and other social media with the hashtag #lentwords2018.

Why Lent?

The other day, I mentioned that I am working on redeeming part of my childhood story. We come into adulthood with perceptions we gained through our experiences in childhood. Some are good, some are bad, some are skewed by the lens of our experience and our feelings that have been shaped by those experiences. Many of us spend a good portion of our adulthood re-forming those childhood perceptions to resemble something closer to reality.

I was born and raised Catholic until my early teen years when my parents divorce led to my mother's parting of ways with the Catholic Church. I entered adulthood with many of my perspectives of God and religion shaped by what I saw in childhood. Many of the adults in my childhood lived out a faith that was only seen on Sunday mornings, so I had this image of faith being hypocritical, wearing a false mask. As a result, I saw many of the church traditions as empty ritual. In my late 20's when I came into a relationship with Christ and began reading the Bible with adult eyes, I felt anger at a church that abandoned my mother when she needed them the most. I felt anger over their rituals that didn't seem to lead people to the life expressed in God's Word. In the church I began my faith walk in, traditions such as Advent and Lent were not observed, and so I continued with my perception of these being empty ritual.

A few things have happened in the past few years that have begun to re-shape some of my childhood perceptions, things that have started this journey of redeeming words and traditions. It started with Advent for me. I won't go into that part of my story today. But if you would like you can read some of it here. Anyway, over the past few years I have experienced healing, renewal and have found great life and faith in the Advent practices, so I decided that in 2018 I would follow the Christian year and now we find ourselves at the start of Lent.

A funny thing happened last year: I went to the Ash Wednesday service at my church for the first time. I had stayed away in the past due to the above mentioned perspective from my childhood. But, in all honesty, out of the redemption I experienced observing Advent over the past few years, I decided I was ready to tackle some other church traditions. So, I attended the Ash Wednesday service, received the ashes on my forehead and made a significant discovery. My aversion to the Ash Wednesday service, that I had viewed as empty ritual, actually had nothing to do with the practices that went on in the service. What did happen that night was a migraine was triggered. I suffered from migraines from my pre-teen years into my late 30's. Some, it turned out, were hormonal, but others are triggered by  changes in my routine or by external forces, mainly through my sinuses.  Things like low barometric pressure when storm fronts comes through, certain artificial smells from candles, perfumes, potpourri, etc. impact me and can trigger a migraine. I can pretty much keep them under control now by keeping routine eating and sleeping habits and by trying to avoid things that trigger my sinuses. So the thing I discovered at the Ash Wednesday service was that the incense used traditionally in the service is a trigger for my migraines. I cannot remember how early my migraines started but I was fairly young - under 12 at least. It was both ironic and freeing to discover that something I had lumped together with the "empty ritual" of my childhood was not actually a negative feeling due to a bad religious experience, but was simply a reaction to a bad physical experience! Something I can have some control over to some extent. This experience really helped further the journey I have been on to be free from false perceptions and to live authentically. 

In God's Kingdom good comes out of bad - this is redemption, this is His story in our lives. For me, these perceptions of religion I came out of childhood with have served to shape me into a person who values authenticity.

This week we begin the journey of Lent on Wednesday which is know as Ash Wednesday. Lent is a 40 day journey, excluding Sundays, from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The 40 days is meant to remind us of the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness facing temptation. Lent includes periods of self-reflection, denial through fasting, repentance and confession, and ultimately ends in rejoicing and celebration for the life we have in the resurrected Christ. We will explore all of this in Lent Words 2018, a Creative Challenge Through the Season of Lent. Throughout the period of Lent there will be blog posts here a few times a week based on the words and associated passages written by myself and some guests. I invite you to participate in the Lent Words Facebook group, the Everyday Journals Facebook group and on Instagram (use #lentwords2018). The list of Lent Words can be found on this blog post or in the Lent Words Facebook group.

I would like to offer a few resources if you are looking for reading material through the Lent season:

I would also recommend reading today's blog post by author Shelly Miller. If you sign up for email notifications she is offering a free download of her Lent book: A Sabbath Journey for Lent: Sacrifice a Day for Rest and Experience the Sacrifice of Christ Anew.

You will see quotes from the above resources in my art and in my blog posts throughout the season.

A note about Amazon links on my blog:

I am giving Amazon affiliation a try, which means I may receive a small percentage off sales made through clicking on the Amazon links found on my blog. There is no additional cost to you.

Everyday Journal Update

So far, just six weeks into the year, I am enjoying the challenge of doing most of my art and recording of insights for my word for the year in one journal. The "challenge" part for me is that I love to make (and start) journals and handmade books, so combining everything in one journal doesn't leave much room for making new journals. But I'm committed!

Here a a few of the pages I've worked on over the past few weeks:

My word for 2018 is FLOW. Each year I am amazed at how picking a word for the year ends up being a filter through which you see so many other things. The word,  or the concept of the word and my intentions for it seems to pop up everywhere. Last week I was digging deeper into the context of a passage we had been discussing in a sermon prep meeting. The passage was Hebrews 12:3-13, which will be the focus of the message in our worship service tomorrow at church. I was struck by so much in our conversation surrounding this passage that I decided to look a bit more into the context, which took me back to the verses preceding it. As I studied Hebrews 12:1-2 my word popped up.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

Now, my word flow does not appear in this passage. But one of the main reasons I chose this word was that I want to live more in the flow of God's Spirit this year, and as I read these verses I was struck with a thought that was connected with my word: I cannot live in the flow of God's Spirit if I am hindered or weighed down and entangled, both by the things in life that weigh me down and/or by the sin I struggle with. I also think that my practice through Lent may come out of this revelation in some way. We'll see. Anyway, I enjoy how my word will pop up when least expected. I also love how living and active the Word of God is in our lives when we delve into it!

Of course, I respond with art and recording it in my Everyday Journal, so that I take it deeper and have a reminder of how God spoke to me through these verses.

I wrote a bit of hidden thoughts under the tag.

Six weeks into 2018! On some level it's hard to believe that this amount of time has already passed. On another level it also feels like it has already been 2018 for quite some time! I hope the new year so far has been filled with revelation and inspiration for you, in faith and in art. How are you doing with your word this year? We have conversations going on about our Everyday Journals and our word for the year over in the Everyday Journals ~ Living Out Your Word for the Year Facebook group. Join us!

Join Our Inspirational Facebook Group

Bernice Hopper, Valerie Sjodin and I are using one journal to record events, experiences and relationships and  to explore our word’s meaning in visual and fun ways. We are each blogging about our experiences and our art. If you would like to connect with others about creatively organizing your word, your ideas, thoughts, prayers, events, or your projects all in one journal, you are invited to join our Facebook group: Everyday Journals – Living Your Word of the Year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/203309083575277/

Hashtags on Instagram: #everydayjournals2018, #livingyourword2018

Check out the other blogs:

Bernice: http://www.newlycreative.com/

Valerie: https://valeriesjodin.com/blog/

Also, join us for Lent Words 2018 -  A Creative Challenge Through the Season of Lent. More about it in this post. There is also a private Facebook group for the Lent challenge:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/LentWords/

Introducing Lent Words 2018

Until a few years ago I did not participate in observance of the Lenten season. It was one of those traditions I had written off as an empty ritual from my childhood days in the Catholic Church. I feel the need to remind you readers that my intent is not to offend anyone by labeling Lent as an empty ritual. Rather, it is my intent, however, to be open and honest in sharing my story. My perspectives on religion from my childhood experiences are a big part of my story - a part of my story I am working to redeem as an adult. So, following the renewal and life I have found in observing Advent over the years, and choosing to follow the church calendar this year, I have decided that this year the Lent  season would become a part of my journey.

Through some discussion in the Advent Words community this past month I decided to do Lent Words in a similar fashion to how I did Advent Words. With some contributions from some of the members of the Advent Words group, I have put together a list of 40 words with a Scripture passage or two to accompany them. Lent is actually 46 days long, but in following the traditional mode Sundays are not included. The early church considered Sundays as non-fasting days. The word prompts are designed to 1.) get us into the Bible each day with words that are significant to this season of repentance and reflection, and 2.) help promote creativity as another way (or spiritual discipline) to draw close to God and participate in the season.  You can choose to connect this word to whatever form of creativity you like - art journaling, collage, memory keeping, planner art, photography, poetry, painting - the creative practices to choose from are endless! You choose how you would like to participate. You choose how often as well!

Would you like to join us? It's simple:

• Follow this blog by putting your email address in the box in the right hand column. The full list of Lent Words is below. Then there will be blog posts at least twice a week through Lent sharing my art and my thoughts. Some of those blog posts will be from  guests as well! 
• Join the Lent Words 2017 Facebook group where you can share your art and ideas and join the conversation through the Lent season. www.facebook.com/groups/LentWords. 
• Share on Instagram and other social media with the hashtag #lentwords2018.
• In the days before the Lent season begins reflect and prepare: choose the creative form you will use for your daily practice. Make a journal if that fits your creative form.

If you would like to download a PDF of the word list you can do so here or access it in the Facebook group.

In keeping with my plan to use one journal for the year, I will be putting my Lent Words art in my Everyday Journal. I am a part of a group for that as well! We are sharing our journeys and our art as we move through the year: Everyday Journals - Living Your Word of the Year.

A Few of My Favorite Things ~ Plus a Tutorial!

It is no surprise to anyone who follows my blog or views my art journaling and photographs - I love birds. I enjoy watching them, studying them, photographing them, and include them often in my art. 

Another passion I have is for Bible study and theology. Last week at the library book sale I found a new book by one of my favorite pastor/author/theologian/ Bible commentators, John Stott. I usually buy any book I find by him when I go to book sales, but this one was special. It's called "The Birds Our Teachers: Biblical lessons from a lifelong bird watcher". A book that combines two of my favorite things by one of my favorite authors! And I had no idea that John Stott was also a bird watcher - bonus!

A few weeks ago I found out that 2018 has been named the year of the bird by Audubon and National Geographic to mark the 100th anniversary of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. It's a good excuse for me to continue to use birds in my art. Jeanne Oliver is doing a year long project called Series 52 which she says is a way to create a body of work that is just for you. One of my favorite art mediums is collage. Last year for the 100 day project I did scrap collage projects on Rolodex cards. It was a fun challenge to make them on such a small background, but what I loved most about the project was that I did collage more frequently. So I thought doing one intentional piece of collage per week would help me stay connected to this art medium and would be a nice way to work on a different size than my Everyday Journal, although some weeks it may be in that journal. And since it is the Year of the Bird, they will be my focus for my weekly collage.

My collage for week one was made to go into my commonplace notebook.

My collage for week two was inspired by the illustrator Richard Faust, who often includes small geometric collages on his work. This one was done in my Everyday Journal, which is a Traveler's Notebook.

In 2015 I was a member of the foundation team for a group called His Kingdom Come. We did a number of classes that year that were exclusive for group members. Now that this group is no longer in existence I thought I would share the art journal I made for the course we did called God's Aviary. It was a course that studied birds in the Bible and combined that with art journaling.

This was one of my all-time favorite art journal projects! I added the tutorial and the video flip-through of my journal to the pages at the top of this site. Or you can click this link to go directly to that page. Enjoy!