Lenten Devotions 2020
Today's Devotional is provided by
 Jacqueline Laughlin
 
So What's Up? What Are You Doing for Lent? 
 
 
So it's official, you came to church on a Wednesday night, after an amazing drunken Mardi Gras party on a Tuesday ; you got smudged with ashes from burning last year's palms from Palm Sunday.
 
So now what, some part of your non-heathen Christian self would like to observe a Lenten season by honoring God Son who died on the cross for you for your sinful ways...
 
An oversimplification perhaps, but that about sums up our prep time for Easter. Can we ride this wave of communal sacrifice and somehow benefit from the increased discipline we are called to attempt for Lent?


If for no other time this year, can we give something different a try? Compassionately, gently, make one small change. What do we have to lose, what might we gain? What would you like to be your legacy for your Lenten practice in 2020?
 
I am giving up dairy for Lent. I had some testing done and learned I had a highly inflammatory response to casein. My new doctor asked, "Would you would try abstaining and see how you feel? It was an offer; I could accept or reject!
 
I began thinking of other benefits from this change. How much could I save for my emergency fund by Easter Sunday? Would it help me make a $500 donation to my favorite charity by Spring? What is the next step for me in becoming debt free and purchasing some land? What sacrifices am I willing to make for what I believe is important?
 
So, as part of my practice as a pastoral care minister, I ask you email me TODAY and let me know in a brief message, which one of ten options below you chose as your Lenten practice and how is it going for you? I am praying for you. You are Light and Love!
 
Here are the options . . . feel free to expand the list for yourself if needed.
 
  • Fasting
  • Praying
  • Giving up something or someone that no longer serves you
  • Adopting something new
  • Being better
  • Daily Confession and telling your truth
  • Saving money or giving money
  • Attending church everyday
  • Reading the Bible or other sacred texts
  • Doing something differently to honor God as a sign of gratitude for love and sacrifice
 
 
No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. -Hebrews 12:11


 
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