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Kindles, iPods and Lent

February 22, 2012 in Family Life, Lenten, Technology with 2 Comments

I bought a Kindle last October and loved it instantly. I’ve read a number of books, including the few reviews on this site since then. In fact, all of the books I’ve read since October have been on the Kindle.

Until now.

Amazon Kindle

photocredit: flickr/tompagenet

I love books. I love having a bookshelf full of books. I admitted to myself when buying the Kindle that I would still buy the physical book if it was something that anticipate wanting to add to the physical library. In this case, I purchased The Emerging Diaconate by Deacon William Ditewig, PhD. My interest for the diaconate and my thoughts on this book are for another post, but I thought that I’d want to keep this one in physical form. Continue Reading…

Lent 2011 #2

March 24, 2011 in Lenten with 0 Comments

Well, alright. Last time I went into some of my Lenten challenges. The biggest lesson I learned: you must discuss your Lenten ideas with your wife.

V and I did. Sorta. We discussed what we were thinking of doing, but we didn’t have a definitive ”this is what we’re doing” talk. I didn’t plan on going vegan or give up red meat for Lent–those things would impact the house if our dinner menu has to change for 40 days–so I didn’t think much about it.

I gave up snacks. V gave up snacks that she didn’t make herself.

I didn’t think the difference would mean that much, but oh man. Instead of avoiding buying cookies or snacks, now she’s baked two batches of cookies since Lent started. The first batch, we were out of eggs, so she made some not-as-great-as-I’ve-had-before cookies. No biggie. I snuck some…

But, the second batch. Whoa. Now, these were cookies. I don’t even want to know what she calls them so I can’t ask for them in the future. They’re that good. They’re the type of cookies that you take a bite, slap yourself and try another to make sure your taste buds weren’t hijacked.

So needless to say, I fell off the wagon on that item.

Lent 2011 #1

March 16, 2011 in Lenten with 2 Comments

In the 8th grade, I gave up sodas for Lent. It was a relatively easy task and, as far as I recall, I did it well, except for one Sprite early in Lent that I bought at a gas station with my sister.

Ever since then though, Lent hasn’t been as easy. What do to do? What to give up? I don’t really commit to any particular task and thus never execute it well. So, here we go.

Lent 2011:

  • Cut out snacks.
  • Only drink water when dining out (e.g. don’t pay for anything than what comes as part of the meal).
  • Pray some part of the Liturgy of the Hours as a family

Now that a week of Lent is past us, how’s it going so far?

I’ve done fairly well on cutting out snacks. No major deviations. We haven’t had anything but water, except at the St. Ignatius fish fry since coffee/tea is part of the package. Most nights, we’ve prayed Night Prayer together except the couple of times we didn’t go to sleep at the same time.

In His Father’s Secret Service [Teaser]

March 1, 2011 in Lenten, Paulists with 0 Comments

The Paulist Fathers, the order I used to work with in my days at the UCC, is rolling out a Lenten YouTube reflection series… looks like it could be fun.

UPDATED: Apparently, they took the trailer offline once the series started. I really liked that trailer.

The Final Week

April 5, 2009 in Lenten, Reflections with 0 Comments

Now that we’ve celebrated the Sixth Sunday of Lent, which is actually Palm Sunday, so now past almost all of Lenten journey toward Easter. I pray that it was a beneficial one for you. Mine… well… let’s say that it started with me enjoying a homemade pizza on the First Friday of Lent, complete with turkey pepperoni. It wasn’t until that night that I realized my error.

Sometimes, Lent is “productive” from this first day. We pray more, we give more, we examine ourselves more. We choose wisely what to give up and what extra to do. Not only do we have the best of intentions, but we practice it to the closest thing to perfection on this side of heaven.
But of course, sometimes, Lent is a struggle. We want to pray more, but it never quite happens. Most of Lent passes us by before we remember we’re supposed to be using this holy season to prepare ourselves for the celebration of Easter. Our practice leaves much to be desired.
For me, this Lent was more of the latter. I spoke with Vanessa at great length about various practices and why I felt those things would help me prepare for Easter, but never settled on any of them, much less practice them well. Prayer did come, but I’d like to do it more.
Now, the season is nearly over. 
The silver lining on this Lent-that-should-have-been-more is that it still brings the awareness that I’m far from where I should be. The need for Christ is all the more present. If I was already perfect, why would I need salvation? No, I need salvation. I need the healing of Christ. I need the love of God to touch me. I need.
By the accounts of this world, if I were to receive a report card on Easter Sunday, I would rather not look at my Lenten grade. The beauty of this grade report is that it is not permanent.  I have the full glory of God before me and am able to ask for something quite amazing. Being able to ask and receive the forgiveness of God, being able to ask and receive the grace of God, being able to ask and receive faith. As we enter into these last days, my lack of fully entering into the season has reminded me of my need for the reason of the season–Jesus Christ.
Perhaps this Lent has been much more successful that what appeared at first glance.
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