On Lent
Some of you know this about me, others, perhaps now. I was raised in the Catholic Church for most of my life. I went through all of the appropriate ceremonies and sacraments, up until I went through the sacrament of "Confirmation" in high school. However, since middle school, I had also been attending a Baptist church and youth group with my best friend, Hannah. It was completely different and new to me, and I felt that I was able to experience God in different ways than I had been able to previously in the Catholic Church. So upon being confirmed in the Catholic Church at 16, I made the decision for myself to switch to a Protestant Church.
This is not my post to bash the Catholic faith, or to say that one denomination of Christianity is better than another. Faith is a very personal thing, and how we experience God is very personal. In the midst of the tradition and ceremony set-up of Catholic services, I, myself, did not find God there. I felt like I was going through all of the motions and that I was very distant from a Divine Being. Winter Park Baptist Church, however, showed me how God is accessible to all and how I could have a deeply intimate and personal connection with Him. I consider myself to have truly accepted Jesus as my Savior in this context. Though I had always believed in Him before, He seemed far away and more like a ruling authority than someone I could be in relationship with. I still attend Catholic services with my family for holidays and those sorts of events. Now that my faith is more established, I actually do find that I can speak with God and experience Him in those services as well. Maybe I was too immature when I was younger to understand how He was reaching me then. God is not hidden and He exists in all places. He pushes out darkness and dwells in even the most seemingly sin-filled, scary places (I am not saying that the Catholic Church is such a place. Just making the point that He is present in all places). So I know He was always there, even when I attended the Catholic Church. But His spirit didn't move in me and speak to me until I was in a different place.
This is not at all where I was intending on going with this post, so I'm going to stop there and go in the direction I actually intended to go, for fear of offending someone. I hope I have not done so thus far, though if I have, I offer my sincerest of apologies to you, friends.
I was actually going to talk about Lent, which starts tomorrow. My point in explaining my background to you was to show you how I became involved in Lent considering that I am now a member of a Baptist Church. The Baptist Church does not celebrate Lent in quite the same way that the Catholic Church does, though they do still recognize it. Because I was raised Catholic and always participated in Lent, I still find immense value in it and in giving something up for that 40 day period. Lent ends with Jesus's resurrection on Easter Sunday, so the 40 period is really intended to prepare your heart for that through prayer, fasting, and sacrifice.
A lot of people use Lent as a sort of New Year's Resolution. They'll give up a list that looks like this: soda, chocolate, fried food, profanity, ice cream, etc. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, you'll see that what I am giving up this year is a food item and may fall within that "diet" or "New Year's Resolution" category. But, many people give those things up in an attempt to lose weight or something along those lines. That's not really the purpose of Lent. The purpose is to sacrifice something that takes your attention away from God. Often, I give up Facebook for Lent. It's one of the biggest things that distracts me from my quiet time with the Lord and also which pulls me away from Him through how I compare my life with those of others on Facebook. I get caught up in the comparison game and forget to be thankful for what God has blessed me with. The intention then, is that you spend time that you would normally spend with that other activity in prayer with God. It's essentially "fasting" from an activity or something that takes you away from God.
So, with that said, and keeping in mind that I just bashed giving up foods for Lent, here's what I'm giving up: fast food. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I give you permission! "Where's she going with this one? She's just one of those 'New Year's Resolutionists' this Lent, isn't she?" Sort of. But here's why I'm giving up fast food. Firstly, some people have no desire to eat fast food, ever. You are a blessed species, to be sure. I love myself a fresh box of Chicken minis from Chick-fil-a, so I will never be someone who just sticks there nose up in the air at the thought of a Chick-fil-a breakfast. But lately, I've been using it as a comfort. After several horrendous night shifts, I've stopped at Chick-fil-a on my way home to pick up a quick breakfast before heading to bed. It's delicious, satisfying, and comforting. But it's usually something I go to for comfort. Instead of God. I had a history of stress eating in college, and Chick-fil-a was always my go-to comfort food. There's so many locations, it's cheap, and it seems healthier than other fast food joints, right? But I was giving into desires for food for comfort instead of surrendering my struggles to God, and it's something I still struggle with.
So for Lent this year, I'm going to give up fast food and spend time with the Lord when I need comfort and rest instead. I'm reminded of the story of Jesus and the woman at the well when I think about this. The story, in John 4, tells of a Samaritan woman who is filling up her bucket with water in the middle of the day. This is significant because no one else fills up their water at this time of day due to the heat. She's an outcast, not accepted at all by others in her town. Jesus walks up to her and asks her to give him a drink a water. This is also significant, for Jews and Samaritans do not associate with one another. Jesus proceeds to tell her about living water found only in God.
He then proceeds to talk with her about her way of life and the multitude of men that she has slept with in hopes of finding satisfaction and worth, but this story is just so significant and so indicative of how many of us live, including myself. I may not seek satisfaction in the same ways that this Samaritan woman does, but looking to food for comfort is certainly a struggle for me. I read a book recently that really put this into perspective for me, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in overcoming your stomach as a god in your life. It's written by Lisa Terkeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries (also author of Unglued) and it's called Made to Crave. I highly recommend it.
In any case, please hold me accountable this Lent season for this, friends. I'm not going to do the whole "do whatever you please" on Sunday thing, which I know some people follow for Lent. I'm hoping for a true 40 day fast. Also, I am not including places like Jimmy John's or Subway as fast food. Mostly your true "fast food" joints like Chick-fil-a, Arby's, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. I think that's important for me to define now before lines become gray and murky.
Grace & peace,
Cristina.
This is not my post to bash the Catholic faith, or to say that one denomination of Christianity is better than another. Faith is a very personal thing, and how we experience God is very personal. In the midst of the tradition and ceremony set-up of Catholic services, I, myself, did not find God there. I felt like I was going through all of the motions and that I was very distant from a Divine Being. Winter Park Baptist Church, however, showed me how God is accessible to all and how I could have a deeply intimate and personal connection with Him. I consider myself to have truly accepted Jesus as my Savior in this context. Though I had always believed in Him before, He seemed far away and more like a ruling authority than someone I could be in relationship with. I still attend Catholic services with my family for holidays and those sorts of events. Now that my faith is more established, I actually do find that I can speak with God and experience Him in those services as well. Maybe I was too immature when I was younger to understand how He was reaching me then. God is not hidden and He exists in all places. He pushes out darkness and dwells in even the most seemingly sin-filled, scary places (I am not saying that the Catholic Church is such a place. Just making the point that He is present in all places). So I know He was always there, even when I attended the Catholic Church. But His spirit didn't move in me and speak to me until I was in a different place.
This is not at all where I was intending on going with this post, so I'm going to stop there and go in the direction I actually intended to go, for fear of offending someone. I hope I have not done so thus far, though if I have, I offer my sincerest of apologies to you, friends.
I was actually going to talk about Lent, which starts tomorrow. My point in explaining my background to you was to show you how I became involved in Lent considering that I am now a member of a Baptist Church. The Baptist Church does not celebrate Lent in quite the same way that the Catholic Church does, though they do still recognize it. Because I was raised Catholic and always participated in Lent, I still find immense value in it and in giving something up for that 40 day period. Lent ends with Jesus's resurrection on Easter Sunday, so the 40 period is really intended to prepare your heart for that through prayer, fasting, and sacrifice.
A lot of people use Lent as a sort of New Year's Resolution. They'll give up a list that looks like this: soda, chocolate, fried food, profanity, ice cream, etc. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, you'll see that what I am giving up this year is a food item and may fall within that "diet" or "New Year's Resolution" category. But, many people give those things up in an attempt to lose weight or something along those lines. That's not really the purpose of Lent. The purpose is to sacrifice something that takes your attention away from God. Often, I give up Facebook for Lent. It's one of the biggest things that distracts me from my quiet time with the Lord and also which pulls me away from Him through how I compare my life with those of others on Facebook. I get caught up in the comparison game and forget to be thankful for what God has blessed me with. The intention then, is that you spend time that you would normally spend with that other activity in prayer with God. It's essentially "fasting" from an activity or something that takes you away from God.
So, with that said, and keeping in mind that I just bashed giving up foods for Lent, here's what I'm giving up: fast food. Go ahead, roll your eyes. I give you permission! "Where's she going with this one? She's just one of those 'New Year's Resolutionists' this Lent, isn't she?" Sort of. But here's why I'm giving up fast food. Firstly, some people have no desire to eat fast food, ever. You are a blessed species, to be sure. I love myself a fresh box of Chicken minis from Chick-fil-a, so I will never be someone who just sticks there nose up in the air at the thought of a Chick-fil-a breakfast. But lately, I've been using it as a comfort. After several horrendous night shifts, I've stopped at Chick-fil-a on my way home to pick up a quick breakfast before heading to bed. It's delicious, satisfying, and comforting. But it's usually something I go to for comfort. Instead of God. I had a history of stress eating in college, and Chick-fil-a was always my go-to comfort food. There's so many locations, it's cheap, and it seems healthier than other fast food joints, right? But I was giving into desires for food for comfort instead of surrendering my struggles to God, and it's something I still struggle with.
So for Lent this year, I'm going to give up fast food and spend time with the Lord when I need comfort and rest instead. I'm reminded of the story of Jesus and the woman at the well when I think about this. The story, in John 4, tells of a Samaritan woman who is filling up her bucket with water in the middle of the day. This is significant because no one else fills up their water at this time of day due to the heat. She's an outcast, not accepted at all by others in her town. Jesus walks up to her and asks her to give him a drink a water. This is also significant, for Jews and Samaritans do not associate with one another. Jesus proceeds to tell her about living water found only in God.
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life." -John 4: 13-14
He then proceeds to talk with her about her way of life and the multitude of men that she has slept with in hopes of finding satisfaction and worth, but this story is just so significant and so indicative of how many of us live, including myself. I may not seek satisfaction in the same ways that this Samaritan woman does, but looking to food for comfort is certainly a struggle for me. I read a book recently that really put this into perspective for me, and I highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in overcoming your stomach as a god in your life. It's written by Lisa Terkeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministries (also author of Unglued) and it's called Made to Crave. I highly recommend it.
Source: Radiant Lit
In any case, please hold me accountable this Lent season for this, friends. I'm not going to do the whole "do whatever you please" on Sunday thing, which I know some people follow for Lent. I'm hoping for a true 40 day fast. Also, I am not including places like Jimmy John's or Subway as fast food. Mostly your true "fast food" joints like Chick-fil-a, Arby's, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, etc. I think that's important for me to define now before lines become gray and murky.
Grace & peace,
Cristina.
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