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Lent 2025: March 21

 Observing a season like Lent, at least in the way I am, requires a self-examination and humility, at the very least. 

Short note: the President of our college, who is a devout Byzantine Catholic (that is a faction I had never heard of before he came to us), stopped by at Baptist Collegiate Ministries yesterday to see what we were doing. We invited him to eat, but he said he was doing keto and giving up carbs for Lent. (a church had brought Stouffer's Lasagna, very tasty but I had massive heartburn afterward and had not taken my meds for it). I have not focused on giving up something for my health, although I have stopped watching most of media or TV I used to, which I will continue. 

For me, a family member (in-law) died this week and I got pressured into going to the service tomorrow in another state. This deceased person was highly irresponsible and left a wake of hurt.  It's a 6-7 hours car trip with my husband, and we will have to spend the night in a hotel. I am not excited but resigned. My first response was feeling trapped and quite angry. The Spirit of repentance and humility of this season of looking toward the cross convicted and rebuked me of this selfishness and childishness. Plus, I have gotten far too set in my ways about going anywhere, and that needs to stop. I have lost joy about being. Why? Again, lack of gratitude explains so much. 

So, my reflection today is the goodness of God. The abundance and grace and outpouring of gifts seen and unseen, physical and spiritual, human and inanimate. Americans are foolish. The more we have the more we complain about it. We buy things that require so much extra time to take care of. 

I finished the Lament book and need a book to read for Bible study. Romans? Or John Piper's 50 Reasons Jesus Came to Die?  (I rarely recommend books but I do that one, although he misses a few.) We have such a superficial understanding of that subject, it's disturbing. 

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