I've never been guided through Lent before (see earlier article re: Baptist girl). Turns out there are 46 days between Fat Tuesday and Easter! If you know that my water-only beverage program is called 40 Days of Water, then you might be headscratching. The discrepancy is worked out by having one day a week--usually Sundays--as feast days (opposite of fast days).
I love this.
And not just for the obvious reason of enjoying a mug of coffee this morning. Like all the best things about fasting and Lent, feast days are full of meaning.
Having a feast day once a week reminds me that fasting is not about me. I cannot get stuck in an oh-woe-is-me mentality when every 7th day I can drink whatever I want. More than that, it reminds me that my God is a good God. He does not delight in depriving me of good things. He delights in my sacrifice, and He delights in my bounty. He demands my all, and He gives me life.
My hope is that during feast days I mentally move beyond "CAFFEINE!!!" and thank God for the abundance of delicious beverages at my fingertips. Enjoying hot chocolate and soda will remind me that many people in the world do not even have clean water to drink, let alone my $4 Starbucks drink.
My feast days remind me that God is good and abundant. They keep me from becoming too prideful. And they spur me on to the next week of fasting.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Lent: 40 Days of Water
When I was little and the only Baptist at my school, most of my friends did Lent, giving up candy or TV or meat in between Ash Wednesday and Easter. They would moan dramatically or quietly remind me they couldn't eat the cookies I was sharing. I thought they were so cool. This was spiritual beliefs impacting their day to day lives!
But I never did Lent, because I was a good Baptist girl. Then I grew up and realized, who cares what the denomination of my church does? I do what I want! So now I do Lent, when I remember.
This year I saw a friend's facebook status talking about this thing called 40 Days of Water. It's organized by Blood:Water Mission, a non-profit group I've followed since Donald Miller did their cross-country bike ride. They are dedicated to building wells and getting clean water to people in Africa, specifically Uganda. Their punchline is this: for $1, you can provide clean water to someone in Africa for a whole year. Ridiculous.
So they've organized a Lenten drink fast. No beverages but water for the 40 days leading up to Easter (Sundays are feast days, accounting for the extra six days). No coffee, no soda, no tea, no bottled water. Just tap water.
The goal is two-fold. One, like all good fasts, the lack of something should remind you of what you have. In this case, a God who cares for the peoples of the world. When I crave coffee or go through a caffeine-loss headache, I thank God for the blessings he has given me, I pray that He will bless the Blood:Water Mission endeavors, and I pray for the health and safety of those around the world who do not have access to clean water.
Two, I keep track of all the drinks I would be drinking normally. They even have a website set up to help me remember. At the end of the 40 days, I'll donate the money that would have normally gone to beverages and instead help build a well for others (this also ensures my motivations are correct, and not simply a way to save some money).
So far it's going well. Two days in! I'm excited to grow from this, to learn to trust God, to think more globally, and to do my small part in helping someone else.
If anyone else is interested in joining (totally okay to join in late!), check out their website at http://40days.bloodwatermission.com/.
But I never did Lent, because I was a good Baptist girl. Then I grew up and realized, who cares what the denomination of my church does? I do what I want! So now I do Lent, when I remember.
This year I saw a friend's facebook status talking about this thing called 40 Days of Water. It's organized by Blood:Water Mission, a non-profit group I've followed since Donald Miller did their cross-country bike ride. They are dedicated to building wells and getting clean water to people in Africa, specifically Uganda. Their punchline is this: for $1, you can provide clean water to someone in Africa for a whole year. Ridiculous.
So they've organized a Lenten drink fast. No beverages but water for the 40 days leading up to Easter (Sundays are feast days, accounting for the extra six days). No coffee, no soda, no tea, no bottled water. Just tap water.
The goal is two-fold. One, like all good fasts, the lack of something should remind you of what you have. In this case, a God who cares for the peoples of the world. When I crave coffee or go through a caffeine-loss headache, I thank God for the blessings he has given me, I pray that He will bless the Blood:Water Mission endeavors, and I pray for the health and safety of those around the world who do not have access to clean water.
Two, I keep track of all the drinks I would be drinking normally. They even have a website set up to help me remember. At the end of the 40 days, I'll donate the money that would have normally gone to beverages and instead help build a well for others (this also ensures my motivations are correct, and not simply a way to save some money).
So far it's going well. Two days in! I'm excited to grow from this, to learn to trust God, to think more globally, and to do my small part in helping someone else.
If anyone else is interested in joining (totally okay to join in late!), check out their website at http://40days.bloodwatermission.com/.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Boys Over Flowers
A woman at the library has become friends with me because we share the same taste in YA books. Once a week she comes in, finds me in my office, and we share whether or not the books we read over the past few days were any good or not. After establishing our bond, I introduced her to manga. She was skeptical at first, then fell totally in love with it.
Last week she approached me with some trepidation and admitted that she was hooked on something new. Korean TV dramas! I was skeptical, but I found one that she recommended on Netflix. I'm ten episodes into Boys Over Flowers (near as I can tell, that's the Korean equivalent of "bros before hos"), and I LOVE IT.
It's real actors, let me say that straight up so you can picture it correctly. This show cracks me up. Like, twice today I've cackled loudly at something ridiculous that Goo Jung Pyo does. The premise is that there's this crazy rich school in Korea that is run by F4--four best friends who are the richest, handsomest, most athletic boys in the whole world. They fly to islands that they own for the weekend. If they dislike someone, they get the whole school to beat them up until they either commit suicide or quit the school.
It gets intense up in thur.
Enter our heroine! A commoner who does something heroic while delivering laundry and is given a scholarship to the school. She speaks her mind and stands up to F4, which makes them exert all their forces of hatred upon her. But she doesn't back down! And in fact karate kicks Goo Jung Pyo in the face! Obviously, two of the group fall in love with her!
HAHAHAHA. It's total fantasy, but I love it.
First Jan Di falls in love with the brooding guy who sits around contemplatively, being angsty and quiet. Ugh. He's so boring, and I hate him.
But Goo Jung Pyo has a huge crush on Jan Di, which she is not having. He is the ultimate in spoiled little rich boys used to getting everything he wants. I was not sure about the show until Goo Jung Pyo kidnapped Jan Di and spent $100,000 forcing a makeover on her. He declared her pretty enough to date him after the transformation, and she promptly tore off the jewelry and scrubbed off the makeup and left him. He couldn't understand why she was mad.
That is when I fell in love, both with Goo Jung Pyo and with the show at large.
Ten episodes in, they are in a weird relationship made of equal parts frustration and adoration. For instance, there was a big misunderstanding and it ended up that Jan Di was in the wrong.
Jan Di: I'm so sorry.
Goo Jung Pyo: Sorry isn't enough. Otherwise there wouldn't be laws.
Jan Di: Then what can I do?
Goo Jung Pyo: Grant me three wishes!
Jan Di: What!? No!
Goo Jung Pyo: Yes, or we're breaking up.
Jan Di: Fine. ...But you have to think of them in one minute!
Goo Jung Pyo: No! That's not fair!
Jan Di: One. Two. Three.
Goo Jung Pyo: STOP. Stop!
Jan Di: Sixty. Hah.
I love this show. Banter and love/hate? Two of my favorite things.
Last week she approached me with some trepidation and admitted that she was hooked on something new. Korean TV dramas! I was skeptical, but I found one that she recommended on Netflix. I'm ten episodes into Boys Over Flowers (near as I can tell, that's the Korean equivalent of "bros before hos"), and I LOVE IT.
It's real actors, let me say that straight up so you can picture it correctly. This show cracks me up. Like, twice today I've cackled loudly at something ridiculous that Goo Jung Pyo does. The premise is that there's this crazy rich school in Korea that is run by F4--four best friends who are the richest, handsomest, most athletic boys in the whole world. They fly to islands that they own for the weekend. If they dislike someone, they get the whole school to beat them up until they either commit suicide or quit the school.
It gets intense up in thur.
Enter our heroine! A commoner who does something heroic while delivering laundry and is given a scholarship to the school. She speaks her mind and stands up to F4, which makes them exert all their forces of hatred upon her. But she doesn't back down! And in fact karate kicks Goo Jung Pyo in the face! Obviously, two of the group fall in love with her!
HAHAHAHA. It's total fantasy, but I love it.
First Jan Di falls in love with the brooding guy who sits around contemplatively, being angsty and quiet. Ugh. He's so boring, and I hate him.
But Goo Jung Pyo has a huge crush on Jan Di, which she is not having. He is the ultimate in spoiled little rich boys used to getting everything he wants. I was not sure about the show until Goo Jung Pyo kidnapped Jan Di and spent $100,000 forcing a makeover on her. He declared her pretty enough to date him after the transformation, and she promptly tore off the jewelry and scrubbed off the makeup and left him. He couldn't understand why she was mad.
That is when I fell in love, both with Goo Jung Pyo and with the show at large.
Ten episodes in, they are in a weird relationship made of equal parts frustration and adoration. For instance, there was a big misunderstanding and it ended up that Jan Di was in the wrong.
Jan Di: I'm so sorry.
Goo Jung Pyo: Sorry isn't enough. Otherwise there wouldn't be laws.
Jan Di: Then what can I do?
Goo Jung Pyo: Grant me three wishes!
Jan Di: What!? No!
Goo Jung Pyo: Yes, or we're breaking up.
Jan Di: Fine. ...But you have to think of them in one minute!
Goo Jung Pyo: No! That's not fair!
Jan Di: One. Two. Three.
Goo Jung Pyo: STOP. Stop!
Jan Di: Sixty. Hah.
I love this show. Banter and love/hate? Two of my favorite things.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Soap Box: Depression
A good chunk of my experience with Christians leaves me thinking, "Oh man, I hope other people realize that is NOT how it's supposed to be."
I know this is revealing my pride, and the fact that I think I know everything. But aside from that, this specific event really turned my stomach.
While driving home from church yesterday, I saw another church's sign read, "We're too blessed to be depressed!"
GAG ME. Like, I wanted to run to that sign and tear it apart. I wanted to cover it with my arms and yell to passing motorists, "THIS ISN'T TRUE!"
Obviously that's a personal topic for me. I have dealt with some depression, and I know some people who have struggled with clinical depression. You know what is the exact opposite of helpful when you're in the middle of crippling depression? Being told that real Christians shouldn't feel that way!
I mean, what? What Bible are they reading? Did they miss all the psalms that God put in His Word to assure us that we can bring all our emotions and vitriol to Him? Did they ignore Job's whopping 36 chapters of endless discussions on the cause of suffering, and how God didn't actually explain so much as say, "I AM GOD, OKAY?" And did they skip the part of the Passion where Jesus sweats blood because he's so freaked out about what is to come (and asks to get out of it)?
The way I understand Christianity is this: throughout joy and throughout pain, whether we feel deliriously happy, apathetic, or depressed, we look to God. We look to Him in thankfulness, in hope, and in anger. God can handle all our emotions. Turning them off, or worse, pretending they aren't there, helps no one.
So if you're depressed, don't worry. You can be blessed at the same time.
I know this is revealing my pride, and the fact that I think I know everything. But aside from that, this specific event really turned my stomach.
While driving home from church yesterday, I saw another church's sign read, "We're too blessed to be depressed!"
GAG ME. Like, I wanted to run to that sign and tear it apart. I wanted to cover it with my arms and yell to passing motorists, "THIS ISN'T TRUE!"
Obviously that's a personal topic for me. I have dealt with some depression, and I know some people who have struggled with clinical depression. You know what is the exact opposite of helpful when you're in the middle of crippling depression? Being told that real Christians shouldn't feel that way!
I mean, what? What Bible are they reading? Did they miss all the psalms that God put in His Word to assure us that we can bring all our emotions and vitriol to Him? Did they ignore Job's whopping 36 chapters of endless discussions on the cause of suffering, and how God didn't actually explain so much as say, "I AM GOD, OKAY?" And did they skip the part of the Passion where Jesus sweats blood because he's so freaked out about what is to come (and asks to get out of it)?
The way I understand Christianity is this: throughout joy and throughout pain, whether we feel deliriously happy, apathetic, or depressed, we look to God. We look to Him in thankfulness, in hope, and in anger. God can handle all our emotions. Turning them off, or worse, pretending they aren't there, helps no one.
So if you're depressed, don't worry. You can be blessed at the same time.
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