New Roots Lenten Season Experience 2024 // Week 2

Week 2 // Wednesday, February 21, 2024 -  Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Observing Lent as a Lifestyle Change
What is it about your spiritual life that you would like to be different? What is the change that you would like to see in yourself? How can your observance of Lent help you progress toward that desired change?

This question came to the forefront during a conversation with some of my colleagues over the weekend and the response to the question centered on how to observe Lent as a lifestyle change. This next part is my contribution to the discussion.

What if we considered our observance of Lent as a lifestyle change instead of as a spiritual diet?

Well, what is the difference, you may ask.Consider our relationship with food to answer this question. What if you had an outfit that you needed to lose a few pounds to fit into for a special occasion? You may adjust your diet to meet that goal, but afterwards, you would go back to your previous eating habits.

On the other hand, what if you decided that the way you were eating was having a negative impact on how you show up in the world and that you want to improve your eating habits going forward?
 
Your approach would be different. That principle can be applied to our observance of Lent. Our observance of Lent can be a time of making changes in our lives that will help improve how we show up in the world. What does how we show up in the world have to do with Lent? How we show up in the world and the extent to which we consider how Christ showed up in the world impacts the lives that we live.

So, I ask again,

What is the change that you would like to see in yourself? How can your observance of Lent help you progress toward that desired change? Just to be clear, the change that you would like to see in yourself need not have anything to do with food. My hope is that the change that you want to see is one that will have lasting positive impact and that will be reflective of the gift that Christ gave us.

Invitation: Make this Lenten season a time of intentional spiritual lifestyle positive change.

1. Spend time with the questions: 
   • What is the change that I want to see in myself? 
   • How can my observance of Lent help me progress toward this desired positive change?
2. Ask God to help you with these questions.
3. Engage in practices such as prayer, journaling, visioning, etc. to help explore these questions.
4. Record your answers to these questions in a place that you can refer/add to them daily.
5. If you identify actions to take, then act, if/when the timing is right, continuing to seek God, recognizing that adjustment is a part of change.
6. It may or may not be appropriate to share your decision with someone; you can seek God regarding this as well and act accordingly.
7. Celebrate the positive change you are embarking on.

Featured Selection: Moving Forward by Hezekiah Walker
https://open.spotify.com/track/4dwSbiKzRYfx4wjS6Yoyiu?si=05e5431d28904b5d