Making Space For LentScot Bower - 8 Mar 2011

I've been told that hitting a frozen chocolate creme egg with a wooden mallet then scattering the shards over a thin layer of batter creates the perfect pancake. (Though I should warn you to wear protective goggles when hitting the egg.)

We all know that Shrove Tuesday means a little more than our annual excuse to feast on pancakes. We know it's traditionally the day when we should clear out those luxury items from our kitchen cupboards in preparation for Lent. And we know that Lent is about preparing ourselves for Easter. It's a day of preparation for a season of self-examination as we focus on Jesus through the 40 days of Lent.

This year I'm wondering whether the Pancake Day practice of going through my cupboards and getting rid of non-essential ingredients should extend to the rest of my life. It probably should.

The apostle Paul talked of throwing off all the things that hindered him (Hebrews 12:1), and said that he considered everything else rubbish compared to knowing Christ (Phil 3:8). Evidently Paul audited his life regularly to make sure nothing was 'hindering' him, that nothing was getting in the way of him and knowing Jesus.

This year the question is 'what am I casting off?', what practices do I need to shift in my life to help me follow Jesus a little closer than I do now, and see him glorified in and through my life?

If I'm honest giving up chocolate isn't going to help, neither is cutting down on my (admittedly high) caffeine intake. So this is the list I came up with:

• I want to work a little less (still working hard but avoid working at the weekends and evenings) - I know I need to make more time for my family.
• I recognise I need to go to bed earlier - working late and sleeping little doesn't make for a happy me.
• I will set my alarm AND get up when it goes off. Rather than running out the door with a piece of toast in my mouth I want to make space in the mornings.
• I will express myself creatively at least once a week - I haven't painted in over a year and my blog has been left to die quietly. I need to Join with Jesus and allow him to inspire me to dream creatively whether that means picking up the guitar, paintbrush or pen.
  

And that's about it.

As a community we'll be having soup weeks and rice days (Soup Weeks mean eating our main meal together as soup and giving the money we save away. And for our regular all-together sabbath meal we'll be forgoing the usual simple food in favour of even simpler (just) rice to focus our prayers and help align ourselves with a suffering world. It's not much I know, but it's something.)

But for me my personal 'hinderances' are about making the most of my time. Spending more time with my family, more time with my friends and more time with my God.

I'll let you know how I get on.

What are you giving up this Lent? What are you making space for in your life? Leave a comment below and let's encourage one another as we look to follow Jesus through Lent. 

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