The Lord is full of mercy and grace.  I have been under-the-weather and also feeling sorry for myself this past week.  I am so grateful for His lovingkindness and know that although I don’t deserve it~the gift of life has been freely given to me.  By focusing on Christ, my Lord, instead of myself, I am already feeling better!

There are many times when I wonder what path the Lord has for me and if it will continue along a single path or join with another.  As I am growing and maturing in many areas of my life, I am confident that the Lord has a wonderful plan for me and I need to be watchful and listening to Him.

Is It Springtime?

Yay ~ we are getting some sunshine this week.  I hope things dry out but don’t start growing yet.  I have yard work to do before the yard starts growing!

Week 2 of Eat To Live is going well.  I didn’t weigh or use measuring tape so I am relying on how I feel and how my clothes fit to note any weight loss.

I know a lot of people who make a list of their yearly projects.  I was thinking about that this morning and realized that I don’t do that on a regular basis.  I suppose budget-wise it would be a really good habit to be in.  I have some organizing projects that won’t take any financial budget, just time budget.  However, I do have a couple of projects that delve into the financial realm of things.  These aren’t huge projects so the output should be minimal.

I give thanks daily to our awesome Lord who gives us these beautiful bits of spring to entice us into the new season.

Eat To Live

Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman is an eating plan that is filled with greens, greens and more greens; throw in some beans, other veggies and fruit.  For the first 6 weeks, you total remove salt, sugar, sugar substitutes and most starches along with caffeine and alcohol from your menu plan.

Well, I started it on Sunday (yesterday).  Since I consider myself vegan (mostly in the sense of food), this isn’t a huge stretch for me.  However, lately I have been eating more processed and fast foods than I should.  With spring approaching and daylight savings time just happening, I thought this would be a great time to jump in with both feet and do a bit of detoxing.  I am still drinking 1 cup of coffee in the mornings for now.  When I run out, I may decide not to buy anymore and just stick with herbal teas ~ time will tell.

Lent - To Observe or Not To Observe

The season of Lent began yesterday.

From About.com:

What is Lent?

The Christian Season of Lent

By Mary Fairchild

Lent is the Christian season of preparation before Easter. In Western Christianity, Ash Wednesday marks the first day, or the start of the season of Lent, which begins 40 days prior to Easter (Sundays are not included in the count).

Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting,repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Not all Christian churches observe Lent. Lent is mostly observed by the Lutheran, Methodist,Presbyterian and Anglican denominations, and also by Roman Catholics. Eastern Orthodox churches observe Lent or Great Lent, during the 6 weeks or 40 days preceding Palm Sunday with fasting continuing during the Holy Week of Orthodox Easter. Lent for Eastern Orthodox churches begins on Monday (called Clean Monday) and Ash Wednesday is not observed.

The Bible does not mention the custom of Lent, however, the practice of repentance and mourning in ashes is found in 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3; and Matthew 11:21.

Since the Bible does not mention the custom of Lent, it would appear that this is a man-made observance.

I think reflection on Jesus’ suffering, sacrifice and resurrection makes sense; however, I wonder if a man-made prescription is necessary to do this.  Reflecting on our Lord and Saviour and the mercy and grace we receive from Him should be thought of more often that just 40 days before Easter.

Schedule Change

I have been contemplating for many weeks giving up my CTR (commute trip reduction) day.  So instead of working 9 hour days with a day off every other week, I would work 9 hour days consistently.  Since this thought continues to reoccur for no particular reason (that I can discern), I believe it is the Holy Spirit speaking to me.  Yes it is nice to have that day off of work every other week; however, I seldom have anything planned and so it tends to be a lazy (wasted) day.
I spoke with my manager this morning and starting next week I will be working Monday-Friday, 8:15 to 5:15 with an hour lunch from 11-12.