My Reverse Lent Challenge

Laundry is going, turkey is the oven and the twins are napping. I am so glad you have joined me. I go in spurts, seasons, cycles.
1. There are other times when I feel that I am being stretched in too many directions, I feel like I am run ragged.

2. There are times when I just need to step back for awhile and focus on myself & my family, not in a selfish way.

3. There are other times when I feel like life has a great balance - I have time for myself and my family as well as time to reach out to others.

Before Christmas I felt like #1, I was rushing around trying to get everything ready for Christmas. I was not as organized as I sometimes am. By the time December 27, I felt ragged and worn out. This put me into #2. I felt like I needed a break, away from everyone & everything. I enjoyed the break from school but the break for me seemed to go on & on. I didn't want to see anyone, talk to anyone or go anywhere for weeks. I just needed a break. I couldn't even describe to anyone just how I felt, really the only word that came to mind was "unfriendly".

After about 2 months in that slump, I am now feeling like I am in season #3. I feel like I have a great balance between the time I spend on me, my family & those outside of our home.

This is now the time for lent so many people are talking about what they are giving up. I think too often the focus is on what is given up rather than putting the focus on Jesus. A blog that I like to read(karenehman.com) shared the idea of reverse lent which I have talked about before on my blog.

The idea is rather than give something up, why not take something on?

Pick up the phone & call someone, write someone a note, make a meal for someone, or just look for ways that you can be a blessing to others.

I recently heard a story of a woman who had many struggles in life. She was deaf and her husband left her after 28 years of marriage. She fell into depression. One day she got dressed and went out, for the first time in weeks. She went to the store to buy some cards. She wrote a card to each person on her street to let them know that she was praying for them and placed it in their mailboxes. People replied thanking her, saying that it was just what they needed that day.

In her troubles in trials, she chose to reach out to others.

Do you have someone in your life that really rubs you the wrong way? Do you allow them to steal your joy just by thinking about them? Why not pray for them instead? Why not encourage them? I think you will be blessed when you do.