I’ve never refrained from anything for 40 days straight! So you can imagine my surprise at this one thought that didn’t leave my mind:
~ Do a fast this year – but not a regular one – fast for a full 40 days. Lay down your pride, comfort and convenience. ~
BAM! That one stuck. Fasting pride and convenience…really? How do you do this? How is that supposed to work?
Well, along came a phrase that seemed to be squatting in my brain with no intention of leaving…and usually those ideas are equally inconvenient as they are rewarding:
Out of that grew the idea for my fast this Lent. 40 days of deliberate acts of kindness as a result of fasting my own pride, comfort and convenience.
I will consciously and deliberately inconvenience myself, step down from my high horse and go out of my way to be kind to friends, family and strangers. Through this I hope to make this principle a foundation in my life, not only a project I’ll blog about. I shall attempt to become more conscious of situations where my personality would choose a self-centred action instead of a kind one.
And no, I’m not doing this to earn my sainthood or a massive mansion in heaven (thankfully that’s not how you get those ;-)) I’m also not doing this to promote any kind of agenda or put myself into the spot light.
I'm doing it for people...because I love Jesus and because He loves people. By serving them, I want to serve Him. By setting my heart right, I want Him to change my heart for the better.
By blogging about it (hopefully) every day, I want to let you see how I’m doing, which struggles I face and which insights I gain. However, most of all, I want to give you examples, options and ideas of how you could also live out deliberate acts of kindness.
Well then…bring it on! ;-) I’m excited and expectant!
Day 1:
I bought one of my flatmates dinner. He can’t afford to eat out at the moment, so I took him out for Indian food. We had a lovely time, can't believe I didn't really know him too well after living in the same flat for nearly a year.
[Sorry, as this is my first day doing this, I forgot to take a photo]
I LOVE THANKSGIVING!
It started out in my childhood, when my father and his girlfriend one year decided that stealing Thanksgiving in order to have an excuse for a good party sounded like a marvellous idea and thus it became our tradition. They had both been to America quite a few times and had brought back a love for the festivity and some mouth-watering recipes!
Although we had the real Thanksgiving food, turkeys so big they barely fit into our oven with deliciously prepared chestnut-stuffing and sides of salad, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and my favourite, the little known spicy tomato-sweet corn. We however, never took on the tradition of giving thanks.
Lately, and especially since I have embarked on my exciting journey of giving my life and heart to Christ, the question of what I am thankful for, has been crucial to my everyday routine. So, I won’t let a day pass by to thank God for what he is doing in my life. It has been so enriching and challenging to actively thank God every day, because seriously people, living on the side of the world that we live in, there’s always something to be thankful for.
I’ll make a start, but think about it too, what are you thankful for?
I’m thankful for unanswered prayers; they have taught me that my will is not always best for me.
I’m thankful for having honest friends; they correct me, encourage me and are the most amazing people to do life with.
I’m thankful for my grandparents; they instilled in me a hunger for knowledge.
I’m thankful for mentors; they challenge me, teach me and bring out the best in me.
I’m thankful to my God, for never letting my life get boring or predictable.
WOW, it's been quiet on here...but that's about all that's been quiet lately.
Initially, I was really hoping that this blog, the one I had actually put some thought and heart into - well, before it started anyway, would be different to my other attempts at blogging. But to no surprise I didn't get very far.
To be fair though, life's kinda interrupted my cosy blogging routine. First off, 7 days after my last post in February I was hit by a car. Yes, a real flippin’ car...and no, I'm not kidding. I guess it's just one of the peaks/lows that my crazy rollercoaster life has taken, but to say the least, I was kinda lucky to have gotten away with only a few bruises and a concussion.
It's not like I really had a lot of time to think about the What, How and especially Why of my accident, because just a few weeks after it happened a big women's conference, that I worked for, kicked into gear and so, life just continued interrupting my...well, actually life interrupted my plans. My plans for blogging, working, projects I had going...just about all of it. And now...five months after, I'm still having a hard time getting back on the horse. Somehow, this life with all its interruptions has me desperate for some structure that's nowhere to be found.
So, I guess I'm asking you (my non-existent blog-readers): Has your life ever been majorly interrupted? Did you ever wonder whether planning ahead made any sense at all? How did you make your way out?
I'm curious to hear your bits and pieces to the puzzle.
Luv,
Julia
