Hello, again!
I hope you've had a pleasant Wednesday. Mine has been pretty great. :) I got a lot of stuff done during the first half of the day, so my afternoon was fairly easy-going and I enjoyed working with the Battle of the Books team, as always.
Here are some awesome things from this day:
1. I got be a Mystery Guest Reader in Mrs. Clark's 1st grade class today! She gave the students some clues, and none of them guessed me! I got to surprise the class and sit and read a Dr. Seuss book with them, and they were pretty much the best audience ever.
2. Did I mention that I got a lot of stuff done during the first half of the day? Because seriously...I haven't had that productive of a day in a long while. I was able to attend to some printer issues, talk with our new technician, AND get my newsletter finished and sent out before lunch time. Perfection.
3. I mentioned our Battle of the Books team. I absolutely adore these kids. We've been reading our butts off in preparation for our competition--it was originally supposed to happen this past Monday, but due to weather concerns, it was moved to later this month. Let me tell you, our team knows these books. I'm pretty pumped.
4. This evening, I'm going to head to a local church for an Ash Wednesday service. My friend Richelle and I attended this church last year for Ash Wednesday, because our home churches are a bit of a drive away. It was a cool experience, and I look forward to enjoying it once again later tonight.
Phew, those were some biggies.
I've been pondering whether I wanted to find a quote or a verse from scripture today, and I think scripture is a little more fitting as I'm getting into a "Lenten" mood and preparing for this next phase of the Christian calendar. I did some digging for appropriate Lenten scriptures and was drawn to a passage in Isaiah that discusses fasting:
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
[Isaiah 58: 6-9]
Basically, this entire passage (read verses 1 through 12 for greater context) is about how fasting isn't about self-suffering and denial for the sake of getting God to notice all that you're doing. True fasting is about redirecting your wants and needs to encompass more than just yourself. It's about noticing and giving of yourself to those less fortunate in any way you can. Because once we really let go of ourselves and put others first, as the scripture says, "Then your light shall break forth like the morning," and what could be better than that?
I'm off for the evening. If you feel like sharing, I'd love to know what other folks are doing for Lent. I say "doing," because people don't always give something up. Some people take on extra disciplines during this season, which I think is equally awesome.
Have a wonderful evening, friends! I'll see you back here tomorrow!
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