I often hear people say that they can’t do such and such a thing for Lent because they’ll fail, or won’t do it properly, or whatever other excuse they can come up with. The thing is that that’s sort of the point. I mean if you are trying to let go of sin, then yes…success is imperative. However, if you are merely giving up a good because you are a little too attached to it, then it’s ok to face the struggle. In fact I’d say that it’s a big part of what Lent is about. You need to come to the point that you realize that you can’t do it on your own and that you need a ‘Savior’…you NEED Jesus! No matter what our struggles are, He’s the only One that can provide the perfect solution for us.No problem is too big, or too small. So the aim of Lent is not to test your own strength, but for you to come to realize and depend on God’s and build or strengthen your relationship with Him. That’s it…that’s the point…a more intimate walk with Jesus!
So after having prayed about it and feeling that this is what the Lord wants from you, then you are ready for the Lenten Journey. Stick with me and we’ll ‘step into it’ together. The way we make it through is to keep our focus on Jesus. You’ve heard the phrase, keep the goal in mind. It’s the same idea. We are going to be crossing the barren desert into the Promised Land. So we will be focusing on what is in front of us and not on what is underneath our feet, nor on that which we have left behind. The thing that is waiting for us is a life of grace and virtue. So that is exactly what we’ll be focusing on, with Jesus by our side the entire time. The Lord has given me 12 Virtues to focus on. I had started on February 13th with the Nineveh 90 folks but I’m being inspired to start over, and to keep going until Pentecost! Come Holy Spirit!
Here is a list of the Virtues we’ll be focusing on:
Wk 1: Humility Wk 5: Faith Wk 9: Courage
Wk 2: Chastity Wk 6: Hope Wk 10: Obedience
Wk 3: Friendship Wk 7: Patience Wk 11: Perserverance
Wk 4: Love Wk 8: Wisdom Wk 12: Poverty
We will appropriately start with humility this coming week and will continue stepping right through Holy Week which will see us focusing on Hope for the conclusion of Lent, then if you decide to keep going with me we will complete the 12 weeks and then start back up with Humility which leads us right to Pentecost Sunday.
We will of course be open to ALL of God’s graces and any work that He wants to do in and through us. However by focusing on a specific virtue, we are giving ourselves holy boundaries so that our mind and strength doesn’t get scattered in every which way.
Help for the Journey:
1)If you need book suggestions, please check out Our Book Store , I will be adding new books as I feel inspired.
2) You can download my FREE daily planner that I’ve put together just for this journey. Nineveh Daily Planner
3) And you can also reach out to me at any time via the different Social Media sites.
So I hope that you decide to step into this Lenten Journey with me, as we aim to keep our focus on Jesus and the virtues that He’d like us to learn and grow in.