Lent

I grew up Catholic and I have always observed Lent. I attended Catholic school for about four years and during those four years it was impressed upon me the importance of Lent.

However, during one Lent service our priest told me something I had never heard before. He told us that Lent is not about giving something up, making sacrifices, as we often do during this time of year. He said it doesn't matter so much if we don't give something up in observation of Lent. He told us that what matters more is doing good deeds in this special time.

He encouraged us to go out of our way in order to make someone's day a little brighter, to show our love to one another as Jesus shows his love to us.

This Lenten season, I am going to challenge myself to do one good deed a day for someone I love. Whether this be dropping a friend an e-mail, sending someone an encouraging card, taking time out to do some community service, or just to alert the neighbor that the UPS man dropped by and couldn't get into our building, I want to set aside a little time every day this season to show love and compassion to those around me.

I encourage all of you to do the same.

Pleasing God

Joyce Meyer, in her book Approval Addiction assets that all we need to do in order to receive God's approval is to believe in Jesus and desire to please Him. God wants us to fulfill His Will for our lives, but He knows we are imperfect. He does not expect us to behave perfectly, she says, but He does expect us to have a heart that is right.

This is a hard concept for me, personally, to grasp. I have been (and still am) a people pleaser, so it is hard for me to fathom how God will accept me just as I am as long as I have a good heart and believe in Jesus.

Pleasing God

Joyce Meyer, in her book Approval Addiction assets that all we need to do in order to receive God's approval is to believe in Jesus and desire to please Him. God wants us to fulfill His Will for our lives, but He knows we are imperfect. He does not expect us to behave perfectly, she says, but He does expect us to have a heart that is right.

This is a hard concept for me, personally, to grasp. I have been (and still am) a people pleaser, so it is hard for me to fathom how God will accept me just as I am as long as I have a good heart and believe in Jesus.