Tag Lent

Time for a Change 2026 (5 of 9)

Todd R Leave a comment

Fellow travelers,

Are there small changes you can make to improve your life? Are there small things you are doing that are harmful to you?  Can each of us build a better “liturgy” for our lives over time, step by step? Can we accumulate victories in small battles that help us fight bigger ones?  Over time can we better love God, ourselves, and others?

Instead of making New Year’s resolutions or celebrating Lent, every 40 days I try to make a small, but permanent change in my life habits.  I keep a list of the changes I’ve made or want to make.  This is all voluntary, so I don’t criticize myself for missing a deadline or going back on something.  If I fail at some of the changes, the successful ones still add up to a massive shift over time.  I don’t always do “spiritual” changes, just something small I think will make my life better, permanently.  For example, one of my goals from 2021 was to drink at least 32 oz of water a day, and I still do it (with an occasional miss).

Technically yesterday (June 10th) was the 40th day since the last one, but that’s ok.  I’ll still be making a small change (actually revisiting an old change that didn’t stick), and I invite you to participate.  If you do, keep a record of what you’re changing.  As the months and years pass, hopefully the cumulative change becomes enormous. The next date on the schedule (39 days later) is 7/20/26, and I have a couple of things under consideration for then.  I’ll be posting a reminder at about that time; if you want to participate, start making a list of things you might want to do more or less of, and let’s see what we can accomplish!  This habit of changing habits has been helpful to me and might be to you, even if you have your own way of doing it.

Time for a Change 2026 (4 of 9)

Todd R 2 Comments

Fellow travelers,

Are there small changes you can make to improve your life? Are there small things you are doing that are harmful to you?  Can each of us build a better “liturgy” for our lives over time, step by step? Can we accumulate victories in small battles that help us fight bigger ones?  Over time can we better love God, ourselves, and others?

Instead of making New Year’s resolutions or celebrating Lent, every 40 days I try to make a small, permanent change in my life habits.  I keep a list of the changes I’ve made or want to make.  This is all voluntary, so I don’t criticize myself for missing a deadline or going back on something.  If I fail at some of the changes, the successful ones still add up to a massive shift over time.  I don’t always do “spiritual” changes, just something small I think will make my life better, permanently.  For example, one of my goals from 2021 was to drink at least 32 oz of water a day, and I still do it (with an occasional miss).

I’ll be making a small change, and if you want to participate, tomorrow, May 1st, is 120 days after the start of the New Year and time for the next change.  If you do, keep a record of what you’re changing.  As the months and years pass, hopefully the cumulative change becomes enormous. The next date on the schedule (40 days later) is 6/10/26, and I have a couple of things under consideration for then.  I’ll be posting a reminder at about that time; if you want to participate, start making a list of things you might want to do more or less of, and let’s see what we can accomplish!  This habit of changing habits has been helpful to me and might be to you, even if you have your own way of doing it.

Time for a Change 2026 (3 of 9)

Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

Are there small things you are doing that are harmful to you? Are there small changes you can make to improve your life? Can each of us build a better “liturgy” for our lives over time, step by step? Can we accumulate victories in small battles that help us fight bigger ones?  Over time can we better love God, ourselves, and others?

Instead of making resolutions or celebrating Lent, every 40 days I try to make a small, permanent change in my life habits.  I keep a list of the changes I’ve made or want to make.  This is all voluntary, so I don’t criticize myself for missing a deadline or going back on something.  If I fail at some of the changes, the successful ones still add up to a massive shift over time.  I don’t always do “spiritual” or major changes, just something I think will make my life better, permanently.  For example, in 2021, I decided to drink at least 32 oz of water a day, and I still do it (with an occasional miss).  My last change was an average daily step goal I started in February.  I’ve met that goal so far.

My change for 3/22/26 is one I’ve tried before (1/1/25), and it worked for a few months, but then it didn’t.  So, I’m going to try it again.  I’m not giving specifics here, but I’ll say it has to do with making better use of my time.

If you want to participate, tomorrow, March 22nd, is 80 days after the start of the New Year and time for the next change.  If you do, keep a record of what you’re changing.  As the months and years pass, hopefully the cumulative change is enormous. The next date on the schedule (40 days later) is 5/1/26, and I have a couple of things under consideration for then.  I’ll be posting a reminder at about that time; if you want to participate, start making a list of things you might want to do more or less of, and let’s see what we can accomplish!  This habit has been helpful to me and might be to you, even if you have your own way of doing it.

The Weight of Lent

Todd R 1 Comment

When reading the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah, chapters 34 and 35, I noticed the two chapters together have an interesting contrast. In chapter 34, with Jerusalem under siege by the Babylonians, King Zedekiah ordered the people to release all of their Hebrew slaves, seemingly with the motivation of appeasing God.  However, soon the people were returned to slavery.[1]  In chapter 35, this behavior is contrasted with the Rechabites, who, for about 200 years, had obeyed their ancestors’ vow to not drink wine, or build houses, but to live in tents.  God tells Jeremiah to call some Rechabites together, pour them some wine, and offer it to them.  But they refused to drink, citing their ancestral vow.[2]  The two stories together illustrate that this family could obey a stricter code than God’s, from a lesser authority (their human ancestor), and on less-important issues.  The Rechabites are an admirable example to the rest of God’s people, and a testament to what the covenant faithfulness of God to us looks like.

What does this story have to do with Lent?  This metaphor from the Apostle Paul provides some help:

Photo by Victor Freitas on Unsplash

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.” – 1 Corinthians 9:24-26

Paul says discipline and self-control are valuable in the same way that training is valuable to an athlete – they bring us closer to obtaining an objective that is valuable to us.  To those who love God, being a disciple will require discipline, and vows are a form of discipline.

Lent is celebrated many different ways by many different people but is generally seen as a time to practice spiritual discipline as a way to greater awareness of, gratefulness toward, and/or obedience to, God.  Often something is given up for the 40 days of Lent, which makes it in some ways similar to the vows of the Rechabites, or the Nazirite vow taken by Samson (or by his parents) in the book of Judges[3].

However, if we do not value the prize – God Himself – nothing we give up for Lent will make us – or God Himself – happy.  Lent will not help us love Him, or our neighbors, more.  Like the Israelites who flip-flopped on slavery, treating it as a bargaining chip with God and not as an act of faithfulness to Him, wrong motivations can lead to cycles of disappointment.  But, for those in Christ, the prize is worth every ounce of effort we can put into it.  Discipline during Lent can be like lifting weights for an athlete, strengthening them, and enabling them to better compete in their sport, but discipline during Lent for the sake of self-denial or for trying to impress God is to aim too low.  True religion to God is not a trade – He has already given us everything in Christ Jesus and we can’t earn more.  “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” – Matthew 5:5

I’ll close with this long quote C.S. Lewis’ sermon, The Weight of Glory:

“The New Testament has lots to say about self-denial, but not about self-denial as an end in itself. We are told to deny ourselves and to take up our crosses in order that we may follow Christ; and nearly every description of what we shall ultimately find if we do so contains an appeal to desire. If there lurks in most modern minds the notion that to desire our own good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”[4]

[Note: Today’s post idea came to me this morning, based on the beginning of Lent and tying together a couple of things I’ve recently read.  While not really part of the Beatitudes series, this post seemed fitting.  However, with Return To Office beginning, Lent has already begun by the time I could write this!]

[1] Jeremiah 34:8-11
[2] Jeremiah 35:1-10
[3] Judges 13:7
[4] Lewis, C.S.  The Weight of Glory (1949).  P. 25-26.

Time for a Change 2026 (2 of 9)

Todd R 1 Comment

Fellow travelers,

Are there small things you are doing that are harmful to you? Are there small changes you can make to improve your life? Can each of us build a better “liturgy” for our lives over time, step by step? Can we accumulate victories in small battles that help us fight bigger ones?  Over time can we better love God, ourselves, and others?

Instead of making resolutions or celebrating Lent, I try to make a small, permanent change every 40 days after each New Year.  I keep a list of the changes I’ve made or want to make. Sometimes I do nothing until later – I don’t criticize myself for missing a deadline or going back on something.  This is all voluntary.  If I fail at half (or more) of the changes, the successful ones still add up to a massive shift in habits over time.  The changes don’t need to be “spiritual” or major, they just need to be something I think will make my life better, permanently.  For example, in 2021, I decided to drink at least 32 oz of water a day, and I still do it (with an occasional miss).

If you want to participate, tomorrow, February 10th, is 40 days after the start of the New Year and time for the next change.  If you do, keep a record of what you’re changing.  As the months and years pass, hopefully the cumulative change is enormous.

Photo by Olia Gozha on Unsplash

My change for 2/10/26 is a daily step count goal.  Since late 2024, I’ve been working from home after my company consolidated some of their real estate.  Unfortunately, this means I’ve been getting more and more sedentary over time, especially in winter.  My goal isn’t very aggressive (it’s about 1/3 less than my pre-WFH rate, but it’s about 50% more than what I’ve been doing) but it will be a good improvement for my health.  To keep myself from getting discouraged about missing a day or two (which I will), the goal is an average over time.  The goal is to feel better, not worse.

The next date on the schedule (40 days later) is 3/22/26, and I have a couple of things under consideration for then.  I’ll be posting a reminder at about that time; if you want to participate, start making a list of things you might want to do more or less of, and let’s see what we can accomplish!

This habit has been helpful to me and might be to you, even if you have your own way of doing it.  In the meantime, as I write this, I’m going to go walk the stairs in my house (and drink some water) because outside it feels like 8 degrees and there’s still ice everywhere!