First week Lenten check in

How is your relationship with God growing these Lenten days? I hope you are finding it helpful and renewing to take time each day for doing something positive and finding ways of reconnecting with God through taking a few moments for a prayer break throughout your day.

I am finding renewal through praying three times a day. I read aloud a Psalm and the Lord’s Prayer in the morning, again at noon, and in the evening; either at sunset or right before going to bed. Reading aloud is a key ingredient as it helps me pay attention to the words both as I read them and as I hear them. This practice for a little less than a week has already begun to open me to the needs of others. After I pause to pray and read aloud, my heart recalls others I want to pray for, so the “pump is already primed” for further prayers as I have time. As I start my day, pause at noon and before ending my day, I feel more connected to God and to others for whom I pray, as well.

When I first started praying at set times I would forget or get busy and flow past the time, but very soon I realized that setting an alarm on my watch or my phone to remind that it’s time to pray helped a great deal. Now when the alarm gently sounds, I remember and look forward to time to pray. In the middle of the day, I can stop wherever I am and at least pray the Lord’s Prayer, if I don’t have time or a Bible handy in order to read a Psalm, too. I have come to look forward to that time, and it helps me make it through my day feeling more at ease. At night I have noticed that I also have an easier time falling asleep.

How have you been noticing joy through your Lenten days? How have you given yourself a few moments daily to recognize God’s presence, or to just breathe and be thankful? I hope your time of taking a Lenten break each day is helping you feel connected, loved and encouraged. I believe it is God’s desire to be with us and be known throughout our days. Please share your experiences with others. Sometimes hearing another’s experience draws us into trying some new ways of experiencing God’s Spirit.    
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I lift you all in my prayers asking God’s blessings as we journey together seeking the renewal and refreshment with which our God longs to gift us.