Getting Ready for Lent

On the website, I have posted a couple of articles that are Lenten and Easter related:

The Essential Message of Easter

Book Review and Author Interview on "Lent: An Uncommon Love Story



This article on "Getting Ready for Lent" was forwarded to me by Janet Cassidy and I thought that I would share it with you:



Here comes Lent, like it or not!

Does your anxiety increase the closer we get to Lent, anticipating the pressures of self-deprivation?

Or, are you in the minority who look forward to Lent with the recognition that you need it?

As a word of comfort if you happen to be in the first group, keep in mind that Lent is about conversion. Self-denial is a part of that experience of conversion, but it’s not the only part. When we give something up, that helps us grow stronger through self-discipline. But, our Lenten experience is really three-fold:

Conversion in relation to ourselves through fasting.
Conversion in relation to God through prayer.
Conversion in relation to others through almsgiving.

If we focus only (or mostly) on self-denial, we may not be fully experiencing Lent!

Are you looking forward to Lent? May your joy come from a desire for a lasting, deeper connection to God and others—not simply a self-improvement plan.

Let’s take some time in the next couple of days to pray and consider what we can offer to God by way of fasting, prayer and almsgiving.

With a heart full of gratitude and a sincere desire for conversion, may He lead us into the desert and renew us by His love.

God Bless!

Janet

If you would like to receive future issues of "Cassidy Comments", please send an e-mail to cassidycomments@yahoo.com and put “subscribe” in the subject line. To unsubscribe, just put “unsubscribe” in the subject line.

Please help me spread the word by forwarding a copy to a friend.

The Martha Rules

I know that given this blog is about spirituality, you are likely to think from the title that this is about Martha from the Bible, but no, the title actually refers to Martha Stewart. (Although Martha in the Bible was known for her domestic skills so it just might be something in the name.) I just read her book "The Martha Rules: 10 Essentials for Achieving Success as you Start, Build, or Manage a Business." I enjoy reading business books because I do run a business, albeit a small one, and I am always looking for new ideas. I also admire Martha Stewart because she was able to take an incredibly negative experience (prison time) and turn it into something positive. She bonded with her fellow prisoners. This book actually came out of that experience, because her fellow inmates came to her and asked for advice on how to start their own businesses.

In "The Martha Rules," she provides solid business advice, much of which can be found in other business books. What sets her apart though is her total respect for her customers, her commitment to quality, and her desire to make the world a more beautiful place.

While I can (and certainly try) to incorporate many of these ideas into my Spiritual Woman website, some just aren't applicable. For example, I definitely believe in quality - I try to pick what I feel are the best articles to help women on their spiritual journey. When I write articles or blog entries, I take pride in my work and try to put my very best out there. But while Martha Stewart works at making our physical world beautiful (which is indeed important), I work at helping women have beautiful souls, and souls belong to God. Any good that I may accomplish, any lives that I may touch, is through the grace of God. I'm not looking for there ever to be a "Patrice MacArthur" brand because it is not about me.

I also don't really feel like I am in competition with anyone. All of us who write on spirituality or work to help bring people to God are really working for the same team. I don't feel like some are better than others. I think different writers speak to different people at different stages of their lives. How could there ever be too many workers in the vineyard?

So, I will stick with my mission of helping women to live extraordinary lives rooted in God, and leave the rest in God's hands. I will most likely never have Martha Stewart's influence, but perhaps I will help some people deepen their relationship with God. That has a reward that can't be measured in stock options.

Works in Progress

I am a home improvement veteran. My husband and I spent seven years working on a fixer-upper. I have completely redone a kitchen and a bathroom, installed subfloor, vinyl tile, ceiling tile, etc. I don't think that there was a spot in that home that wasn't updated in some way. Thankfully, we now live in a new home where such major renovations are not necessary. In this home, all changes are cosmetic. Right now I'm wallpapering my sons' room. No matter the size of the project, however, one constant remains. In the middle of the effort, it is going to look like crap!

It is difficult to be caught in that in-between stage when something isn't what it was and not yet what it will be. It can be hard to find beauty in a ceiling that has been stripped down to its studs or a room that is only half painted. If doing these projects on your own an hour at a time, this in-between stage can last a very long time. Yet, with a little vision, you can almost see the beauty that will come.

So it is with us as well. When we are going through difficult periods of transition, it can be very challenging to see the finished product, even in our mind. We may not even have any idea what the outcome may be! Yet, we know God is the master fixer-upper. He can take our raw materials and turn them into something amazing. That means, however, that we have to go through that yucky in-between period. When caught in that half-finished state, it is important to recognize the beauty of our potential, and have confidence in the craftsman doing the work. With time and trust, God will reveal all that we are meant to be. Be patient. God isn't finished with us yet!

Lenten Items

It is hard to believe that Ash Wednesday is this coming week. Make this year's journey especially meaningful with a devotional from our Religious Giftshop.

The Virtue of Perseverance

Take as an example of hardship and patience, brothers, the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Indeed we call blessed those who have persevered. James 5: 10-11

Perseverance in the face of difficult circumstances can be very challenging, indeed. It is hard to know when to keep plugging along and when to cut your losses in order to move on to something new. In such cases, often the best thing to do is pray "thy will be done" and stay in place until some sign comes of the next move.

I am not one who believes that one should never quit. There are definitely times when quitting is the best course of action. Often, in order to get a greater good, you need to give up something. However, one should never quit when it comes to doing something that you feel the Lord has called you to do. Saint's lives are full of stories of people who faced seemingly insurmountable odds but who stuck with their mission, nonetheless. We should aim to be like them.

The Lord is My Shepherd

The Psalm for today is Psalm 23, one of those passages from scripture that we tend to just gloss over because it is so familiar. Today, I invite you to read it slowly, reflect on it, and bask in the Lord's love.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
Beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff that give me courage.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

Cultivating Humility

If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all. Mark 9:35

Scripture and the Saints agree, to seek the Kingdom of God, we must become the least of all. We need to think of others first and be always ready to serve. That is such a radical message in our world (and perhaps even in Jesus' 1st century world as well). We are constantly barraged with messages to improve ourselves, to make ourselves more important. We are told that the person with the corner office or the movie star making millions is more important that anyone else. Those with money have privilege.

What do we value in our own lives? Who do we value? Those are questions well worth dwelling on.