Lent 2022

This year I’m not giving up any specific thing, but I am re-centering myself with a focus on surrender. That’s my big word of the year, after all. I don’t know about y’all, but this was the first year in a while that I didn’t just get motivated and start tackling resolutions right off the bat. I was lazy or burnt out or just emotionally exhausted from the past two years.

That’s right, two years ago to the date is when all the Covid nonsense started. 

I think we were all hoping 2022 would be an upward turning point where we could start to put ourselves together again. But it was hard to just shrug off the weight of the past two years. So I’m giving myself grace and not focusing so much on the I-have-to-lose-weight, or I-have-to-read-50-books, or I-have-to-write-the-next-great-American-novel kind of resolutions. Instead I’m working on my heart and even though I’m just a week and a half into this Lenten season, it has been so great. So I thought I would share with you some of the practices I’ve been doing in case you’d like to incorporate them into your routine as well.

I just got my first She Reads Truth devotional for Lent and I am obsessed with it. If you haven’t heard of this ministry, go look them up right now (there is also He Reads Truth and Kids Read Truth). For $20 a month, I get all their devotional books, access to their online community, and the occasional supplemental gifts like print-outs. And their devotionals— y’all. They are gorgeous. They are like big, pretty coffee table books, with intentionally chosen fonts and artwork that go along with the theme of the chosen scripture. Not only are there daily readings on a specific book or topic, but there are hymns, recipes, and memorization tools to help you really understand, appreciate, and apply the scriptures to your daily life. Plus, they incorporate “Grace Days” each week, which gives you time to either catch up on your readings or just meditate on what you’ve read so far. And let me tell you, we could all benefit from grace days! Their Lenten study is on the book of Ezekiel, which sounds so obscure but is actually pretty perfect. I’m diving into a book I found so difficult to read in the past and am relating it to Jesus’ life and death and resurrection from the New Testament. 

Morgan Harper Nichols came out with a list of affirmations for the month of March and I set those as my phone background. I’m normally not very good at doing daily affirmations, but now I see them every time I open my phone (which we all know is way more than once a day). Affirmations I’ve read so far include “I am not alone,” “Yesterday was not the end,” and “I am free to feel what I need to feel.” And wow, just seeing these positive little messages throughout my day is giving me a better attitude and outlook. I also have a different MHN art piece as my lock screen, which encourages me as well. If you aren’t following her on Instagram, you are missing out. Her artwork is inspiring and loving and a constant reminder that there is grace and peace for all of us.

I have been binge-listening to Annie F. Downs’ That Sounds Fun podcast and it’s everything. She is so peppy and fun, it is impossible to listen to her talk without a smile on your face. And she interviews my favorite Christian writers, musicians, and actors, asking the best, in-depth questions you could ever think of. In an episode with author John Eldredge, he mentioned the Pause App that he created after writing his book Get Your Life Back, which made it into my top 5 books of 2021. So I downloaded the app to check it out. And such a simple premise has turned into such an important part of my day. You set two daily reminders for yourself to pause for 1-5 minutes and just breathe and refocus your day. Mine are set for 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., which is typically when I take a walk or a coffee break. The app will pop up with a reminder to pause, and then you choose a 1, 3, or 5 minute video to watch. It has a calm background, soothing music, and a reminder to breathe. Then John’s voice says, “I give everyone and everything to you, God,” “I was made for unity with you,” and other phrases that just bring my focus back to Christ. You’d be surprised how easily we can get caught up in the hustle of life. But John points out that Jesus moved slow. He often said no, spent several days walking between cities, and went into the mountains alone with His Father between miracles. So this simple app reminds me that I can take breaks and move slowly to recenter myself on the path God laid out for me.

You might remember I spent the month of December writing a poem a day for Advent. It was a fun writing exercise since I ended up doing a different form each day, but it was also a great heart exercise, pondering on what the season was truly about. I wasn’t planning on doing the same for Lent, but a fellow Christian writer I connected with on Twitter started posting poem prompts for Lent, so I joined in the fun. It’s not every day, but it’s pretty close, and the prompts are definitely getting me to think about this season of ash and dust and surrender. I’ve been obsessed with liturgy lately and have been working on a piece about it since Advent, which is the start of the church calendar. Maybe I’ll have a full-length project about it by the time we get into Ordinary Time! 

Lastly, I’ve been getting my house ready for spring. This is another thing I heard about in a That Sounds Fun interview with Myquillyn Smith. She writes books on making your house a home (and she’s a cozy minimalist, which I love), and when Annie asked her about decorating for Christmas, she had a unique answer. She said she decorates for each season as opposed to each holiday, and she likes to focus on the five senses. I absolutely LOVE this and hope I can get into the swing of this for our home. I also read something similar to this in my friend’s blog about Lent, so I decided to start to do some little things around the house to spring it up a bit. For sight, I am doing a bit of spring cleaning, getting rid of clothing and items that are cluttering up the house and my mindspace. For smell, I took away my cinnamon candles and brought out my lavender and palm leaf ones. For sound, I have been finding more new music that brightens my spirit and points me to Christ (like Crowder’s new Milk and Honey album). For taste, I’m going to be trying out some recipes from my She Reads Truth devo to make a delicious Easter brunch. And for touch, I am looking for lighter throw pillows because my current ones are pretty warm and better for winter.

I know this may sound like a lot, but I’ve been loving all of this. And in the midst of this crazy world, sometimes we need multiple reminders everywhere we look to bring us back to Jesus’ sacrifice and God’s plan for us. Let me know if you try any of these practices or if you are experiencing something even more beautiful this season!