{"id":1,"date":"2014-03-04T06:42:36","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T06:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/?p=1"},"modified":"2014-03-05T03:01:15","modified_gmt":"2014-03-05T03:01:15","slug":"hello-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/?p=1","title":{"rendered":"a clearing season: reflections for lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"journeythroughlent\"<\/a>You know it’s always struck me as odd, being a convert and all, how many people struggle with this annual need to “give something up” for Lent and then complain about it to everyone they meet.\u00a0 For many it’s an opportunity to put aside a vice like drinking or going out to eat or only checking Facebook once a day instead of every fifteen minutes.\u00a0\u00a0 Oh I can’t eat that buttery gooey slice of cake dripping in caramel sauce . . . I gave up dessert for Lent.\u00a0 But you go ahead, that’s alright.\u00a0 Woe is me!\u00a0 W<\/em>hile I don’t dispute that these temporary denials open up space for God, it’s hard for me to believe they’re that transformative.\u00a0 And isn’t that what Lent is all about?\u00a0 In his introduction to the wonderful anthology God For Us<\/em><\/strong>, Ronald Rolheiser OMI tells us that Lent comes from an Old English word for springtime, and that in Latin, lente<\/em> means slowly.\u00a0 For me, Lent is akin to pushing though the cold muck of winter, stretching my arms heavenward, and opening to beauty.\u00a0 It could be that way for you, too!\u00a0 Certainly we must have the ashes to remind us the house needs sweeping, but don’t dwell there too long is all I’m saying.\u00a0 Instead of giving something up and then being grumpy about it until you get it back — instead of temporarily taking something out of your life — why not make room for something new.\u00a0 Where in your life can you clear more space for the sacred . . . and be permanently transformed?<\/p>\n

This Lent you can keep your chocolate and drink your wine <\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>If you’d like to make more room in your busy life for spiritual fellowship, prayer and JOY<\/b>, join us as we make our way through Sarah Parsons\u2019 A Clearing Season: Reflections for Lent<\/i><\/b>.<\/i> In her nifty little tome, Parsons reminds us that Lent is not all about penitence and fasting.\u00a0 It’s a clearing season.\u00a0 A time for introspection.\u00a0 A time of transformation and renewal.\u00a0 I don’t know about you but sometimes there’s a lot more standing between me and God than a box of See’s candy or a good cabernet!\u00a0 During each week of Lent w<\/del>e can share our stories and engage in an online discussion about the book.\u00a0If you think you might like to carve out space in your busy life for spiritual fellowship, prayer and JOY<\/b>, join us as we journey through Lent together!\u00a0 You can purchase the book, follow the blog posts, and hopefully share your stories in our online community.\u00a0 Welcome!<\/p>\n

It seems that we need beginnings, or everything eventually devolves and declines into unnecessary and sad endings.\u00a0 You were made for so much more! . . . You are<\/em> the desiring of God.\u00a0 God desires through you and longs for Life and Love through you and in you.\u00a0 Allow it, speak it, and you will find your place in the universe of things. ~ Fr. Richard Rohr<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

These are also great books for Lent\u00a0 . . .<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0 \"\"<\/a> \u00a0 \"\"<\/a> \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \"Shop<\/a><\/p>\n

If you liked this post, you might also like these posts from our sister blogsite . . . Two or Three Little Birds<\/a> . . .<\/p>\n

ana\u00efs nin on joy<\/a><\/p>\n

seeking human kindness<\/a><\/p>\n

leap<\/a><\/p>\n

be the light<\/a><\/p>\n

trips to the well<\/a><\/p>\n

the eyerolling jesus<\/a><\/p>\n

what she might tell us<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You know it’s always struck me as odd, being a convert and all, how many people struggle with this annual need to “give something up” for Lent and then complain about it to everyone they meet.\u00a0 For many it’s an opportunity to put aside a vice like drinking or going out to eat or only … Continue reading a clearing season: reflections for lent<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,2,3,7,4],"tags":[9,12,10,11,8,38],"class_list":["post-1","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-joy","category-lent","category-prayer","category-simplifying","category-spirituality","tag-god-for-us","tag-lenten-practices","tag-paula-huston","tag-prayer-2","tag-richard-rohr","tag-simplifying-the-soul"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1\/revisions\/12"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theprovinceofjoy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}