FOCUS on ONE WORD each day of LENT

As LENT 2024 was approaching, I had an idea since I started a new book ("FOCUS...") at the beginning of the year (but since I haven't been here online, I have not been sharing the One Word for each week) so I thought that during LENT it might be good to do a One Word Focus  for each of the 40 days ... and then I found out that this wasn't a new idea. In fact, I discovered there was a book written by Trevor Hudson, back in 2015 and also a You Tube video with a Catholic priest, Father Laguerta, sharing a similar list of One Words (at least these two start out with the same words). I found another book like Hudson's:40 Days, 40 Words by Ken & Randy Petersen

But even since it's been done and written and recorded, I do agree that taking "A Pause for Lent" each day on One Word & a verse from THE WORD is a good way to Focus on Jesus as we prepare our hearts once again, like Advent approaching Christmas - Lent prepares us for Holy Week & Resurrection Sunday (known commonly as Easter, but I don't use that term any longer after learning about where it originates - a completely different post). In a previous post I did share a "Lenten Experience" by Michele Cushatt (portions of her new book "A Faith that Will Not Fail") but I prefer to do something a bit more simple. I did find a few other ones: "7 One Word Prayers for Lent"; a blogger in 2014 -"40 Words of Lent"; "40 Titles of Jesus"  (similar to book by Asheritah Ciuciu for Christmas, but she also has one for Lent). In other words, there are plenty of choices available - and clearly my idea was not a new one!

ONE WORD 

PAUSES for LENT

Clearly the best One Word for Ash Wednesday is:

1. DUST

Genesis 3:19

OR

ASHES

 (Image above from Randy & Ken Petersens' book for Day 2)

Genesis 18:27

They use FORTY for Day 1

Matthew 4:2 (MSG)

since Lent is 40 days

40 is a very significant Biblical number & word

Here is the list of the other One Words, I'll be using (& perhaps I can add verses later):
*** My One Word choices are a combination of the books (b) & video (v) if it's linked, the link goes to the video

ONE WORD PAUSES for LENT

2. RETURN - Joel 2:12-13                   (b&v) 3. CHOOSE - Deuteronomy 30:19-20 (b&v) 4. FAST(ing) - Matthew 6:17-18          (b&v) First Sunday of Lent 2/18 * Mark 1:12-15 5. STILL - Psalm 46:10(b) 6. LOVE - 1 John 3:18 (b) 7. LIGHT - John 8:12   (b) 8. ASK (SEEK, KNOCK) - Matthew 7:7 (v) 9. REBUILT - Isaiah 58:12; Ezekiel 36:33 (v) 10. OBEDIENCE - Romans 5:19              (v) Second Sunday of Lent 2/25 Mark 3:19-27 11. SEPARATE - Matthew 25:31-46 (v) 12. BREAD - Matthew 6:11 (b) 13. CONTRITE - Luke 11:29-32 (v) 14. WATER - John 4:13-14 (b) 15. TIME - Mark 1:15 (b) 16. WORLD - John 3:16 (b) Third Sunday of Lent 3/3 Mark 8:27-33 *Mark 8:29 (b) 17. TREASURE - Matthew 6:21 (b) 18. LISTEN - James 1:19 (b) 19. POOR - Luke 4:18 (b) 20. FORGIVE(N) - Luke 5:20 (b) 21. PEACE(MAKER) - John 14:27 (b) 22. REST - Matthew 11:28 (b) 4th Sunday of Lent 3/10 Mark 9:2-10 *Mark 9:2-3 23. UNFAIR - Ezekiel 18:25 (v) 24. BLESSING - Genesis 12:2 (v) 25. MERCIFUL - Joel 2:13 26. FREE - John 8:31-32 27. SIN - 1 John 1:8 28. ENEMIES - Matthew 5:44-45 5th Sunday of Lent 3/17 Mark 10:32-35;*Mark 10:43-44 29. SERVE-Matthew 20:28 30. JUSTIFIED-*Luke 18:14 (v) 31. DIVIDED- *Luke 11:17    (v) 32. TEMPTATION-Hebrews 4:15 33. PRAY-Luke 11:1 also Matthew 26:36 for Day 39 Good Friday(b) 34. WILL-Matthew 26:39 6th Sunday of Lent 3/24 Palm Sunday Mark 11:1-11 *Mark 11:9 HOLY WEEK - PASSION WEEK  35. HOSANNA - Mark 11:9 (video 40) 36. STRANGER - Matthew 25:35 37. BETRAY - Matthew 26:21 38. WEPT - John 11:35 (& Luke 19:41-44 ESV) (video 33) 39. DIE - John 12:24 (video 39) 40. CRUCIFIED & RAISED - Mark 16:6 from SONday's reading RESURRECTION SONDAY - Mark 16:1-8 CHRIST IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!

* Remember that the Sundays are not included in the 40 days.

"...The Christian calendar contains different seasons. These seasons are "time- gifts" that the Church offers to help us participate more fully in what God has done in human history."~Trevor Hudson "... During the 40 days of Lent, disciples of Jesus are encouraged to engage in 3 spiritual practices. These practices are those specifically mentioned by Jesus in the Sermon of the Mount: giving to the poor, prayer and fasting (Matthew 6:1-18)."

In Trevor Hudson's "guide to the Lenten Journey", he suggests something a little different and adds a "daily practice" at the end of each day. We're invited to "make a commitment to PAUSE during each day of Lent; FOCUS on the One Word; READ a scripture verse aloud; TAKE TIME with God and thank about what He might be saying to you about or on this One Word. EXPLORE the meaning of that One Word for you in this season of your life." Which is exactly what I hope to do and PRAY & PRACTICE - actions that we should already be doing in a true Christian walk and journey with other humans that we should interact with as we encourage and treat all as Jesus' love and compassion compels us to and Jesus has with us and truly exemplified in His life and death. In LENT 2024, I believe that we are all being called to positively share JESUS (especially in the world we now live in that desperately needs to see more JESUS through more UNITY and less division, deception & deceit - pure evil and uncivil treatment of other human beings, in words and actions or lack of kind acts; others created equally and in God's image the same as each of us). Let's make a social change that reflects more of JESUS and less of selfishness, fear, bullying, negativity, etc. May our hearts be open & our eyes to reach out and show love & compassion daily. 

"REMEMBER

(man)(woman)

fill in your name

THAT 'YOU ARE' DUST

(actually 'THOU ART')

and

UNTO DUST YOU SHALL RETURN"

[the words the 'priest' uses as they put the sign of the cross on forehead with ashes]

{Upon completing my 50 day of prayer & fasting - ending February 20th, I hope to add more here, like verses from God's WORD, the true ONE WORD to guide & focus our journeys.} 

See you soon 😉

{unless I 'fast' again for Lent}

in-between my Pauses

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I have to mention two more books (among many) 

this one's written for 2024 LENT

"Gathered Into One"

[the book description let me know that this is the cry of my heart & prayers in 2024]

Devotions from 1 Corinthians

{very inexpensive, worthwhile choice}

"God, Help us to recognize our common humanity, destiny & purpose, and to live lives of grace and peace, now and forever. Amen"-"Gathered Into One"

And the other is brand new - published:

February 6, 2024

"It is Finished"

by Charles Martin

{if anyone gets this book, please let me know how it is - looks fabulous, 

but too expensive for me, out of my range}

[I read about this on Ann Voskamp's blog on a (mid Lent Sun.)]

"How to Navigate through Distractions to Really Prepare for Holy Week & Resurrection Sun."

Guest post by Charles Martin 

And by the way, all of Ann Voskamp's blog & "A Lent to Reflect" is really worth reading!

I will wait for another Lent to Experience this.

It's ok, because I have plenty of books!

FoMO or "No Man is an Island" Isolation

I never thought or planned to be offline as a time of fast to turn into such a long time. I began last year when I chose to participate in "If We Will ... He Will" preparation for the 50 day "battle plan"; then as usual I start the New Year off in Prayer & Fasting (so it continued) along with the 50 days with 50 States Prayer Project for Revival - a continuation of "If We Will ... He Will" (actual link to their site), which does not end until February 20th, but we're in the final stretch. Meanwhile this Wednesday, is the start of Lent (already) which often is 40 days of "prayer & fasting" (yet again).

The silver lining in this, in addition to drawing closer to God & shutting off the noise around us, is that at least during LENT, Sundays are not included in the 40 day count, and Sunday evenings are quite often the time that I have chosen as my regular post time (6 p.m.). Fasting from social media is definitely a much needed break but the decision was not intentional to be away from "people" that bless my life, because I miss you dearly and ever so much. Yet it makes me totally aware of how God/Jesus must feel when we are not in constant touch and connection with Him. I have read blog posts and articles from others in the past that 'fasted' from social media and the benefits or blessings they received. I don't do that much on social media platforms like Facebook, or Instagram, or Twitter or all the rest; just blogging and I guess You Tube (I didn't know that was considered to be one). I could 'fast' other things but since I only eat one meal a day that wouldn't work for me & I'm not sure the withdrawal of sugar, etc. I could survive. 

Anyways, it's not so much what you give up but what you fill your time with while you fast and clearly the hope is that you spend more time with God and in His Word. And I have done that!

I am not as connected with social media as others and I thought I was missing out. I never considered the possibility (nor did I really know about) FoMO:

"Fear of missing out (FoMO) is a unique term introduced in 2004 to describe a phenomenon observed on social networking sites. FoMO includes two processes; firstly, perception of missing out, followed up with a compulsive behavior to maintain these social connections.

and that I could be in "withdrawal" from that - like giving up sugars, caffeine in pop, etc.

  ... mostly because I wasn't as connected to social networking or media on a regular basis, however I sensed that I was developing a "fear of missing out" with the remaining people left in my life. I seem to have been slowly withdrawing from being with people and isolating myself more & more; and only had a few outlets to feel like I was still connecting with people. I will not go into the details of all of my isolation and withdrawal from people especially since COVID and returning to MN after 20 years away for the most part, except some very special ones (online and with my childhood friends) and now I have been temporarily (I hope) cut off from them also. So I was beginning to feel like it's not true that "no man is an island ..." (song and a poem) {I am more familiar with the song than the actual poem}. This island was of my own making. My island had become my isolation. I've created an island of my own, similar to walls that others build around themselves for various reasons. Often some people dream about living on an island, or escaping to an island. A tropical island might be nice, but only short term. I recall the joy I had looking out to the 3 islands of Mazatlán and even traveling out to them. I never considered it an escape but more of an adventure. Life on an island might seem ideal until a 'storm' comes, or you run out of supplies. There's an island on the small lake near our house in MN, which is accessible in the winter when it's frozen. In a way, I noticed that I sometimes feel drawn to venture out to islands as I gaze from a shoreline until I arrive there (lol) so I guess viewing them from a distance is enough.

My blog, which became and has been my form of social media platform since I was in Mexico, has steadily lost contact with the many bloggers I once knew; and now seems like an "island" because it basically has become my way of journaling my thoughts (publicly) and being accountable (but I'm not sure to whom - other than God, and He already knows all my thoughts, life and plans before I do) - to anyone reading this, with the hope that I am still sharing God's message of love as I share my story and journey in this life, primarily to encourage, give hope and inspire others to grow in their life journey; to know, love and serve Jesus more in whatever place their lives may be that we can reach out to one another and deepen our faith, strengthen our love & compassion for one another, speak life in the name of Jesus and lead others to know how wonderful the love of God is even when life gets hard or difficult.

I have no profound message of what being away from social media does, but there are plenty of others that have shared (so just google the benefits of a social media fast or any fast). I do think that it is a way to detoxify your mind and the clutter stored up in you and around you, however that basically is what I do when I sit down and begin to type a blog post. Some filtered, some not. I start out with one purpose and thought then I just flow. Often I move from one thought to another and it's not cohesive until I pause and ask the Holy Spirit to speak or move then allow Him to guide me with a clear focus. Otherwise, you end up with an endless flow going nowhere and I'm sure you can tell. Limiting yourself from social media has its advantages and also some disadvantages. Limiting yourself from God and people clearly is not the best choice so I hope I caught myself before I slip away and find myself and my life content without people connections but I can and will never limit my time away from God. Yet God created us to be in commUnion with Him and other relationships. Unity is God's desire. 

During Lent (which is the main reason I started this blog post), I will still be on a fast (at least for now until February 20th) offline except after that I will post on Sundays when I'm prompted and as you'll see on Ash Wednesday (another post previously written then added to Blogger) that I have many options for LENT and I will FOCUS on One Word each day and a recap or sharing on Sundays! Hope you'll continue to read along and join me. 

FOCUS

is much better

than

FoMO

GOD TIME & PRAYER

is always the

BEST

Being ReFreshed

in

God's Word

every day

 

NOTE: I forgot to adjust the Publishing Time, so this was suppose to publish at 6pm on Sunday. 

STILL UNSURE of my ONE WORD for 2024

* "Trade Your Cares for Calm" (2017)
{... that's what I'd like to do (if it was 2022)}
Instead I'll be
CALM
MORE

in 2024
but also I'm thinking that I'm 
Called to be in His
 PRESENCE
MORE in '24
so it looks like
God would like to CALM me in His PRESENCE
but which One Word should I focus on?
CALM or PRESENCE 
or 
perhaps there's another ONE God's speaking and 
I'm just not HEARING Him right
Anyways, I really do hope to "trade my cares for CALM"

When we love others, we know we belong to the truth, and we feel at ease in the Presence of God. 1 John 3:19 CEV the LORD, your God, is in the midst of you, a Mighty One who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy.  He will CALM you in His love. He will rejoice over you with singing Zephaniah 3:17 WEB

[in Zephaniah 3:17 NLT says "CALM all your fears"]
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I recall when I read the following wordsin "THE CALM" - a short 3 day reading plan,that one word CALM just continued to reverberate in my heart & mind 

"...Can we learn to find calm by faith amidst the waves of sin and the storms of emotion within our hearts? It may seem impossible, but there is hope, and there is comfort to be found. First, know that you are not alone and that this is not any surprise to your Lord. He is with you in it all, and He loves you. Second, know that you are not a failure in His sight because you struggle with this. It is an age-old challenge for all of God's people. Even the great. The Lord told Joshua, a valiant leader in Israel who followed the Lord fully, to not be afraid. Finally, remember that with Christ nothing is impossible. He is able. When we understand that we are weak and learn how to look to Christ and cling to Him, we will begin to experience Christ as our calm." "... We must keep our minds fixed on the truth of God's Word. When we do, we will begin to experience the calm of Christ."~Thistlebend

I thought that I was sure this was the Word for me!
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Earlier in 2023, I had read and participated in the best online Bible study of Wendy Blight's newest book, "Rest for Your Soul" and I benefited greatly from the beginning to the end, but even now I go back and reread so many parts & her prayers, making them mine. Through her writings, we joined in a spiritual journey in learning three holy habits ("spiritual disciplines") of solitude, silence and prayer. Without detailing all the wonderful help this excellent teaching of Wendy's does for the reader (me & others), let me just recommend this book highly! So, I was thinking either Rest or Peace might be possible choices for me, but I already had done Peace for a One Word (in 2013) and Rest is beautiful yet at this point, far from reality in my life (maybe some year soon). However, reading "Rest for Your Soul" certainly did bring my soul some much needed rest. It just didn't seem right for me as my One Word, especially since 2023 was filled with too many "rest in peace" for people close that I knew and loved dearly. So not Rest, & not Peace, but possibly some word that was closely related and meaningful that I truly may need as 2024 will close another decade of life for me, so I began thinking of the word "aging" as a possibility. Then I decided that I wasn't quite ready to deal with either "aging" or "resting in peace" so I placed those words on the back burner & waited for Jesus to impress upon me that One Word for me to focus.

It was in those quiet moments with Jesus (since that was my 2023 One Word) that I realized how important His sweet Presence was & is to me! PRESENCE - maybe I needed to be more aware of His Presence every day around me & "Experiencing God's Presence" and finding more of Him in my "Life in His Presence" - from two devotional books I had set aside to read later. Perhaps 2024 was the time for that 'later'... I began with one of these in January. And I am enjoying every moment & every page of reading this one year devotional. It definitely is bringing me closer to Him and a good follow-up from 2023 with Jesus! Yet I still was (& am) not convinced that THIS would be my One Word for 2024. 

There is a need for me to "experience the CALM of Christ" Jesus in me ... and "experience Christ as my CALM" for so many reasons. Because I know Jesus is my Peace, and I need more Peace & more Rest & more Jesus, so I trust that I'll continue to experience the CALM in His Presence!

There were a few other ebooks or reading plans that spoke the one word CALM to me during last year and the holiday season in particular from Rachel Wojo (The Calming Collection) prayers; and of course, one of my favorites and go-to pastor & author Max Lucado "Calm Moments..." and a few others by him. Max's acronym for C.A.L.M. is what began my peace & rest seeking journey by following this format for Philippians 4:4-8 (a powerful passage from Paul and a pathway of prayer) to follow & find CALM. However, it wasn't until Rachel shared her Calming Prayers & somehow led me to a book by Ruth Schwenk with this title: "Jesus, Calm my Heart" that I was drawn to the CALM that I need and hope to have in 2024. My dearest sister & friend gifted me the ebook of this so I have been reading it prayer by prayer & will every day in 2024, rewording many of the prayers for particular people or myself, and experiencing Christ as my CALM (sleeping better at night hopefully). I've also added a few other books to aide in this endeavor, so my next favorite is from Julie K. Guilles that has been on my wish list since 2020: "Prayers to Calm Your Anxious Heart" (YV has a sample of this in their reading plans) & a new one (2023) from Dayspring "Sleep Psalms..." by pray (dot) com

All of these are great if you need help praying or sleeping 😉 or like me (all of the above) and being CALM - experiencing Christ as my CALM, knowing the sweet CALM in His PRESENCE

As you can see, I have much reading to do again for 2024!

"... we know we must silence the chatter in our heads

and trust the One who CALMS our hearts" 

from "Be Still..." by Cleere Cherry

{I definitely needed this part in italics as a reminder }

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I guess for now

I will choose to be

CALM

in His

PRESENCE

{with my emphasis on CALM}

for

2024

[image credit: Good News Mediations for Kids]

SIDENOTE: from the first image 

* I added this book too ... to my reading list,

I couldn't resist the "blues" in Max's book cover of "Trade Your Cares for Calm".

I read that the color blue means CALM, trust, serenity ... and it produces a

CALMING effect. No wonder why blue is my favorite color!

I'm so in need of the CALM, so I surround myself in BLUE

I'm trading my ...

Cares for CALM with Jesus

{maybe I've found my One Word after all}

I plan to focus on CALM in everything in 2024

so in the night, I can sleep peacefully

in God's PRESENCE and live

a Life in His Presence

meanwhile 

I continue AGING & maybe next year

I'll have wisdom on that😏👵

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How about you?

What's your One Word?

or

favorite color?

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IMPORTANT NOTE:

I wrote this ahead because the "If I Will ... then He Will" prayers continue until February 20th and I didn't want to wait to publish this until after that - most churches finished their prayer & fasting in January. I miss all my friends online, but 2024 really needs to be saturated in prayer throughout all 50 states for Revival. The Church and our Nation desperately needs to pray!

And also LENT will be starting on February 14th through March 28th, 2024. Valentine's Day is Ash Wednesday ... no greater LOVE than God's! ... but still seems odd. Michele Cushatt shared a Lenten Experience last year - "Lamenting the Unexpected" (Week 1); and Week 2 "The Purpose of Lament", taken from her new book "A Faith that Will Not Fail"...more HERE