I have noticed lately that most of my thoughts that don't involve kids, meals, diapers, bath time, or bed time occur to me during my workouts. This is the first time I've worked out this much since high school. It is hard and most days I dread it, but there is something about being out on the road alone with your thoughts. You can concentrate more and can think things all the way through without any interruptions. For this, I am loving running on the road. At the Y, I plug my head phones into the TV and watch TV, but out on the road it's me, my ipod and my thoughts. LOVE IT!
Today my ipod shuffled from Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Charlie Hall, Faith Hill, John Mayer, Will Smith, Matt Redman, Something Corporate and Spur58. I think that Aaron could have bought me the shuffle since that is what I do, just shuffle from song to song. It keeps things fresh and I never know what is coming up. I can go from “Blessed be your name” to “Getting Jiggy with it” and love it. I only keep one ear plugged with the music so I can hear if the big bad wolf is coming to get me and because my mom said it's not good to workout with your headphones in b/c of blood flow to your ear and your heart …. not sure about that one, but if you can confirm that let me know!
Okay, back to the point of this post ….
As I was running today my mind wondered back to a subject that it has wondered to quite frequently since I read a book last summer called Girl Meets God by Lauren Winner. I highly recommend this book to anyone that is looking for an easy read and a great encouragement. This is Lauren's memoir and it takes you down her journey from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity. I loved it.
What it brought my mind to again was lent and ash Wednesday. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I am not sure where ash Wednesday or lent originated, or even what it means. Does this make me a bad Christan? I am willing to take the label of bad Christian and ask my questions. Why do people put the ashes on their forehead? What does it represent? Why do they give stuff up for lent? Did I miss this somewhere along my 28 years of church? Is it because I grew up Southern Baptist that I don't know much about either one of these? I am going to research this more and find out where it started, what it means, and what it means for me.
If you have all these answers, I would love to hear them. BUT please don't make me feel stupid if you feel a though I should know this as a believer. I want to know.
You must have missed that Sunday in your 28 years!:) HA–just kidding. Ironically, I was just reading about Ash Wednesday and Lent today. If you google ash wednesday, check out the info on wikipedia. I won’t repeat it all, but one interesting fact is that Ash Wednesday won’t fall on leap day again until 2096, and it hasn’t in a lot of years!!! Oh the things you can learn on wikipedia. Seriously, it does a good job of giving a brief synopsis.
I love to get inside your brain. Thank you for your questions and curiosity…I too will be watching for the responses you get as I have no idea either.
I will have to keep reading for your responses too… I am interested to know. I think they just don’t talk about it in churches that aren’t Catholic… that’s why us protestants or whatever we are… evangelicals, maybe? don’t know what it means. I don’t think we really need to know, actually… but it will be good to quell our curiosity.
lacey has a great post about lent. check it out at http://www.laceyhearty.blogspot.com
i’ve been thinking/praying about observing lent myself and i’m still attempting to figure out what would be the most beneficial thing in my life to sacrafice… i’ll let you know what decision i come to! 🙂
although it officially starts today (ash wednesday), the 40 days doesn’t TECHNICALLY start until next tuesday. originally the catholics discounted sundays. so, i might be a little late in joining fellow lent-ers, but i’ll still be joining in.
I swear, I am giddy just reading your blog!!! It’s like we are long lost twins!!! OK. Don’t mean for that to sound all weird or whatever. I emailed you today about adoption, so that’s me. Then I go to your sight only to totally relate to your running with your ipod on shuffle in and out of all kinds of fantastic music from all different genres. I too grew up SB and knew little to nothing about lent and all that surrounds it. I too devoured the Lauren Winner book! One of the best reads ever! However, in working on my masters in Worship Ministries I got to study about the church calendar! This is when I particularly fell in love with lent and ash wednesday (not to mention living in New Orleans with Mardi Gras and all the “catholics” around). Loved Mardi Gras btw. Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the Lenten season. The reason for the Ashes (ashes to ashes, dust to dust) is to signify our identification with Christ’s death on the cross for us, and to set our hearts and minds on the season to come. Baptists only think about Easter on Good Friday and Easter itself. The “church year” allows for a 40 day time of reflection leading up to Christ’s death. It involves somber sacrifice. Often every week leading closer to Easter, decorations or things that beautify the church are taken “away” little by little. Then on Easter Sunday they are all brought back and with flowers and celebration and fanfare. It can be very dramatic. I’m dying to go to one of those Midnite services that leaves you in total darkness right before midnite on Easter and then at the stroke of midnite the fanfare begins! Sounds exhilarating! That’s about all I know. Plenty of books to read on all that though (probably not in the baptist circle). Though I haven’t read it yet, I believe that Dr. Robert Webber wrote Ancient Future Time (having to do with the church calendar and year?). Glad to meet you btw.
Gini