40days : Tell Your Story

Bekah February 6, 2008 | 12:54 pm

Ian and I are doing a traditional Eastern Orthodox Lenten fast (well mostly traditional). So that means fasting meat and dairy products. We’re also adding doing the Psalms from the Book of Common Prayer. Personally I also am committing to make something every week and to give it away. I’ve just felt really convicted in the new year that God has given me gifts that I am letting sit dormant, and that is something that needs to change… and now is a good time to get that moving while really seeking where He wants me going with those.
I started observing Lent in college with the group of girls that I lived with, which was really cool because it was so great to have that type of raw accountability. We were really challenged by some of our religion profs to think creatively about doing a fast during lent and it really led to some super cool stuff, not only personally but often communally. One year I fasted introversion, which really set the tone for a time of great change and seeking during that season of my life. more or less I made the commitment to be the person who says the first hello, to really be an active part of the community that I was being put into, and to have a voice into the lives of others in my community while inviting them into my life as well. I think that was one of the most intense times of God teaching me about being part of a body and how to build Christ centered communities I have had yet. I guess, even just thinking back on it, I realize just how much these experiences can change my personal point of view, but also how God works through them to the people around me and the community at large. I’m really excited to see and hear the ways that God moves at NCC during and through all of this. How super exciting!