Lent

"First, listen to your heart. It's there that Jesus speaks most intimately to you. Praying is first and foremost listening to Jesus, who dwells in the very depths of your heart. He doesn't shout. He doesn't thrust himself upon you. His voice is an unassuming voice, very nearly a whisper, the voice of a gentle lover. Whatever you do with your life, go on listening to the voice of Jesus in your heart. This listening must be an active and very attentive listening, for in our restless and noisy world God's so loving voice is easily drowned out. You need to set aside some time every day for this active listening to God, if only for ten minutes. Ten minutes each day for Jesus alone can bring a radical change in your life."

That is from the book I am reading for Lent, Show Me the Way by Henri Nouwen. I realize some of you may not be familiar with Lent. I grew up attending a Baptist church and we didn't celebrate Lent or follow the church calendar. In recent years though, I have come recognize the special emphasis occasions like Lent and Advent place on "holidays" like Christmas and Easter. They help me focus on the true meaning and prepare my heart during these special seasons. Lent is the 40 days before Easter and starts on Ash Wednesday, which this year was last Wednesday, February 22nd. There are a number of resources, devotionals, or Bible reading plans available (youversion.com has a popular and free one) that I would encourage you to check out.

"You'll find it isn't easy to to be still for ten minutes at a time. You'll discover straightaway that many other voices, voices that are very noisy and distracting, voices which do not come from God, demand your attention. But if you stick to your daily prayer time, then slowly but surely you'll come to hear the gentle voice of love and will long more and more listen to it."