Passive?

To those who think that prayer is passive:

Those who really press and involve God with this petition in the expectation that he will answer it, as people who are seriously and fundamentally disquieted and startled, press and involve themselves too in their own plac and manner as people and within the limits of their own human capabilities and possibilities. They declare, and within their limits take on responsibility, that in the matter about which they pray to God something will be done correspondingly by them.

(Karl Barth, The Christian Life, p. 169; quoted in John Webster's Holiness, p. 76).

Perhaps that's why I'm sometimes reluctant to pray: I don't want to have to act on that prayer. I don't want to be that person who says a mindless prayer and forgets whatever-it-was. I want to care--but not too much.

Lent

I really want to do something environmentally-related for Lent this year. When I looked at Lenten calendars, however, all I could find were ones that included things that I already do in my own life, like only running the washing machine when full and turning lights off when you're not in the room. I wanted something that would challenge me, not make me feel like an eco-friendly guru when that's absolutely not what I am.

Then I found Lent 4.5. It's a Lenten series based on the environmental footprint idea, which is based on the amount of land that each person uses to support her or his lifestyle. The average American amount is 22 acres; if each person on earth had an equal amount of land to use, everyone would get 4.5 acres (hence the title of the series). When I took the quiz, I got 17.6 acres.

The series is all about simplicity, both as a way to lessen our consumerism and earth-destruction and as a way to create justice (this was more implied. I'm not sure it really works like that--just because I don't buy that chocolate at the store doesn't mean there's automatically more for a woman in Ghana or the Philippines--but it's an incredibly attractive idea nonetheless.). I've really been feeling the need for simplicity in my own life, in a multitude of ways. So my Lenten disciplines will be multiple but connected. I will be focusing on ways to simplify my life and my lifestyle. I have already committed to not using my iPad during Lent. Not only does it use a lot of needless energy (not only because I have a computer as well, which serves the same function, but also because I get sucked into games and apps for hours at a time), but it also is incredibly distracting. Sometimes in the morning I'll get my iPad and check Facebook and my email before I start my devotions! It's ridiculous. I have also committed to following along with the Lent 4.5 weekly reflections (they're on their website!), and... as for everything else, I'll see what comes up!

I'll try to post at least once a week about what I'm thinking, reflecting on, praying, and doing.

Blessings on each of you as you begin the season of Lent!