A Time to Renew

Renew. There is something about that word that makes me feel refreshed. It is my word for the year that I wrote about in the beginning of January. I have been on a journey of mental, spiritual, and physical renewal.

Just checking in with my readers who have a “word” for their year. How is it going? What have you learned? It is always okay to start again and figure out what you need to do differently.

Mentally, my brain has been focused on expanding my blog and focusing on my writing. This is has been a passion for me for a long while and I was tired of making it a side hobby. I am ready for more and decided to join up with and organization called Hope*Writers. It is a online community of writers that has challenged me and given me direction on where to go next with my words. My brain has been on overload, but it feels so good! I am discovering me again. After years of babies, moving, and chronic illnesses, I had lost who I once was. Slowly I am unearthing who I am and enjoying all I am learning.

Spiritually, I have been focused on daily Bible reading. I received a new Bible by “She Reads Truth” for Christmas and there is a fantastic reading plan in the back. The schedule is reading four chapters from for different books of the Bible a day. At first I thought it was a bit strange, but I have been blown away by how the Old Testament books relate to the New Testament. How rebuilding Israel’s temple relates directly to Jesus building a body of believers, the church. I crave opening my Bible and journal each morning, as if God is just waiting to reveal something new I have never seen.

Physically, I have been making it to the gym 3-4 times a week. Our little corner of the suburbs has an abundance of exercise options, but I know for SURE God led me to the perfect place for my daughter and I. Exercise is vital for everyone, but especially for fibromyalgia fighters. Only God could have led us to the little gym around the corner where one of the trainers worked with my daughter in physical therapy last year. Seeing my girl motivated to work out pushes me to get to the gym as often as I can.

Today is the beginning of the season of Lent. As I have continued on this “Renew” journey, Lent fits in perfectly with my quest. I wanted to add a more focused time of prayer to my day in order to really observe the Lent season. The purpose of Lent is to prepare mentally and spiritually for the Easter season. It focuses on the forty days leading up to Easter, acknowledging my sin and the price Christ paid to cover my sin.

For my e-mail subscribers, I have created a free download that I would love to send to you. It is a prayer calendar for the forty days of Lent. I searched online for one that would fit my need and decided to create one to share with my friends! If you have already subscribed through e-mail, you will be receiving your shortly. If you haven’t, just go to the top right side of this page, and put in your e-mail address. You will only be notified when I have giveaways and blog posts! That’s all, I promise!

I encourage all of you to focus on renewal for the next forty days. If prayer isn’t your strength, give it a try, what could it hurt? I think you will be amazed at the benefit of adding prayer to your day.