A new habit begun this Lent...

I am using Lent in an unconventional way  I suppose, and I don't really want it compared to New Year Resolutions but in a way it's kind of that sort of idea. But the sacrifice of course is the difference - the focus of Lent being sacrifice and fasting, and I am doing both of those things in trying to be positive and fast negativity (almost got the better of me today but the sacrifice required from my bad day with sick children was overwhelming and the death of self was pretty much decided for me).

In addition, I've just been lost in a blog for ages trying to find a fantastic (I thought) post on this subject that I read last week, and have been inspired to "do different" ever since.

Have a look at this post: The one parenting habit that changes everything
It speaks for itself but I have several themes going on at once this Lent and one of them is reading more of the Bible, with the children, putting God right at the top of our list in a way we haven't done either before, or for a long time. So when I read this I was inspired to make a change, and do something after every meal that we have previously done only randomly, albeit quite often sometimes.

It comes on the back of the sermon series we've had at church recently, about God's word being our Spiritual food, and this post really takes that analogy again quite far.

One thing I also wanted to mention was that our pastor compared the price of a good Bible (life application or equivalent) with a new pan or piece of kitchen equipment. We'll spend on a new casserole dish or something similar, but we think a Bible, giving us Spiritual food is expensive... Just food for thought...

Anyway, last night I got a daily reading plan at a meeting I went to at church and the boys have been leading the way today reading and ticking off today's reading, and reminded me after dinner that we couldn't get down from the table till we'd read the Bible. Starting a reading plan in the middle of a month is a bit random but actually today's readings (a chapter from 1 Cor, and two from Deuteronomy) were brilliant and we all got something out of it.

I plan to equip the youngest 2 with pen and paper while the others of us share the reading, as I sometimes read to them in snack time in our school day. So tomorrow I will try that as well.

Amidst the baby with shingles, the broken things, the chaos of tripping over unpacked moving boxes, I feel we are finally getting a spiritual grip again. But wow it's hard work at the moment.