Days before Lent

Lent is a time for prayer and thanks to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Not many Christians take part in Lent I find this sad. When we joined the Catholic Church 4 yrs ago it was then I found a real understanding. I have learned so much from the Church, things I will take with me forever. We no longer are with the Catholic Church we are visiting an Orthodox Presbyterian Church  now with family integrated values. This seems like a good fit for our family and we are so happy to have found a church and faith to call home after many years of searching.  I was sad however to learn they don’t do anything for Lent or even Good Friday.  So my family and I will do things like we have for the past 4 yrs just on our own. I have to say I do like the idea of taking Lent as a personal family time. We are not being told how to pray or how to do things as a family over Lent. I feel much closer to the Lord and I feel this is better. My husband and I prayed about what we needed to do as a family, keeping family traditions was something we decided to continue since our girls learn so much from it and draw closer to God’s word.

 My family and I take Ash Wednesday till Good Friday very serious I find it sad that for many years we did not even know what it was. My faith was strong during the years we did not practice Lent, but I also lacked a lot of knowledge in the bible from churches not teaching the whole truth. I am not very fond of Luke Warm teaching s and I don't need to feel all warm and fuzzy when I leave. A reason I feel in love with the Catholic Church and my current church.  During our early years as a new Christians we were searching for the whole truth we wanted to live for Christ 100% at least try because one can never be perfect.  I cannot believe how many churches will skip this time all together, not even to touch base a little on this time of year. I am not here to judge others that’s not for me to do, I just become sad about things and this is one of them.  I fall deeper in love with the Bible and our father in heaven each and every year around this time. The things our Lord did while on earth and the events that took place these 40 days before Easter are so important. As a family we will pray much deeper, read the Gospels, and try to walk along the road that Jesus took for our salvation. We also know that it is only by the Grace of God and our Salvation in Christ that we can make it to Heaven.  

Here are our plans for Fat Thursday, Fat Tuesday, and Ash Wednesday.

We start our plans earlier then some. My husband’s family is from Poland so the Thursday before Lent called Tlusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday.)  We eat Paczki sweets all day long since we will be fasting starting Ash Wednesday. It is celebrated here in the United States on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday called Shove Tuesday. Here is a little more information on Tlusty Czwartek (Fat Thursday).   We give up meat and sugar throughout Lent; we eat lots of fish, salads, vegetables and soups. We do eat eggs and dairy during this time but as a family we love Meat and sugars so this is a sacrifice to us. 

We will take part in Shove Tuesday by adding some Irish and American fun. I am 50% Irish so we will add some traditions from Ireland as well. For Breakfast will have a very thin pancake kind of like a crepe sprinkled with lemon and powdered sugar, Cheeseburgers and shakes for lunch, Dinner a New Orleans Style cuisine with a little Jazz and a little Irish music. Our dinner   will be Jambalaya and Sweet Potato biscuits, for dessert Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce from Paula Deen Celebrates!: Best Dishes and Best Wishes for the Best Times of Your Life . We will be using our own homemade doughnuts for this, at least I think so will see how it goes.


Plans for Ash Wednesday will be personal and simple

 I will be going out for a Mexican lunch with our Pastors wife I can't wait she has become such a great friend. For dinner this year I will be serving a Black beans and rice along with flour tortillas. The recipe can be found over at Catholic Cuisine. 

We will miss going to mass to receive the Ashes which I am a little sad about, but the Lord has indeed left a peace in my heart about it. We will be going to our Pastors house for the weekly bible study this year instead.  My heart is still in love with the Catholic traditions and mass, I just have had a really hard time with all of the teachings. Know I am not against the Catholic Church in anyway.  When we went to Mass I loved it and felt so close to our Lord, I just never felt a peace in my heart it never felt 100% right to us.  I pray that this Lent all of you find time to keep Christ very close to your heart, remember his sacrifice to all of us.  This is a perfect time of year to fast and give thanks for all our Lord has done for us.

Peace and Blessings,
Pamela