Lent leads to reflection

Last year I saw lots of friends posting on Facebook what they were giving up for Lent. These were Christian friends, and I, like so many others thought Lent was only for liturgical faiths like Catholics. As the day passed and I had several conversations with friends about why Christians would participate in Lent, I felt the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I wanted to try it…but where to start? Was there a formula or plan to follow? It was no small coincidence that later that day I received a gift in the mail: a book titled, “Reliving the Passion.” A book to read each day of the 40 days of Lent. I decided right then I would read the book and participate in Lent.

It was a wonderful experience, and I am so thankful I journaled through that first experience of Lent. I couldn’t wait to do it again…in 2012. So yesterday was the first day of Lent, and I found that it came so naturally to WANT to give something up and to WANT to reflect and go deeper into the Word of God. For me, the purpose of Lent is to examine myself for my own deep need of God’s grace and recognize His sacrifice for me.

I’ve begun this Lent of 2012 by praying for the Lord to reveal to me what I need to sacrifice. The answer came quickly – much along the lines of what I gave up last year – computer time. Specifically, online computer games, which can errode away much of my time throughout any given day. But saying I am giving this up isn’t a complete Lent. Replacing that time with something new…something valuable…something eternal…is the purpose of Lent. Lent isn’t about sacrificing just for the sake of the sacrifice. It’s about making a sacrifice and allowing God to turn it into something beautiful. (A complete post can be written about what we Americans term “sacrifice.” This is a great article on the subject of Lent and sacrifice.)

As I free my time from the computer I will fill it by rereading “Reliving the Passion” (a wonderful Lent devotion book that I highly recommend) and by praying and reflecting on Christ’s sacrifice and my own sinfulness that leads me to worship for the abundant grace given to me.

So what about you?! Are you participating in Lent, and what is it that the Lord has asked you to sacrifice in order to grow closer to Him?

You Won’t Relent

A beautiful worship song that stirs my heart today.

Family Photo Shoot

We had our first-ever professional photo shoot! A friend of mine is married to a great photographer, so when they showed up on Groupon we jumped on the deal. It was the most beautiful day for outdoor pictures in Garden of the Gods. The lighting was amazing. These are also Nate’s three year pictures. Here is the complete collection.

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Christmas Day 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Wrights!

Friday Five

Today I am thankful for:

1. Airline tickets to Florida (We are visiting my brother and sister-in-law over Spring Break!)

2. Playing chase with the kids around the house (We do this several nights a week after dinner.)

3. Getting through my to-do list (I have tons of organization to do…it feels so good to get it done.)

4. Tim’s bold faith (He has so many neat opportunities to share his faith with his patients.)

5. The Family Reading Bible (Just got this for our family to do devotions….it is SO great!)

What are you thankful for today?!

Scandalous weather

Colorado + January = some pretty amazing weather. It’s been really nice all week (i.e. 60′s), and today was no exception! We hit 67 degrees!!!

Nate and I spent plenty of time outside…reading…playing with chalk and rocks and bungee cords…having a picnic. So after we picked up Emma from school, we went to our favorite trail and rode bikes (I ran…even though I had already run early this morning – I couldn’t resist!) And we played at the park. In the midst of our outing I realized since Nate is now riding a bike (his favorite Christmas present), I don’t need the jogging stroller anymore! Hallelujah!!!

Goodbye jogging stroller!

I LOVED seeing my children riding together (on thier own bikes) for the first time ever. We have entered a new phase of life…can’t wait till Spring!

More Christmas Celebrations

We had our annual brunch at the Broadmoor earlier this month. This is a fun Christmas gift we receive from my husband’s employees, and we always look forward to it.

The gals that work for us are so awesome! They sent me these flowers the week of our office party.

On Emma’s last day of school before Christmas break, her class went caroling in the neighborhood by their school. It was Emma’s first time, and I had to go along because caroling was always one of my favorite Christmas activities as a kid.

Our small group had a party last weekend, which was an amazing night. Our small group is made up of some of our most cherished friends…and these girls are so dear to me!

These are the families that make up our small group. I can’t tell you how blessed we are to journey through life with these amazing friends.

We’ve had lots of snow this week, which means the kids have had lots of fun sledding!

Every single day I am filled with gratitude for the beautiful place God has blessed us with to be our home. This picture is of the valley we live in (our house is in the bottom left. This is taken from the hill behind our house.) I just think it is so breath-taking when it’s blanketed with snow.

Birthday Love

Happy birthday to my awesome, water skiing, hunting, drum playing, mountain biking, wrestling the kids, making box houses, bringing me flowers, dancing and laughing husband!!!! You are the BEST….and we love you THIS MUCH!

Happy birthday, Tim!

Party Week

This has been a full week of parties and pagaents and all things Christmas.

On Wednesday I hosted our annual office party for my husband’s staff. I always do a soup buffet followed by a dessert buffet. It was a fabulous night!!! We are so blessed with the most amazing girls working for us, so I love to spoil them (and their families) at Christmas time. The kids and I spent weeks baking, decorating and cooking! It was well worth it!

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My Gift to Jesus

Tonight I will be attending a Christmas dinner at my mother-in-law’s church, and we are supposed to bring a gift for Jesus. I decided my gift would be a “Sacrifice of Praise.” It has been so meaningful to write this because the Lord has opened my eyes to all the blessings in my life, and He has laid it on my heart how I can be grateful for the seemingly bad things. So I share my “Sacrifice of Praise” to encourage on your own journey. Find the things in your life – big or small – that will create a heart of praise in you this Christmas season. Then share it with someone to encourage them on their journey. Together we can become a chain of praise!

“Sacrifice of Praise”

“Let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise – the fruit of lips that confess His name.” (Hebrews 13:15)

“If you praise the Lord through a minor hardship or a major trial, you are offering a sacrifice of praise. Such a sacrifice costs you plenty – your pride, your anger, your human logic, and the luxury of your complaining tongue. A sacrifice of praise costs you your will, your resentment, and even your desire to have your own way in a situation. And for whose sake do we give up these things? We do so for the sake of Christ and for His glory. Praise in those circumstances is painful. Nevertheless, it is logical, even if our logic argues that God has no idea what He’s doing.” (Joni Eareckson Tada)

 I praise the Lord for delivering me from the pit of darkness and sin that once consumed my life. He pursued me with a relentless, lavish love and poured out His forgiveness on me. I praise Him for salvation that cost me nothing yet cost Him everything. I praise Him because He does not treat me as my sins deserve…but He lavishes His love on me every day.

 I praise the Lord for the trials He has allowed in my life. Without those trials, I would not know Him as Deliverer, Restorer, and Giver of all good things. I would not understand “peace that passes understanding” or how to “count it all joy” when faced with various trials. I would not know how to depend on Him for my daily bread or how to survive on the provisions He grants. Without trials and hardships, I would be unable to calculate the value of freedom or learn the language of prayer that sustains in the deepest of valleys.

 And the shattered dreams, for even these, I praise the Lord. If those dreams had remained intact, I would have settled for the lesser thing and perhaps quit dreaming altogether. I praise God for those shattered dreams because in their place He provided a better dream – a dream I would not have had the courage to imagine or embrace were it not for the trail of His faithfulness on the journey.

 I praise the Lord for immeasurable blessings. He has blessed me with a beautiful marriage to a truly Godly, gracious and generous man. Through my husband, God has taught me about unconditional love. He has blessed me with two healthy, vibrant, full-of-life children that bring tremendous joy to our home. Laughter fills my life more now than ever before.

 I praise the Lord for family and the legacy of faith passed down through my parents and my in-laws and for their examples of a Godly marriage. I am blessed with wonderful family relationships from sisters and brothers to cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers-in-law and sisters-in-law. I am so grateful for my family.

 I praise the Lord for friends. I am very rich in friendship and deeply grateful for those who journey through life with me. Whether it’s a card in the mail, a message of encouragement, a girl’s night out or a chat on a park bench…I am blessed beyond measure with friends who care.

 Lord, I offer all of these praises up to You – a gift, a sacrifice of praise.