Practice what you preach Bowens

I'll be honest, I knew lent was coming up but I had no idea what date it was...

I know, i'm a 'waste' as my friends would say. So as to make sure I didn't miss lent completely, on the 1st March I thought I'd just give up make up for the month. I'd been saying since last summer I'll give it up for a month and always shrugged it off, forgotten. But coming back from the gathering I realised my dependence on the stuff was too big, and if I was truly comfortable in my identity in Christ, the thought of not wearing make up in college and church and everywhere wouldn't make me so nervous!

I thought, to be truly Stripped of the world and live in Gods presence, I should sacrifice the things in my life that I have a dependence on.

And on a side note, its crazy how beneficial it is! The first week I had work experience, I looked in the mirror of the toilets and didn't recognise myself. I don't even usually wear that much. I actually apologised to the girl I was working with for having to work with my bare face all day. 2 weeks on, the change is not so evident to me anymore, I am comfortable in a new face that is my own and not Boots no.7's or avon's. Its almost like getting rid of an addiction, the longer you go the more you realise how much you didnt need it, painful at first! But worth it.

So, I figured rather than making this like any other lent, to avoid me just being like my college friends who give something up because they are technically a catholic, or because its what you do, or because they want to lose weight by giving up crisps chocolate and biscuits, I thought I'd take on a project to really embrace the Stripped message.

Jesus didn't have distractions in his life like me and you do, Moses or Abraham, characters in the bible who lived according to Gods plan spent their time in Gods presence. Funnily enough, a song called I know who I am starts with this guy from the audience (live recording) singing in a cute funky way 'I wanna be like Jesus'. Jesus knew who he was. I want to be identified in the way Jesus was!

Each month I'm going to give up something I depend on. I dont know how many things in my life that take up time before I give time to God, so how long this project will run for depends on that! If you have any ideas tell me! And yes, facebook will be one of them. In fact, the amount of time I spend on that thing I should probably dedicate two months to it!


P.S
I'm not saying we SHOULDN'T be involved in things of the world, I know scripture says be all things to all men and I also think we have to be involved in the world to make a change in it. The message I want to put out there is that we should be mindful of the things we value in life.

At the end of one of Pauls letters in Philippians he says;

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do the best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious - the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.