Spare Change

So the Cracraft’s have been pretty poor about this whole blog thing.  It’s not like we don’t have enough things going on to talk about.  Every night leads us on new adventures.  The problem is those adventures generally don’t occur at HOME….

But excuses are just that.  So here I am and I got to say it is good to sit down, even if for only a few minutes, to just “defrag” my brain at little.  It seems like I am developing adult attention issues, because everyday I seem to read something or hear something that causes me to lose focus.  It’s not always a bad thing, but it seems like my mind just races from one thing to the next.  Truthfully, many of these are a bit uncomfortable, but very exciting at the same time.

Which brings us to tomorrow and the start of Lent.  For the majority of my life, Lent had often not been taught or even really discussed.  I just knew it as the period of time where a group people ate a lot of fish on Fridays!  (Fish Fry Friday!!  Who wouldn’t love that?)  But over the course of the past couple years, our pastor team at Hope Church has began the process of leading our church family through this very neat season.  Most people know it as a period of fasting, but it is also a time of re-orienting your life and sacrificing one’s self for the larger kingdom of God.  At Hope Church, we are focusing on 4 specific disciplines:

• Reading – Over the course of 40 days, we will be reading together the Gospel of John.  (Check out the reading schedule at HERE and join us!) Reading the Bible is good by the way!
• Fasting – Mentioned above, Fasting is the most easily identified discipline of Lent.  This idea of fasting is based upon the example of Jesus, who fasted 40 days before starting his ministry.  Individually, and as families, this season calls for each to sacrificially give up something that is noticeable enough to move us to rely on God’s power.
• Giving – We are being encouraged to look for new ways to bless others through our giving.  Maybe money, maybe time.  Regardless, giving means looking for beyond my current situation and seeking opportunities to interfere with someone else’ life.
• Serving – Our only response to the sacrifice of Jesus should be to serve others.  Jesus’ life was about meeting people’s needs for His purpose.  It’s how we make disciples.  During Lent, we have been challenged to look for opportunities to serve and then DO it! 

I got to say that I am pretty excited about it.  Last year I focused more on the fasting portion, which included me giving up music for the 40 day period.  It sounded silly to many, but I filled many minutes with music, especially driving to and from work, where my time could be used more efficiently.  Instead I committed to using the silence as a time to pray, and to this day I still use my morning drive as a time of prayer.

Beyond the practice of starting my morning in prayer, I firmly believe God used the season of Lent last year to prepare my family for what was to come.  He knew I would be changed while serving in Honduras.  He knew our family was going to change our course.  Our kids were going to go through change.  And He knew that our desires were about to change.  He used Lent to prepare me.  Give me a new prayer life.  And open my eyes.

With all this said, I know it is no coincidence that tomorrow morning at 6am, I will be stepping on a plane headed back to San Pedro Sula.  It was God designed that I start this season of Lent by spending a week with many who are poor, broken, and hungry.  Giving, Serving, Fasting, and Reading!

God Bless, Bo