It’s Wednesday now and the fun is over. The pancakes have been eaten, the Coke has been drunk, and it’s now time for some introspection, prayer, and tonight will come the ash cross on my forehead. (I’ll post pictures.)

OK… so those non-Christian and/or those who are not big on Church history are asking “Jen, why ashes?” Well… back in “the day”, one showed sorrow by donning sackcloth and rubbing ashes on oneself.

“Therefore I abhor myself, And repent in dust and ashes.??
–Job 42:6

“Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?”
–Isaiah 58:5

“Then word came to the king of Nineveh; and he arose from his throne and laid aside his robe, covered himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes.”
–Jonah 3:6

Looking at the Isaiah passage, we come to the basis for the day. This is the first day of Lent, a season of reflection on oneself and one’s sinfulness. The 40 days commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent in the desert, the 40 hours He spent in the tomb, and the 40 years the Israelites spent in the wilderness. (“40” is kind of a big deal number in the Bible.) Before anyone accuses me of bad math, Sundays don’t count because they’re “mini-Easters”. (I’ve always thought that the “Sundays don’t count” thing was a slacker argument but who am I to argue with generations of tradition and practice?)

I’m not technically fasting today in that I’m eating; but I’m avoiding meat and also avoiding Coke. My plan during Lent is to avoid Coke as much as possible and try to break myself of the addiction. I know that I’ll probably fall but I’d like to at least try. I’m also not eating meat on Fridays and I’m fasting between 12-3 on Good Friday. (I’m an ex-Episcopalian. What can I say?) One of my meals will be some potato soup I have thawed out and another will be ramen.

OK… enough giving a basis to today. Now to live the life!