Two posts in three days! What's the deal? The fun never ends here...
I'm honestly glad that Great Lent is here. However, I am a little rusty when it comes to fasting (I've had a dispensation for the past 8, practically 9, years due to continually being either pregnant or breastfeeding). Since I've been practicing the Paleo diet, preparing dinner has been simply a matter of defrosting and cooking some form of meat and then serving a side of vegetables. Now I'll have to get a little more creative and plan out my meals better, since soups and beans and grains (at least for my family, who are not paleo) can be a little more labor intensive.
I'd love to figure out how to approach Lenten meals with less fuss, because it seems that should be the goal, right? Less time to focus and enjoy food, and more time to attend services and pray. We shall see!
~Goals~
- Work on cleaning the house. I always find Matushka Emily's cleaning routinesvery inspiring.
-Work on maintaining a better oil vigil lamp. I keep burning through my cork floats. I don't feel totally comfortable keeping it lit 24-7, but I want to work my way up to that goal so that one day it will seem quite normal :) I think dear Elizabeth might be an online expert in the matter of cleaning and maintaining vigil lamps! :)
- Read My Elder Joseph the Hesychast by Geronda Ephraim of St. Anthony's Monastery in Arizona. I picked it up from our church's bookstore. I'm just a few pages into it, but it is very readable and fascinating.
- No fabric or yarn purchases. February saw a bit of a lapse in my ban on buying fabric. Aaaaand... I spent some money on beautiful yarn last Saturday when I experienced my first "Yarn Crawl" along with Vasi's godmother. It was great fun!
- Limit TV to weekends, and only something edifying or actually educational. Any thoughts out there?
-Read the Lectionary. This is something that isn't hard for me during non-Lenten times. But for some reason, all of the Old Testaments readings throw me off during Lent, and I don't keep up with it as much.
- Attend as many services as is feasible and realistic for our family.
- I am in sore need of some new skirts that FIT. Now that I'm off prednisone AND I'm done breastfeeding, my figure has changed in good and not-so-good ways. Ha! I need pull-proof skirts that pass my "Lent" test. Remember last year?
7 comments:
:) I recommend these wick holders; I also find the cork ones to be frustrating and in danger of burning oil to the end (though adding water first can help with this):
http://store.holycross-hermitage.com/catalog/devotional-items/vigil-lamp-supplies/wick-holder
Wishing you a blessed Lent! So glad you are off the predisone! It's a horrid drug :(
Wishing a blessed Lent and good health to you!!
Xenia, I actually thought of you last night during Forgiveness Sunday and was glad I was wearing a skirt that I could do prostrations in, lol!
Hope you have a good Great Lent!
*Forgiveness Vespers
We are blessed indeed to have two posts so close together. I think your plan sounds wise.
Forgive me, my sister
Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for the link! I'll give the cork float one more try (since I bought it already), but if it doesn't work out, I'll look into these wick holders! Yes, I'm so glad I can be off of steroids now... I hope you are feeling better, too!
Thank you!
Matushka Constantina,
LOL, that's great!! We're all in this together, eh? :)
Mimi,
You are so sweet, as always. I hope you are well! Please forgive me, too, dear sister!
These are some great ideas for Lenten goals! I havent been by here in a while, your blog is looking great! :)
As far as TV goes, we only watch PBS Kids (or regular PBS, if the kids are gone and I feel adventurous, LOL!). Not having tv service really helps limit tv time. Especially since we don't get great reception with our rabbit ears.
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