{Preparation}

"Lent is a journey to the cross: meditating on our
sin and weakness, looking to Jesus as our perfect example and substitute, and being
heightened in our worship of his victory over Satan, sin, and death. On the cross, Jesus
took our place to appease God’s righteous anger toward our sin and rebellion. He was
separated from God so that we could experience union with God. He was crushed by
God so that we could be adopted by God. He was raised with God so that we too might
be raised with God. The drama of how this unfolded is the story of Lent.

The journey of Lent is to immerse ourselves in this grand story so that it might increase
our appreciation of Easter and love for Jesus. May we mourn the darkness in our hearts
and rejoice in the light of God who came into the world to save us!"
 (Journey to the Cross: Readings & Devotions for Lent)

As we approach the Lenten season, I find myself passionately longing for a refocus. Wanting to take full advantage of this time leading to Easter to meditate on my sin and need for Jesus and the sacrifice that he made so I could be washed clean. To break away from my routines and habits and worldly things "so the soul can fall in love with God" (Ann Voskamp). For forty days (and beyond) I want to focus on the heavy cross that Christ carried and my sins that nailed him to it. In Ann Voskamp's blog she put it this way: "the deeper I know the pit of my sin, the deeper I'll drink from the droughts of joy." Oh how badly I want that joy. I want to rejoice in the victory that has been won over satan and sin and death.

I'll be taking away a few things that have become a comfort to me and though it's going to be really difficult, I'm ready to be filled with joy that can only come from The Lord. Through repentance and praise it is my prayer that the gospel would only grow larger and I grow smaller. I'll continue to post tidbits of our life in Omaha and journey towards gratitude on the blog, but I'm limiting my use to that only.

I am also so, so excited to be ending the Easter season with a public display of my obedience to Christ. Truman and I are going to be baptized on Easter Sunday, symbolically washed clean. I can't think of a better way to celebrate the work that has been done on the cross and I feel blessed to have my husband to experience it with.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit."
(Psalm 51: 10-12)

J.