Lent: Day 1 // What's it all about and what are you doing?

So today was the first day of Lent and you hear the typical 'Lent question': "So, what are you giving up for Lent this year?", usually quickly followed by: "Do you think you'll actually manage the whole 40 days this year??". 

So, what is Lent? Essentially, it is marking the 40 days leading up to Easter, when Jesus was tempted in the desert by the devil, before He finally made the biggest sacrificial gift of all in giving His life to atone for our sins. So now we mark those 40 days by living sacrificially ourselves  in some way or another.

To be honest, I was toying with the idea of giving up something like cake or chocolate or something (with the added benefit of weight loss, right??), but it didn't seem like what I wanted to do for Lent. It didn't seem particularly meaningful for me personally because it didn't really make a difference to anybody else as such.

Now, I am not trying to belittle giving something up for Lent (that is the tradition after all)! I am simply saying that for me, the 2 important parts of observing Lent should be (1) remembering and recognising why we 'celebrate' it, and (2) that what I do to observe Lent, should make a difference to the world around me, not just to myself.

Like I said in my New Years Resolution post for 2014, I want 2014 about being more proactive about actively making a difference to the world I live in and to the lives of the people I interact with and meet every day, as well as those who are suffering far away.  So I decided that instead of giving something up for Lent, I would do something positive for each of the 40 days. 

Isaiah 58 has been on my heart for 2014 so far. It talks of what 'true fasting' is, not for show, but for doing to others what is on God's heart, which is again why I wanted to do something to mark Lent, but something that gave back, rather than just something that looks like I'm observing a tradition or somehow vaguely 'depriving' myself for 40 days. 

So in my research today, I came across some good suggestions of how one might do this:

1) Pledging to join an organisation like Watershed for 40 days in giving up something (like coffee, take away, chocolate) and donating the savings after 40 days to projects that do good.

2) Soul Action's 'Live Free': It sets out a discussion about Lent and gives 40 days worth of challenges and scriptures about how to live free.

3) 40 acts 'DO LENT GENEROUSLY': 40 days of giving back, doing good and living generously. This is an initiative to promote generous living (not necessary to make a financial commitment) through acts of kindness and goodness. Every day for the 40 days, you will get an email with your 'mission' for the day. 

I decided to sign up for 40 acts this Lent. I also decided to incorporate Soul Action's 'Live Free' daily thoughts and readings into my 30:30 Challenge that I happen to be doing with Joyce Meyer Ministries (spending 30mins a day for 30 days studying The Bible, rather than just reading it, to grow in intimacy with and understanding of God through His Word). In terms of donating financially, any extra money will go to my Operation Christmas Child mission of filling at least 12 boxes personally and trying to inspire others to help me fill 100 boxes in total for Christmas 2014.

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{Lent} Day 1:

40 acts // Start a journal // Create a journal, and begin Lent with a gratitude list. What things are you thankful for today? Next, write a wish list – but not the usual kind – this is a list of the people you’d like to specifically bless throughout 40acts. Take a picture of your journal or your gratitude list, upload it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest, and tag it with #40acts.

my journal

Live Free // Think about what you would like to be free of this Lent. Write it down. Pray that God will set you free from what is holding you back #BeFree #LiveFree

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So for me, I guess Lent 2014 is a mix of creating good, lifelong habits that will grow my heart both spiritually and actively in how I love others and the world that we live in.

Looking forward to seeing what Day 2 holds! 

Blessings!

Ronell x

PS  If anyone has other Lent suggestions, please do share them! 

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?" 

{Isaiah 58v6-7}

3 Peaks Challenge: Supporting Naomi's Home Orphanage, Kenya

A group of us are attempting to complete the 3 peaks challenge in June 2013. This involves climbing the 3 highest peaks in England, Scotland & Wales in just 24 hours. 

We are hoping to raise money for 'Naomi's home', a small, dilapidated, ill-equiped orphange in rural Kenya run by Naomi, a native Kenyan woman, who begs from farmers and villagers to feed and clothe the children she cares for. The orphange is responsible for looking after roughly 25 children, with over 300 more children on the waiting list to get in! However, without additional support the orphange will have to close. A couple of the team visited the children there last October and wanted to do more to help!

Through our Virgin Money Giving page, you can sponsor us and donations will be quickly processed and passed to Watershed Corporation Kenya, who will distribute this directly to the orphange.

This is going to be a HUGE challenge for me, but one that I believe will be totally worth it! Sponsor our team to help us raise money for this amazing cause!

We are aiming to reach £10,000 between us for Naomi's Home. We have raised £1,080 to date. Please help us meet/exceed this target and change the lives of destitute orphans who are waiting for somewhere to call home.

Blessings!

Ronell x

Lemoru, Kenya: Project 4810

For today's post I wanted to highlight a project that two of my friends (Daniel and Verity Yardy) are closely involved with. Every year, a team from Trinity Church goes to a rural village in Kenya (Lemoru) to physically and financially support the various projects there.
This year Daniel and Verity personally embarked on an epic journey named project 4810. Read the two emails below from Daniel to get a better understanding of the project and ways to donate:
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Email 1:
Dear Friends,
This week Verity and I are embarking on a challenge to climb 4,810m to the summit of Mont Blanc whilst raising £4,810 for a charity project that we am very closely involved with.
Over the past 3 years I have been travelling out to a rural community called 'Lemoru' in Kenya, to help them build a medical clinic to serve the wider community and the local orphanage.  Currently they have to walk nearly a whole day to get any medical attention and with diseases like Malaria being so prevalent in their community they often do not survive.
In October Verity is going back to (with others) to complete the fit-out of the clinic and to assist with buying the medical equipment and supplies they need to get the clinic up and running.
Please help us achieve our goal of raising the £4,810.  It would be great to know whilst climbing the highest summit in Western Europe, that for every meter climbed we are helping raise £1 towards this fantastic project!!
All the money raised goes direct to the project, all the expenses of the climb are met by myself.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this.  Hope we make it!!!!
Regards,
Dan
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Email 2:
Dear All,
Thank you so much for your messages of support and donation pledges over the past week, we really needed it as the climb proved to be an unbelievable challenge!!
We were hoping to complete it in 4 days (allowing for acclimatisation) however due to bad weather we had to try and do it in 3.  Unfortunately I fell very ill on day 3 and we had to return to the valley when I had reached 500m from the summit.  After recovering, we still had a 2 day weather window to get back to the top, but we no longer had a guide!!
However, we couldn't face coming home having not reached the summit, so we decided on another attempt on our own.  We finally reached the summit on day 6 (Friday at 8am), having only slept about 8 hours all week!!!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE help us achieve our target of £4,810 by next week, when Verity and the gang travel out to Kenya.  We have already received some very kind donations and are now half way (nearly £2,500).  This is a very worthy cause which we are directly involved with and we get to see exactly where the money goes and how it transforms the lives of the people in this community!!
We now have a PayPal link for giving donations (as below) and I have also listed a few other ways you can donate.
Once again, thank you so much for your support!!
Dan
Ways to donate:
1.      PayPal: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=4X6C4ZAY3A99E
2.      Text: LTHC12 £10 (The code is simply the acronym for Lemoru Trinity Health Centre 2012 - and then a donation of £10.  This is then added to your mobile phone contract bill or deducted from your pay-as-you-go credit.  You then get a text confirming your donation)  Give it a go yourself to see how easy it is. Please note that there is a space between the code and the amount being donated.
3.      Internet Banking:  Community Development Initiatives - Sort Code:  08-60-01; Account Number:  20136572 If you have online banking can do a simple transfer and put LTHC12 as the reference.
4.      Cash/Cheque: Please forward to me at A2O Ltd, Pump House Farm, Ongar Rd, Brentwood CM15 0LA.  Cheques to be made out to Community Development Initiatives.
p.s. If you have any questions about the charity or the project, please don't hesitate to ask.
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Watch this YouTube video more on the project.
Please support this very worthy cause in any way you can, whether it is financially, through prayer, or fasting.
Love and blessings,
Ronell x
"And Jesus said, 'Whatever you Did for the least of these...you did it for me' " {Matthew 25v40}