Day 22

Yesterday afternoon I actually decided my Lent period would change from Mar1-Apr16 to Mar1-Apr8. I am still doing the 40 days, and since Sundays weren't supposed to count and I was still doing them, I decided Apr8 is more appropriate for me.

This morning, I felt a little lost. Last night I learned that a friend of mine had slipped and sounded as if she wasn't going ahead with her 'fasting' anymore. It was disappointing to say the least. I had decided to pull my Lent back 8 days, and then I find out a fellow Lent'r was giving up. I guess you could say I was a little rattled.

I made a commitment to God to stop watching television for 40 days.

When I woke up this morning and switched on my computer, opened up the folder I have full of shows I've downloaded (shows that I've missed over the past 22 days). Clicked on an episode of 24 and stopped.

I made a commitment to God to stop watching television for 40 days.

If I can't keep a commitment to the Lord, then what does that say about me? That I'm a weak human being -- tell me something I didn't know. That I need God in everything that I do, especially in times of temptation.

What if I decided to give up my current way of life and devote it all God, would I be able to do it, if I can't even give up a form of entertainment for a few days?

When in doubt, ask God for advice.

I wanted to open up a bible and turn to a random page and find the answer to my ponderings. But instead turned to someone who always seems to have the answer -- Oswald Chambers. Here is an excerpt of TODAY's reading.

Much of the distress we experience as Christians comes not as the result of sin, but because we are ignorant of the laws of our own nature. For instance, the only test we should use to determine whether or not to allow a particular emotion to run its course in our lives is to examine what the final outcome of that emotion will be. Think it through to its logical conclusion, and if the outcome is something that God would condemn, put a stop to it immediately. But if it is an emotion that has been kindled by the Spirit of God and you don’t allow it to have its way in your life, it will cause a reaction on a lower level than God intended. That is the way unrealistic and overly emotional people are made. And the higher the emotion, the deeper the level of corruption, if it is not exercised on its intended level. If the Spirit of God has stirred you, make as many of your decisions as possible irrevocable, and let the consequences be what they will. We cannot stay forever on the "mount of transfiguration," basking in the light of our mountaintop experience (see Mark 9:1-9 ). But we must obey the light we received there; we must put it into action. When God gives us a vision, we must transact business with Him at that point, no matter what the cost.

I don't know if God would condemn my actions of watching television, but rather I think what He's telling me here is to make the most of my "basking in the light of our mountaintop experience" -- that is, Ishskwaday. Rather than dwelling on my Lent, I should be putting into action what God has placed in my heart from the conference. I think that's the lesson to be learned today.