Love and Fasting

Resources for Today and Lent

Hello, dear readers.

Happy Valentine’s Day. As a person who is simultaneously annoyed by the commercialization of love, drawn to romanticism, and utterly grateful for the expression of love I experience this day with complexity. Maybe you do, too, and I hope you feel OK about it.

No matter how this day hits in the realm of romantic love for you, I do pray over each one of you that the love of the Lord would comfort, guide, and anchor you this and every day.

God’s love is a complicated topic for me, as I’ve written about before. It seems that it’s easy for knowledge of God’s love to reside in my prefrontal cortex rather than sinking down into something that my whole body trusts in for safety.

Breath prayer is a small practice that can bring ascent of a spiritual truth into my body, especially reminders of God’s love in the midst of chaotic and frustrating days. With that in mind, I’ve put together a couple of breath prayers that you can screenshot and save to your phone’s background. Try to incorporate these prayers a few times a day, connecting each time to a deeper part of your body as you pray, settle your mind and breath, and weave assurances of God’s love into your parasympathetic nervous system.

God really loves you. That’s not a platitude. It’s the truth, and your body needs to believe it right along with that people-pleasing, church-going, Christianese-speaking top brain of yours.

Just on the heels of this controversial and difficult day is what I believe to be one of the most misunderstood church seasons–Lent. Do you feel like you “get” Lent? In my experience a lot of Christians view Lent (and fasting in general) as a spiritual weight-loss or health cleanse rather than a time of deep spiritual transformation and preparation as it was originally intended to be.

If you’re in the market for a fresh take on Lent, and want to work with the Spirit to engage in a fast that transforms and refreshes your Spirit, keep an eye on your inbox. I hope to send a guide out to you later this week.

Alright, dear readers. That’s it for today. May the love of the Lord be your guide and rear-guard. May you find yourself swimming in real, authentic, unapologetic, unwavering, and unconditional love from Him who created you–and may that give you rest.