my Lenten fast so far...

if you've never participated in a Lenten fast, you should

it's a little too late to start now, so relax

i can't recall if i posted this already (i could probably just read previous posts, but i'm too lazy), but i am fasting from video games of all sorts for Lent.

i heard that - no chuckling. did you just mock my decision?

well, i'll tell you what - i have been forced to evaluate the way i spend my time. If NOTHING else occurs in my spiritual journey through this fast, i have been face to face with the way i spend my down time. I'm on the go for most of the day, going from place to place and meeting this person or that person, and when i am finally home, if my wife is not home (and sometimes when she IS home), i turn on the hexbox or the wii and zone out for a bit. for me, this is a very therapeutic way to spend my time - if frustrated, i can shoot people. if i'm sleepy, i can play tennis and get my focus up. if youth are online, i can connect with them in a way i can't at church, playing some games with them and sharing small talk, sometimes more...
i'm an advocate of games that tell a story, as well, and there are some great games out and some coming out soon that do a GREAT job telling great stories that the gamer participates in. more and more, video games are interactive movies.

well, now that i'm NOT doing these things during the week, i've realized how much i WAS doing these things. i now have time to reflect on the value, and occasional lack thereof, of the games in the time i spend at home. i think my wife is very happy that i have not been playing, and she'll be sad (sort of) when Easter comes.

i'm very, very proud of my wife, though, because her fast is even more significant. She is fasting from make-up.

now, i know that EVERY man i have talked to couldn't care less about make-up on a woman. in fact, many prefer that the ladies just forget the stuff and get ready faster anyway.
so personally, i have been very happy that she takes less time in the bathroom.
but that's not why i'm proud of her.
Sarah recognized that the only really significant thing in her life other than God and me was her make-up... as many women would be forced to confess if they are honest with themselves. so much of a woman's self image is tied up in the culturally conditioned need for touch-ups, foundation, mascara, and all that other mess. Sarah has been wrestling through this Lenten fast by leaving off the make-up, seeking to understand that her beauty is deeper than that and is founded in God's perspective of her, not her perspective of herself.

Although she feels like lots of people have given her sideways glances and have mumbled under their breath about the girl with no make-up on, I think that overall she has been led to rely on God's peace in her through the day, which is certainly the focus of the Lenten fast.

she has definitely made my fasting seem pretty weak in comparison, and that's exactly what i want in a wife!