Lent Has Returned! (And some other miscellaneous, rambling thoughts!)

Well, I'm obviously lagging a bit behind. It seems as if life gets in the way of blogging. I can't even blame it on Facebook this time. I've not spent much time there lately. It gets to be sort of "same old, same old" after awhile. This won't be my usual "topical" post. Too much on my mind...so here goes!

Lent began this past Wednesday. Ash Wednesday is always a solemn day of reflection for me. A time of heart preparation for the 40 days to come. Most people don't feel this way, but this year, I'm actually excited about Lent! After all, it's not about what we "give up" in the way of food or pleasurable past times. It's about drawing closer to God because we're allowing Him to clear away the spiritual clutter that seems to inevitably build up in our lives.

I recently re-read the two Frank Peretti books, "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness". I don't remember the last time I read them. I do remember the first time. I was in college when both books came out. I read the first one in a couple of days' time. The second one, I read in one night (I was sick, so couldn't sleep anyway). Both books greatly impacted me at the time, and each subsequent time I read them. Not because I felt they were great theological treatises on spiritual warfare. They were just really good reminders that prayer accomplishes things. We can't always see the full impact of our prayers, but we MUST pray! Having the advantage of many years passing since the books were written, I was also somewhat amused/dismayed at how many churches have taken their spiritual warfare theology and practices from Frank Peretti's books...which are NOVELS, folks!

For those who have asked and continue to pray for me, the new medication I'm on seems to be helping quite a bit with the nerves/panic attacks. Please continue to pray, though. There are still good days and bad days, depending on how much sleep I get at night. I'm happy to report that I had more good days than bad days last week, though! Progress!

And for anyone who has followed this blog for a long period of time, you will be amazed to know that my oldest son (whom I call "Harry" for blogging purposes) is now 16, and old enough for a driver's license! Yikes! Five years ago, I posted this about Harry. Well, Harry is now a sophomore in high school, making A's and B's...and doing quite well! He even had a part in his school's production of "A Christmas Carol" this past December, after three months of every-day practices. I'm so proud of him!

Younger son, "Clyde," is now 12 (almost 13!). He's in 7th grade, and doing well, too. In January, he won his school spelling bee. A couple of weeks later, he placed in the top 6 in the county bee, to advance to the regional bee in March. Way to go! Hard to believe I'm going to have two teenaged boys in the house soon.

I've just started reading the book, "Story of a Soul: the Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux". I'm already amazed. She had such profound knowledge for a young woman (she died at the age of 24). If you ever get the chance, it's definitely a "must read" book.

A bit of hubby news here, too. He has been working on a Master's degree through the distance learning program at Franciscan University of Steubenville. There are some other things in the works now, though, which I can't really go into detail about. But we would definitely appreciate your prayers for direction and peace over decisions that must be made for our future. Thanks!

And for a completely new subject, what about this winter weather?! I just keep waiting for us to get really socked with a major snowstorm. It has been the mildest winter I've ever known! No complaints, though. Last year was a doozy!

Well, guess that's enough rambling for one post. God bless!