Ash Wednesday is Feb 6

Even though I have not grown up in a faith tradition that observes Lent, I am trying to gain a better appreciation for this season leading up to Easter. As I did with Advent in December, I want to again force myself to slow down and be more reflective of life all around me that is filled with the presence of God.

I also need to give some deeper consideration to a decision that I've been struggling over. Yesterday morning almost pushed me over the edge. But I have come to understand that I make better decisions when I'm not in the emotion of the moment.

I hope and pray that over these next few weeks I can find some peace about this situation and the courage to walk toward it. Again, I am looking to Henri Nouwen to walk with me through this time. I will be reading Show Me the Way, a collection of his writings arranged in daily readings beginning on Ash Wednesday and concluding on Easter. I will attempt to blog daily through this time, highlighting Nouwen's writings and any insight I can gain from them.

I'm also going to use this time to try to get my ever-increasing midsection under control. This part, you must understand, is extremely difficult for me. It never used to be - which makes it just that much harder! But, it must be done, and this seems an appropriate time to begin. My plan is to restrict myself to meat, dairy, vegetables, and fruit. Now, you may be saying to yourself, "Gee, Myles, don't put yourself out!" But you must also understand that today I mostly live on carbs. In fact, I love carbs. Carbs are my life. So, this will be hard. In fact, don't be surprised if my daily blog is a simple love poem to a bagel. (Except that I'm not really a poet.) But you know what I mean.

Only one more day of carbs...