Early Lenten Start and Moments of Bliss

Well, here we are -- Shrove Tuesday and the feast of the Holy Face of Jesus. While I am not eating pancakes or indulging in food, I am "indulging" in my prayer time and more reading, which has been lovely.

I started some of my Lenten practices a couple of days early to make the necessary modifications (e.g. time management hiccups) in order to be ready for tomorrow. Social media has both surprisingly easy to give up... yet hard to avoid.

While I've signed out of all my accounts (and have been since Sunday), I still absentmindedly (and out of habit) find myself typing up the first couple of letters and hitting "enter" when I see that particular social media website pop up. Again, I'm so happy I'm logged out because it becomes a reminder of what I have decided to do. I've also blocked cookies from my phone's browser so that I cannot log into any website that requires a password.

A little while ago, I was listening to "La Vie en Rose" as the rain started pouring on my rooftop. I stood up from the couch and went to the window to look at the rain falling from the mostly cloudy sky. I could see the sunlight and blue skies peeking through pockets that were untouched by the clouds. I kept listening to the song and listening to the rain mixing into the melody in perfect harmony. I was alone in the living room, a rare moment of quiet for a busy apartment building setting, and it was a beautiful moment of sheer bliss.

It's these little things and moments that we miss when we're so caught up on social media and on being on top of notifications. I'm sure I've missed a lot of things on social media... but I didn't miss this one beautiful moment that appeals to my romantic nature. Not only that, it reminded me of the beauty that God has bestowed on us; the beauty we often overlook because our attention is on something superficial and fleeting. For this moment -- for these realizations -- I'm grateful.

We're expecting heavy rain -- and even some thunderstorms -- tomorrow. I don't know if I will be able to make to Mass and/or church for the distribution of ashes because our local streets flood and my car is pretty low to the ground. That and I'm still feeling a little under the weather (read: lightheaded), which makes driving under these conditions a little more dangerous. Still, I will pray and ask St. Scholastica for a little break in the rain to and from our parish so that I may be able to attend confession and Mass tomorrow.

I think this is the first Lent that I actually prepared for and am ready for... which, of course, means very little because plans can change. Still, I look forward to tomorrow and the rest of the season. I know it's a penitential season but I feel like I really need this time to do some major interior housecleaning and relationship (with God) mending. Anyone else ready for the Ash Wednesday?

Anyway, I just want to write a little something to test this whole "daily blogging" format I have in mind. I think I'll wait until the end of each day to write the post, publish it, and then schedule the link to be posted on social media in the morning the following day, but don't quote me on it. Still trying to figure out how this is going to work as well. :)

I hope you're all having a lovely start of the week and that you're (more or less) ready for tomorrow and the next 40(+) days!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless. :)

My 2019 Lenten Plans... Along with a Few Surprises

I have decided to become somewhat of an "urban hermit" for this Lenten season. What does that mean? Well, in a nutshell, I want to devote myself and my time to more prayer and work (oh, hey, Benedictine ways ;)). I want to detach myself from as many worldly distractions as possible. This means no social media, checking my email twice a day (and not replying unless it's
life or death" important), long periods of not touching my laptop or anything that has internet capabilities, and seriously detachment from my smartphone and all the shiny apps it contains.

I will be rolling out the details of my plans slowly as the Lenten season progresses. You won't know what I'm doing until I've begun doing them, but here are the three major things that I needed to share with everyone with whom I communicate frequently.

I will be "breaking up" with my smartphone over a period of 30-days, which may extend a bit after Lent is over. I have the specific time frame already marked in my calendar. Friends have been warned that I will be unavailable and alternative ways of communicating have been established for those who want (really, need; e.g. editors, coworkers) to keep in touch during this time.

I am planning on doing a mini-retreat at home. I'll talk more about this when I begin but it's something that I've looked forward to doing on my own for quite some time. I want and need this time for just myself and for my relationship with God -- with no one else's comments or interference. It'll just be whatever God wants to reveal to me and what I want/need to say to him. People often feel the need to chime in on what I "have to" do or how I "have to" do it and, to be completely honest, it irritates me. My relationship with God is personal. Sure, I know I need help once in a while but that's what spiritual directors are for, right? I hope this retreat will help me focus more on God and less on what the outside world thinks I should do to better my spiritual life. Are we seeing the "urban hermit" pattern yet?

I will be updating my progress daily via this blog. No, your eyes don't deceive you; I will be blogging daily during Lent. I will be setting a specific time in the evening, every day, to update any progress (or epic fails) along the way. I've always been curious to see how people do when they cut back on social media and smartphone usage after relying on them for so long so I want to share my experience with you. Knowing myself, I will stumble more than a couple of times but that's okay. I'm giving myself permission to not be perfect; to learn from my mistakes but to also not say, "Well, I messed up so it's time to throw in the towel." Also, it'll hold me accountable for my actions, which I need.

There may also be surprises along the way but I guess you'll just have to keep coming back to find out what they are. ;)

I think I've figured out how to share these blog posts and articles published onto my social media accounts without my having to log in so some of y'all can still get the links if it's easier that way. However, I will be completely gone from the evening of Shrove Tuesday until Easter Sunday. Yes, that includes Sundays as well.

I know some of what I will share (as I roll out my plans) will seem extreme at first but, trust me, I've not only researched and planned this out for weeks. I'm doing all of this because I know I have to make some drastic changes in my life in order to put myself back on the right path. I'll also share what's been going on and why these changes were necessary later on.

Anyway, I just wanted to share these things while I had the brain capacity for them. I'm currently having another (and slightly worse than before) chronic fatigue relapse so I'm not able to concentrate for long periods of time. In fact, I'm going to take a nap as soon as I publish this post so I can focus on a couple of articles I have due (and overdue) without the crazy mental fog.

I hope you're all having a lovely start of the week thus far!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :)

Happy Fat Tuesday; Lent Plans.

Doesn't my first attempt at vegan pancakes look pretty successful, especially since I winged it when it came to the recipe? Since I am allergic to dairy and eggs, I have to improvise many dishes that contain these ingredients. I used almond milk as a substitute for regular milk (you can also use soy or rice milk; I am not a fan of either) and applesauce to replace the eggs. The pancakes came out really good and fluffy so I was a happy camper. Since I forgot to get some maple syrup, I used honey... which was still so good. :) If anyone wants to try them, let me know. Though I winged it, I still have exact details on how many cups of this and tablespoons of that to use. :)

Well... Happy Fat Tuesday everyone! I know some of my friends from England and Ireland call it Shrove Tuesday, which I occasionally call it too just because it sounds nicer than Fat Tuesday, lol. I have made pancakes for the family today. I have been blessed with the gift of being able to make dishes from scratch and have them coming out quite edible. lol. I know the secular world is treating today as a gluttonous "holiday" in which they can eat and drink whatever they want because they want, but they don't know what the actual day is all about. If you're not sure where Mardi Gras' roots come from, you can read about it here.

I am not stuffing myself today because a) my impressive eating habits are out of whack at the moment and b) I don't fast during Lent. Now, before you begin to lecture me about how fasting is part of the season, let me explain why I don't, or can't, fast. There are two main reasons why I never go more than a couple of hours without eating... 1) hunger actually worsens the anxiety symptoms and 2) I have inherited my mother's hypoglycemia type illness. If I don't eat at least a small meal every four hours, well... let's just say it's not pretty. You don't want to see a shaking, cold sweating, lightheaded, really weak, nearly fainted me. I've freaked people out before when I've attempted to fast; I get really sick. I will be limiting the amounts of red meat I eat, though, and eating more chicken and tuna. I need some sort of poultry or fish (at the minimum). I can't go with only vegetables, breads, and liquids. I've tried it before. I don't like not fasting along with everyone but the Church excuses me because of my underlying medical restrictions.

"Those who are excused from fast or abstinence Besides those outside the age limits, those of unsound mind, the sick, the frail, pregnant or nursing women according to need for meat or nourishment, manual laborers according to need, guests at a meal who cannot excuse themselves without giving great offense or causing enmity and other situations of moral or physical impossibility to observe the penitential discipline."

If you want to learn more about fasting during Lent, visit this page on EWTN.

Almost everyone I know is giving up something for Lent. Last year I limited my Facebook time. The year before that I gave up football (soccer) matches because they took a lot of my free time. No, really, they did. This year I am giving up my biggest "free time" consumer... Twitter. I'm a social person (online at least; I can't say the same for in person conversations, lol) so it'll be really hard to give up. With all the free time I will have from not tweeting, I will be reading more Catholic literature. Because I will go cuckoo bananas without social interaction (and because many of the friends I used to go out with have moved away from Southern California), I will be keeping touch with everyone via Gmail (and thus Google Buzz) and Facebook.

Oh, and, I'm also giving up non-Catholic literature as well. (side note: books I need to read for my classes are the exception to that.) I am putting Jane Austen on hold and brushing up on theology and saints' biographies. I will also be writing less of my novel (which is fine 'cause I'm practically done anyway) and spending more time blogging. Have you noticed that since I've put the extra effort to finish the novel, I've neglected this blog a bit? Sorry about that. I have a goal for the Lenten season, and it's to write one blog per day. See, I've noticed that the more I blog, the more I keep my focus on my faith. Whenever I have to write about something related to our Catholic faith, I like to research what I don't know (or know little about) so that I can make a good post. And in doing this, I also focus less on myself and my wants. I want to focus on the Lord and on everything Christ did for our salvation during this season. I am also going to think long and hard about the venial sins I commit (bad habits that won't die without a fight) and see what I can do to prevent them from happening.

In a nutshell, I am determined to do things properly this year... as if my mom who's still reverting back to the Church. She's also missing the Latin Masses (which she grew up going to) but I will save that story for a future post. :D

I should get going. I have to add people to Facebook and remind everyone that it will be easiest to get a hold of me through it and through email (which is catholicnerdwriter [at] gmail [dot] com). I also have to figure out what I'm doing tomorrow. I am definitely watching the Mass on EWTN (10:30 a.m EST, 7:30 a.m. PST) because I love watching Pope Benedict XVI giving Masses. :D

I hope everyone isn't too stuffed by now. ;)

As always, thanks for ready and God Bless!