Lent 2024 | Week 1: TIME

Welcome to CK’s Lent Journey for 2024! The past few years our church has been looking at Lent through the lens of taking on certain practices with the intention of letting go of other things in our lives that distract or detract from our lives with God. This year, one of the practices we are recommending for Lent is reflection, whether that is by journaling or through talking with a trusted friend.

Every week on Sunday we will be posting a new set of reflection questions based on themes and areas of our lives that are important to look at on a deeper level. We hope this is a chance to take some time to look inward, to process, to ask intentional questions about your life and bring those reflections to God, asking him to show us what is going well and what might need to change.

The first area of life we are going to reflect on is time.

Why Time: Our days are marked by time.  When we do things, what order we do them in, how much we are able to do, all depends on time and how we have ordered our day.  It is important, therefore, to stop and reflect on how we spend our time.  Our days are a gift from God and we choose how to fill them.  Let’s take some time to reflect on our time and how we spend it and why we spend it the way we do.

Reflection: Here are some reflection questions to help you work through this topic.  Feel free to answer all of them or just some, and if you’re not sure of the answer, try journaling about why you’re not sure of it…it may just help you figure it out!  If you’re an extrovert or a verbal processor, try going through these questions with a friend!

• Why do I wake up when I wake up? Why do I go to sleep when I go to sleep?
• What do I do when I have free time?
• Write out a typical schedule of your day, what takes up the most time? The least? Is this the ranking you want to see? What could change and how would it change?
• Is there anything I spend my time doing that doesn’t draw me towards the “good life” that I think God wants for me? What is it?

Pray with me: Lord, you have given me my days and the time each one brings me to do and be.  Guide me through my days and the decisions I make on how to spend them.  Give me wisdom to know what can and should be done and what needs to be left for another time.  Lead me towards good things to fill my time and away from things that are not. Amen.

Bonus: If you make it through the thematic list of journaling prompts this week and would like some more general ones to guide you, try some of these:

• What hopes do I have for growth in my spiritual life as I journey through Lent?
• What has been heavy on my heart or mind today?
• How do I feel today? What am I worried about or excited for?
• How do I need God to show up for me today? Is there anything I need to ask him for?
• How have I seen God show up for me in the past?  What has he already done or been doing in my life?
• What am I grateful for today?