{"id":1562,"date":"2015-02-19T23:08:17","date_gmt":"2015-02-19T23:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2015-02-15T23:22:05","modified_gmt":"2015-02-15T23:22:05","slug":"a-day-full-of-devotionals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/02\/a-day-full-of-devotionals.html","title":{"rendered":"A Day-full of Devotionals?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Image<\/a>
Image courtesy of Franky242\/FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It’s been building up over the past few years, but this year, it seems to truly be turning into a swift and powerful waterfall – it’s the number of devotionals available to us, especially those to observe during Lent! And I, for one, am pruning before I even start!<\/p>\n

It’s not that I don’t appreciate all of the time and effort (and the very good things) that each individual 40-day observance has to offer. But, there are so many of them! And, if you tried to do even half of the ones that sound marvelous, well, there wouldn’t be any time for deeper personal reflection.<\/p>\n

So, I’m paring down my choices to two, and holding onto my own prayer and meditation time very protectively. If a day is too full of doc appointments, symptoms (especially fatigue), and other busy-ness, then I’ll opt for just “me and God” time.<\/p>\n

It’s okay to say “no” to a devotional “program” for Lent, especially if you have already committed to one or you know that you’ll be unlikely to do justice to it and your personal time with God (including getting the most out of church services and fellowship with friends). Maybe you can revisit the programs you don’t follow next year. Maybe God will lead you in another direction.<\/p>\n

Yes, maybe, it will be through quiet time, listening to God’s soft, loving voice within, that you will find greater wisdom and direction for the days after Lent.<\/p>\n

You’ll never know unless you give it a very good, earnest try!<\/p>\n

Peace,<\/p>\n

Maureen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s been building up over the past few years, but this year, it seems to truly be turning into a swift and powerful waterfall – it’s the number of devotionals available to us, especially those to observe during Lent! And I, for one, am pruning before I even start! It’s not that I don’t appreciate…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":548,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1272,1422,360,43,4,1047,578,379,1420,1245,1236,95],"tags":[1537,1542,1536,1134,1538,1540,1541,1539,134],"class_list":["post-1562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-praying-spirit-prayer-2","category-chronic-pain-and-the-holidays","category-determination","category-encouragement-in-life","category-words-of-encouragemnent-and-info-for-all","category-good","category-goodness","category-lupus-2","category-pain-2","category-positive","category-prayer-2","category-prayers","tag-devotionals","tag-lent-and-prayer","tag-lenten-devotionals","tag-listening-to-god","tag-praying-to-god","tag-quiet-time","tag-saying-no-to-things","tag-talking-to-god","tag-wisdom"],"yoast_head":"\nA Day-full of Devotionals? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/2015\/02\/a-day-full-of-devotionals.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Day-full of Devotionals? - Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It’s been building up over the past few years, but this year, it seems to truly be turning into a swift and powerful waterfall – it’s the number of devotionals available to us, especially those to observe during Lent! 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She expected to be writing scripts. God had other plans. A few years after her graduation, Maureen was diagnosed with a life-threatening case of organ-involved lupus. Her life turned upside down as she grappled with the effects of the illness and other health conditions that ensued. She was no stranger to serious health challenges; even as a child, Maureen had survived numerous bouts of pneumonia, flu, and other infections. But lupus made her take a fresh look at her life goals - and took herlifelong, strong Catholic Christian faith and writing in a direction she'd never imagined. Today, Maureen writes and speaks about walking with the Lord while living with chronic pain and illness. Her most recent book is \"Don't Panic!: How to Keep Going When the Going Gets Tough (Franciscan Media). She is also the author of, \"Peace in the Storm: Meditations on Chronic Pain & Illness\" (Image Books\/Randomhouse), \"Beyond Pain: Job, Jesus, and Joy\" (Twenty-Third Publications), \"The First Year: Hypothyroidism, Second Edition\" (Perseus) and \"Taking Charge of Lupus: How to Manage the Disease and Make the Most of Your LIfe.\" She writes the syndicated column, \"Living Well,\" for Catholic News Service, and has also written for Saint Anthony Messenger Magazine, Journey for Women Magazine, The Upper Room Magazine, LupusNow, and Arthritis Today. Maureen's health continues to be a challenge, however she feels honored to be able to bring her perspective, from experience and knowledge, to others. \"Good Days...Bad Days with Maureen Pratt\" is a new way for Maureen to reach people who carry the burden of illness and pain in their lives, or who care for someone who does. Through the blog, she hopes to bring issues of health, wellness, and spirit into focus and, especially, inspire others that, no matter what health challenges, illness, or hardships they endure, each person can find a good way to realize the wonderful potential God has placed within each heart and soul.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.maureenpratt.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/author\/mpratt"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/548"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1563,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions\/1563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/gooddaysbaddays\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}