{"id":552,"date":"2007-02-21T22:46:02","date_gmt":"2007-02-21T22:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/redletters\/2007\/02\/ash-wednesday.html"},"modified":"2007-02-21T22:46:02","modified_gmt":"2007-02-21T22:46:02","slug":"ash-wednesday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/2007\/02\/ash-wednesday.html","title":{"rendered":"Ash Wednesday"},"content":{"rendered":"

This year I’ve decided to take Lent seriously. Why? Because of what it represents. Lent represents a re-focusing of our lives from the hustle, the business, and the craziness of life. We make some ‘readjustments’ towards things that really matter – Loving God with our whole hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves. If I had to be honest, I have let things creep in and be more important in my life than my relationship with Christ. Lent is about repenting and putting first things first in life.<\/p>\n

Today, I attended an Ash Wednesday<\/a> service at Christ the King<\/a>. Great service, complete with ashes on the forehead and communion. I’m also following a traditional Orthodox Lenten Fast<\/a>. It keeps me centered and focused and my Christian faith. There are even Bible Readings for Lent<\/a> to assist you on your journey everyday. (If you’re interested in any of this, click on what’s blue). If you don’t like any of those ideas, you can simply give up something important to you for Lent. <\/p>\n

Do something<\/em><\/strong> during the Lenten season, and I promise you, Easter will have much more meaning and you will draw closer to God!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This year I’ve decided to take Lent seriously. Why? Because of what it represents. Lent represents a re-focusing of our lives from the hustle, the business, and the craziness of life. We make some ‘readjustments’ towards things that really matter – Loving God with our whole hearts and loving our neighbor as ourselves. 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A tireless advocate for fatherless children, Davis has spent most of his adult life calling U.S. believers to become the hands and feet of Jesus Christ to the 143 million orphans living around the world. Through those connections, thousands of orphans now have the bright and hopeful future--one that is filled with opportunities and the love of the one true Father. Davis speaks hundreds of times each year at churches and conferences, mobilizing the church to action on behalf of the poor. He is the author of four books. His most recent novel, SCARED is a fictionalized account of his first-hand experiencing living and working with orphans in Swaziland, Africa. Davis' blog is the premier resource for the latest developments in Christian orphan ministry. Davis also currently teaches courses as adjunct professor at George Fox University in Newberg, OR. When not traveling the globe, Davis resides in the mountains of Colorado in the small community of Palmer Lake. He and his wife Emily have seven children, including two adopted daughters from Russia.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/author\/tdavis"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/87"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/redletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}