Quote from Forum Archives on February 17, 2005, 4:28 pm

Posted by: bigguyhereagain <bigguyhereagain@...>

"Fasting & Feasting"

     A way of making room for God during this Lenten season:
choosing not
to do some things (fasting) and choosing to do other things
(feasting).
     Tradition teaches us to fast during Lent, but because Lent
prepares
us for Easter, the victory of life over death, we need also to feast
on
the life God offers as we seek to deepen the divine life within us.
It is
appropriate then to fast AND to feast!

           Fast from harsh or mean words.
                    Feast on words that encourage and support others.
           Fast from anger.
                    Feast on patience.
           Fast from worry.
                    Feast on God's love and care.
           Fast from sadness and depression.
                    Feast on joy and peace of mind.
           Fast from complaining.
                    Feast on appreciation and gratitude.
           Fast from bitterness.
                    Feast on forgiveness.
           Fast from resentment.
                    Feast on acceptance.
           Fast from jealousy.
                    Feast on being oneself.
           Fast from self-centeredness.
                    Feast on compassion for others.
           Fast from excess.
                    Feast on moderation.
           Fast from acquiring.
                    Feast on generosity.
           Fast from apathy.
                    Feast on caring.
           Fast from discouragement.
                    Feast on hope.
           Fast from judging others.
                    Feast on finding Christ in them.

---

 

"The Star Fish"

 

The old man awoke just before sunrise, as he often did, to walk by the ocean's edge and greet the new day. As he moved through the morning dawn, he focused on a faint, far away motion.

He saw a youth, bending and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in celebration of the perfect day soon to begin. As he approached, he realized that the youth was not dancing to the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up starfish and then standing, to heave it back into the sea.

He asked the youth the purpose of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied. "When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back into the sea."

As the youth explained, the old man surveyed the vast expanse of beach, stretching in both directions beyond eyesight. Starfish littered the shore in numbers beyond calculation.

The hopelessness of the youth's plan became clear and the old man countered, "But there are more starfish on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you cannot expect to make a difference."

The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to the old man, he said,

"I made a difference to that one."

---

Have a Blessed Day

Dave and Barbara

 

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