Week 1 The Mind of Love
Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. Ps. 90:12
What does it mean to number our days? It’s not the ability to count how many days we have lived or to predict how many days we have left. Numbering our days means realizing the brevity of life. It means knowing that we only have so many days on this earth, and therefore we want to “seize the day”,living each day to the fullest.
When we recognize that we have only so much time on this earth, that truth will help us think rightly about how to spend our time. This, in turn, will encourage us to grow in wisdom. We will want to judge well how to use the time allotted to us, and this requires godly perspective. It’s not just knowing what we can do, but also what we should do. When we number our days, we will strive to fill each one with value, living every moment for God’s purposes and glory.
Last Events in Jesus’ Life:
- Mon – Lazarus Raised John 11
- Tues – Lament over Jerusalem Luke 19:40-44
- Wed. – Mary anoints Jesus John 12:1-8
- Thurs. – Â Mother’s request Matt. 20:20-28
- Fri – Blind Bartameus Mark 10:46-52
- Sat. – Zaccheaus Luke 19:1-10
Taste: In honor of lent, make pancakes for dinner. Or, if you are brave try homemade donuts or crepes.
Listen: God gave us only one mouth and 2 ears but often we act like it is the other way around. Make it a point to really listen this week, especially to words of forgiveness, confession and repentance. Say some of these words to one who might need to hear them from you.
Look: Over the centuries people have seen God in all kinds of ways and places. By example, cutting a banana or a fig in a certain way reveals a cross. There is a cross made from a dark patch of hair on the donkey to remind us of the most important burden ever carried. Look around your world and what symbols do you see? Where do you see God?
Smell: Make a garland of flowers or a fresh bouquet. How many different smells are there? Gather some flowers or grasses into a small bunch. Tie the stems together or twist a rubber band around them; tie as close to the flower heads as you can. Even the stems by trimming with scissors and then wrap them in foil, leaving the ends free to soak up water. Finish your bouquet with a doily and a ribbon; push the stems through the center of a doily and add some ribbon or tulle. It smells as sweet as it looks.
Touch: Take a trip to a petting zoo. Pet the baby animals. What does new life feel like?
Do: Plant a bulb flower or plant on Ash Wednesday. One bulb that will usually bloom if planted on Ash Wednesday on or near Easter is the paper white narcissus (narcissus tazetta).The flowers appear in bunches and are sweetly scented. Watching bulbs grow from week to week is a wonderful comparison to our lives. (John 12:24) You will need a flowerpot, dirt, some bulbs or seeds. The narcissus bulb can also be planted in a special glass container so one can watch the root system develop as well as every step of growth. In this instance the bulbs are not planted very deep and are planted on some charcoal and white rocks instead of dirt. They need to have water maintained just below the rock line, at the bottom of the bulbs, keeping the root system moist without rotting the bulbs.