Writing, writing, writing

The thing about blogging is, you're supposed to write something. So, yeah. It's been a little while since I've written, but not necessarily because I didn't have anything to write about. It has been an interesting journey, this past month. This is the first year have have participated in Great Lent. So, I've been *trying* to do some reading up on it, along with books about Orthodoxy, devotionals and being in a Bible Study. So, a lot of meditating on religious matters, and just a lot of everyday things going on, along with a not-so-motivated me, has meant a drawn out process that didn't really accomplish a whole lot. But, sometimes learning new things slowly helps you think about what is important in life and helps the morphing into a new creature a little easier on self as compared to going cold turkey or "biting off more than I can chew"....

In any case, I have learned some things about church history and tradition, a lot of which I have always wondered about, and now know why certain things in the church I grew up in always bothered me- it's because those things were not the way it's supposed to be. Things such as how often to take communion and what that exactly means in the first place. Other things like worship, holiness, being set apart from the world, not building up treasures here on earth, the honor in martyrdom (though in some cases I think even this was a matter of pride for some), confession, the commandment to forgive, church government that does not sway in the face of societal changes... the list goes on in more and more detail as I learn more and ask more and so, I am satisfied that I am growing on this journey, be it irritating at times and dissatisfying at others; I know that even the 'boring' parts of life are needed foundations on which to measure other things. There is always something to learn. So I am happy.

This year we will be attending Pascha at the church we've been attending, the name of which is St. John Chrysostom Antiochian Orthodox Church We are getting excited about celebrating it this year. You can look here to read what Pascha is. This year Pascha falls a week after the western church's schedule, so we get to celebrate 2 weeks in a row. It has been an interesting adventure so far, and we are looking forward for this most blessed and holyday to arrive this year!