In hindsight, not the best way to start a Lenten fast

I attended an Ash Wednesday service as planned, but made the mistake of stopping at Crux Books on the way back. Managed to pick up seven new books. Might have gotten a little carried away.

Trevin Wax has a good post on Lent today. I picked up one of the books he mentions: Eastertide, Prayers for Lent Through Easter from The Divine Hours. Trevin writes:

Whether or not you “give up something,” at least use these few weeks to prepare for Easter, giving thought to the price paid for your ransom and the extraordinary love of God manifested on Calvary.

Also a good post by Tod Bolsinger:

The focus of Ash Wednesday and Lent is repentance…And it all begins with this:  Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.  You are not an angel.  You are not a mere soul or disembodied spirit. You are human, you are mortal, you are deeply dependent on the God who formed your body from the humus of the earth and breathed life into you with his kiss.  God has come to you, in Jesus, O Creature, and called you to have life eternal with him.

And so, with ash on our foreheads and the taste of bread and grape on our tongues, we begin a holy lent.