Lent has taken on a different mood for me since I stopped working in paid ministry at our church. For many years Lent meant pancake suppers, special studies, getting ready for Holy Week, gathering eggs for the Easter bunny, Good Friday rehearsal and sprucing up the building for the big day. After a frantic Christmas season and a busy January, I needed to reboot my Spiritual discipline with Lent. Several years ago I had downloaded Chris Seay’s Lenten study, A Place at the Table: 40 Days of Solidarity with the Poor. I opened it on my Kindle a few days into Lent and started the daily practice of reading these reflections and prayers. Seay has a heart for the hungry and this study challenges the reader to devote the 40 days of Lent to eating along with the hungriest in our world. A type of fast, he asks the reader to eat simple meals of rice, beans and other grains. I did not follow this part of the devotional, but did spend time reflecting on my abundance and how I treat my blessings. Seay weaves scripture and personal refections together to remind the reader of the meaning of preparing ourselves for the coming of Easter. Each day he lifted up someone in a third world country and the way that ministries are helping them through education, clean water and other proactive help. I wish that I had chosen to follow the fast. Food is such an important part of my life and I feel that a sacrificial act would be to give up the wonderful tastes that I experience on a daily basis. There is a lot in this devotional that challenged me to be more diligent in my diet, my spending and my prayer. It helped me stay grounded in the season despite upheavals in my daily life during this time.