Be a Steward This Lent
Last year during Lent I came across a website called 40acts by Stewardship. Stewardship is a group in the UK that has the determination to help Christians "to give and to receive." Stewardship says, "We have a vision for the world to encounter Jesus through the generosity of His Church." With this goal and vision in mind, Stewardship formed 40acts. The goal of 40acts is to challenge you to be more generous during Lent. As it states on their website: "For seven years, 40acts has asked a question: what if Lent could be about more than just giving stuff up? What if it could be a time of radical generosity as well as spiritual discipline?" 40acts turned their one had question into a reality by forming their own website to challenge people around the world to experience a whole new meaning to Lent! I absolutely love the vision that Stewardship has because honestly they speak the truth! Lent should not just be about discipline and giving something up; it should also be about generosity and loving others through good stewardship. I feel that Pope Francis says it best as he states:
“Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”
What Pope Francis says is so true! If we only keep our own needs and concerns in mind then we never have concern and love for others. I believe that 40acts is a testimony to these words by Pope Francis. They are providing an excellent example for our world by guiding us to be more compassionate during Lent.
One of my favorite things about 40acts is that they have a mailing list! Every morning of Lent they will send you an act! Each act is written by a different person from Stewardship each day.
Each act contains:
-a bible verse to introduce the act
-a story from the author (usually sharing his/her experiences)
-three ways to complete the act:
A GREEN OPTION (very simple)
A YELLOW OPTION (going a little bit further into the green option)
RED OPTION (a more complex way into the green and yellow options)
I highly suggest checking out their website and subscribing to their mailing list! I love reading them in the morning before school! It is a great way to start your days during Lent!
40acts:
(Once you enter the website you will see an orange button in the top right corner that says "Get Started." Click that button and it will ask you to type in your name and email address, then it will ask you to agree to the terms and conditions, and then you click GO! And you are all set to start receiving acts!)
I decided to talk about stewardship this week since we are all having Day of Caring this Friday! I challenge you to exercise your stewardship, not only this Friday, but ALL the time in a way that is most comfortable to you! Whether that be simply doing kind acts for people at school, people in our community, or maybe just subscribing to 40acts! I promise that you will get so much more love and the feeling of accomplishment once Lent is over!
Have a lovely week!
Love always,
Gracie
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