it got up to almost 80 degrees today. it was heavenly!

tomorrow is the beginning of lent and i am pumped. i have to admit i'm a little surprised at myself and how much i'm anticipating this season. it's like i'm desparate for it - hungry and thirsty. maybe things have been a little more dry spiritually than i thought. but i know water and food are coming!

in anticipation of lent i did a few special things today. first, i'm giving up sweets for lent, so i had a big chocolate raspberry brownie from panera this afternoon.

second, i bought a bunch of plants. this winter i have managed to kill all my plants. the sad thing about it is that all my plants are the plants that "anyone can keep alive." all you have to do is water them once a month and they'll be ok. needless to say, their decaying leaves were a little depressing. so i got rid of all the old plants and replaced them with new ones. a couple of them have flowers so it will be cool to watch them grow during lent.

next, i cleaned up my apartment. it wasn't too bad, just very cluttered. i kind of had this sense that my space needs to be set in order so my mind and heart can be set in order. it's probably because i've been thinking lately (thanks to larry james) about the way God redeems things. i think i had redemption nailed into the spiritual realm, but in the o.t. when there is talk of israel being redeemed it is described in terms of people being healthy, having jobs, having food to eat, being at peace with neighbors, but also, the land itself is healed and is prosperous. i'm thinking i want the renewal and redemption that lent is all about for my mind and heart, but also for the very space i'm inhabiting.

last, i got a new cd. i didn't really plan that out, but i was in walmart and i can never seem to leave there without something that wasn't on my list. anyway, i picked up the new death cab for cutie album, "plans." although unplanned, it was a good move. it provided the perfect soundtrack for repotting plants. maybe it will be my lent soundtrack. a few lines relevant to lent...
i want to live where soul meets body
and let the sun wrap its arms around me
and bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
and feel what it's like to be new...