40 Experiments Along the Way
Visit every day during Lent for a new experiment in reflection during this Holy time.
Reflection on a Holy Lent
March 31, 2024
Reflection on a Holy Lent:
Look back on our 40 days. What practices did you try that were meaningful? Which ones opened up new ideas about God for you? What made you uncomfortable? What made you delight? Are you prepared for the joy of the resurrection? (Luke 24: 34)
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Self-Dedication Prayer:
Pray this prayer from The Book of Common Prayer:
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated unto you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
What does it mean to you to be “utterly dedicated to God?” How does your current life reflect your dedication to God? Where could you grow in your dedication to God?
(BCP pp. 832-3)
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Self-Dedication Prayer
March 30, 2024
Intentional Eating
March 29, 2024
Intentional Eating:
Take one of your meals in silence, as many monastic communities do, noticing the flavor, texture, and presentation of your food. Give thanks for how it nourishes your body. (Genesis 1: 29, Genesis 9:3)
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Take a Hike:
Explore a trail, park or green space that is new to you. (Genesis 13: 17)
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Take a Hike
March 28, 2024
The Mind's Eye
March 27, 2024
The Mind’s Eye:
We pray The Lord’s Prayer with regularity in our church. (bcponline.org on pg. 97 and in many other places in the prayer book.) It can trip off our tongues. Try praying the Lord’s Prayer slowly and, for each phrase, imagine a picture in your mind that visualizes what you are praying. Another way to pray the Lord’s Prayer is to make up hand motions to accompany the phrases. (Matthew 6: 9-13)
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The Jesus Prayer:
Spend time in meditation today praying the “Jesus Prayer:” Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. Allow the meditative repeating of words open your heart to God. Reflect on your relationship with God. (Romans 3: 23-4)
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The Jesus Prayer
March 26, 2024
Stand Tall
March 25, 2024
Stand Tall:
Observe people in a public place (airport, grocery store, library). What is their body language saying? What is your body language? Stop a few times today and notice your body posture. What is the posture of a beloved child of God? (Psalm 24: 9-10)
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New Life:
Take a small cutting of a budding branch and bring it indoors to flower. (put the cut end of the branch in a jar with water and place in a warm place.) Watch the wonder and beauty of an unfolding blossom. (Isaiah 27:6)
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New Life
March 23, 2024
Seeing Three
March 22, 2024
Seeing Three:
Our Christian faith teaches us that God is One in Three. The Trinity is one God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Other ways to express the Trinity are: Creator, Redeemer, Sanctifier; or Earth-Maker, Pain-Bearer, Life-Giver (New Zealand Prayer Book).
If you were to create a new name for the three persons of the Godhead, what words would you use?
Today, as you move through your day, look for things that appear in clusters of three. Be reminded of the Trinity. (Matthew 28:19)
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Rejoice:
Picture in your mind’s eye some of the happiest friendships that you have enjoyed in your life. Meditate on the images of those dear ones and give thanks.
(I Thessalonians 5: 11)
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Rejoice
March 21, 2024
Stretch
March 20, 2024
Stretch:
Spend a few minutes stretching arms, legs, neck, torso. Notice your level of flexibility and the relief and peace that brief movement can bring. (John 14: 27)
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Look Up:
Go outside when there are clouds moving in the sky. Study their movement and enjoy their changing shapes. How does God’s creation shift and change? How do you shift and change? What are the winds that shape the form of your life?
(Exodus 13: 20-22)
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Look Up
March 19, 2024
The Way of Love
March 18, 2024
The Way of Love:
Our catechism teaches us that the nature of God revealed in Jesus is that “God is Love.” (bcponline.org pg. 849.) Carry a small notebook with you today and note instances in which you see love. How long is your list? In seeing love, you have seen God.
(1 John 4:16)
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Self-Inventory:
Write a list of 5 things that you like about yourself and 5 things that, in your eyes, need improvement. Which list is easier to create? Can you celebrate the good in you? Are you able to come to terms with the things that need improvement and see a path forward for personal growth?
(Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 4: 22-24)
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Self-Inventory
March 16, 2024
Simple Shifts
March 15, 2024
Simple Shifts:
Break your body’s routine. Sit in a different spot in your living room, stand up to say your prayers, perform a task with your non-dominant hand. What do you notice in this novelty? (Isaiah 43: 19)
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Stewards of God’s Creation:
Plant some seeds from a seed packet in potting soil, or repot an overgrown plant, or buy a new plant to tend. What does it feel like to care for a part of God’s creation? How does this translate to a larger call to protect all of God’s creation? Consider taking on one new eco-friendly practice as a steward of God’s creation. (Genesis 2:15)
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Stewards of God’s Creation
March 14, 2024
Pray Always
March 13, 2024
Pray Always:
Our prayer book teaches that there are 7 principal forms of prayer: adoration, praise, thanksgiving, penitence, oblation, intercession, petition. See bcponline.org pg. 856 for descriptions of each type. Author Anne LaMott has said that she has 3 prayers: “Help, Thanks, Wow.”. When you pray, which form comes most naturally to you? Try praying a kind of prayer that is not your usual “go to” for the next several days. (1 Thessalonians 5: 16-17)
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The Least of These:
Surprise a child in your life with a card, call, surprise ice cream date! (Matthew 19:14)
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The Least of These
March 12, 2024
Memory Lane
March 11, 2024
Memory Lane:
Listen to some soundtracks, playlists, or favorite music from your youth and be transported back to another time. What would you like to say to that younger you?
(I Timothy 4: 12)
Search YouTube or use your favorite music service to find playlists.
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Starry, Starry Night:
Go outside on a clear night and spend a few moments enjoying the star filled sky. What constellations do you know? Remember Abraham when God promised him descendants as numerous as the stars. (Genesis 15:5)
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Starry, Starry Night
March 9, 2024
Apostolic Succession
March 8, 2024
Apostolic Succession:
Our church teaches that through the laying on of hands in our liturgical rites, that we can trace the ministry of our church through bishops all the way back to the beginning of the church and the apostolic age. Create a “family tree” of your own faith life, tracing back as far as you can, noting the way that your faith was passed on in your family or family of friends. (Joel 1:3)
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Show Gratitude:
Identify a relationship in which you are served in some way (mail delivery person, barber, coach, teacher, etc.) and offer the person who serves you a small gift, gesture of gratitude, or some words of appreciation for their presence in your life. (1 Thessalonians 5: 18)
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Show Gratitude
March 7, 2024
Animating Force
March 6, 2024
Animating Force:
Choose a prayer, psalm or story from scripture and read it silently to yourself, and then read it a second time, slowly and aloud. As the story is given “breath” does it shift in its meaning? Some ideas for stories and prayers to try: Luke 15: 11-32, Psalm 139, and the Prayer of Self- Dedication.
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Biodiversity:
Choose a place that you have never visited and “google” the flora and fauna of the area. i.e.: New Guinea Animals & Plants
Rejoice in the diversity of God’s creation! (Psalm 104: 24)
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Biodiversity
March 5, 2024
Everyday Holy
March 4, 2024
Everyday Holy:
Study a household object i.e.: broom, coffee cup, wrench, bath towel. Consider the various ways that you use the object. How does it help you to produce or do something? What holiness does it bring about? St. Benedict said that our everyday lives are steeped in holiness. How is your day today holy? (Isaiah 6: 3)
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New Perspectives:
Have a conversation with someone from your church, company, or club inviting their stories and memories about the place that you share in common i.e.: “What do you love best about this place? What made you join? Why do you stay? What, if you could, would you change about it?” What new insights have you gained from listening to them? (Proverbs 2:2)
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New Perspectives
March 2, 2024
Be Still
March 1, 2024
Be Still:
Sit in the quiet, in soft light and meditate for 5 minutes, watching your breath, noticing the rise and fall of your belly, simply being in God’s presence. (Psalm 46: 10)
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Winged Friends:
Spend a few minutes at your window or outside looking for birds. How many kinds do you see? What is their pattern of movement? (Psalm 50:11)
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Winged Friends
February 29, 2024
Body of Christ
February 28, 2024
Body of Christ:
We are joined by baptism into a fellowship of faith. Put a bowl in the center of a large piece of paper. Fill the bowl with water to represent the waters of our baptism and the living water that connects us with Christ. On the paper, write the names of all the people whom you can name who are part of the Body of Christ as your community manifests it. Give thanks. (Ephesians 4: 4-6)
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Inward Knowing:
Write a paragraph (for your eyes only) describing yourself as a practicing Christian and disciple of Jesus. As you read it over, how does it make you feel? (Lamentations 3:40)
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Inward Knowing
February 27, 2024
Body Scan
February 26, 2024
Body Scan:
Sit in a quiet place and with your eyes closed, mentally scan your body from head to toe noticing, as you go, where you are holding any tension. Repeat the scan, tensing each muscle group for a count of 5 and then releasing it, noticing how it makes you feel. Enter a relaxed state of rest and stay there, quiet, for a few minutes. (Psalm 139: 14-16)
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Awe & Wonder:
Peruse a book of nature photos, follow this link to a photography website, or review one of your own collection of photos of natural places.
Where do you see God at work in the photos? What feelings are elicited by this “photo safari?” (Psalm 96: 11-12)
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Awe & Wonder
February 24, 2024
Orders of Ministry
February 23, 2024
Orders of Ministry:
Sit quietly and pray for the laity, priests, deacons, and bishops in your life, remembering their ministries. Which of the ministers in your life have impacted you the most? (Ephesians 4:11)
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Old School Communication:
Spend a few minutes writing a card or note for someone about whom you have been thinking or someone whose day would be brightened by receiving a letter. Mail the message via “snail mail.” (Ephesians 2:10)
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Old School Communication
February 22, 2024
Hands & Feet
February 21, 2024
Hands & Feet:
Study your hands and feet for a few moments reflecting on the work that your hands have done and the places where your feet have carried you. How have you been the “hands and feet of Christ in this world?”
(Teresa of Avila)
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New Horizons:
Follow this link and listen to the sound of whale song. Marvel at its sonorous beauty. If you could put lyrics to the song, what would they be? (Genesis 1:21)
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New Horizons
February 20, 2024
Checking In
February 19, 2024
Checking In:
Look at the 5 questions in our Baptismal Covenant on pp. 304-305 of The Book of Common Prayer and ask “Which of these things have I done lately?”
Commit to doing one thing to satisfy one of the questions that you haven’t recently fulfilled. (1 John 5:3)
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Visions in Mercy:
Imagine someone with whom you are in conflict or with whom you have a broken relationship. Meditate for 3-5 minutes as you hold a mental image of them bathed in the light of Christ. (1 John 1:7)
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Visions in Mercy
February 17, 2024
Neighbors or Angels?
February 16, 2024
Neighbors or Angels?
Study someone from afar—in the grocery store line, a coffee shop, etc. Can you see the Divine in them? How do they reflect the image of God? (Genesis 1:27, Hebrews 13: 1-3)
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Senses Scan:
Sit outside for 5-10 minutes and name three things each that you can hear, smell, taste, touch, and see. Give thanks for the beauty of creation. (Genesis 1:31)
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Senses Scan
February 15, 2024
Ash Wednesday
February 14, 2024
The Invitation to a Holy Lent in the Book of Common Prayer (pg. 264-5) names these seven components of our Lenten journey; self-examination and repentance; prayer, fasting and self-denial; reading and meditating on God’s Holy Word.
In a quiet place, reflect on these questions for 5 minutes:
- Which of these seven components come most easily to you?
- Which of them will you take on this Lent, and why?
- What do you hope for this Lent?
