Writing for Lent 2024
I’m doing something I call “Writing for Lent” starting this Wednesday 14th Feb 2024.
This involves Bible scribing during the fast of Lent.
Now you may have some questions about this?
What is Lent?
How do you do it?
Should I do it?
What is Bible scribing?
Why would you do this?
Let me explain.
Lent is an annual traditional practiced by those of Catholic and Orthodox faith, but has been a part of church tradition for a long time.
It starts from Ash Wednesday, and involves 40 days of prayer and fasting leading up to Easter weekend.
If you look at a calendar, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are actually 44 days. The fast doesn’t have to be observed on Sunday’s and are excluded from the count, which results in 40 days of fasting.
Fasting
Fasting involves abstaining from food and various lifestyle practices for a set period of time to humble oneself and to focus on God. Although some people like to fast more superficial things like social media or movies, I think a proper fast should include some sort of dietary sacrifice as well.
Prayer
The prayer part of things gets interesting. Prayer is intentional communication with God. There are many devotionals and prayer guides that can be used during Lent.
But I’m incorporating “Bible Scribing” as a practical aspect of praying during this season.
Bible Scribing
This is a form of Bible Mapping that simple means to write out portions of the Bible - by hand.
The goal is to intentionally slow down and notice things in scripture that I may have previously rushed through.
If the Bible Shred is a sprint through the Scriptures, this is a slow stroll.
As I’m slowing down, I’m trying to experience the gospel rather than just reading it.
My intention is to know Jesus through the Text.
The best way I can describe it is like this:
In 2017 my wife and I visited the USA.
A highlight of our trip was visiting New York City, walking around the streets and taking in the sights.
I took a bunch of videos and made some vlogs of our experience as well.
Now many years later, my kids are able to watch those videos and see our adventures in New York City.
The difference between my experience and my kids’ experience with New York is that I was there and experienced it in real time, whereas my kids are just getting an idea through a video.
As I read the Gospel stories and the accounts of Jesus, I don’t just want to get an idea of His life. I want to experience His life and influence on those around Him.
And until I get a Time Machine and learn Ancient Greek to fit right in, the closest I have is the Bible.
By slowing down and taking in each word as I write it out, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit can speak to me in that moment too.
So is this something you should do? Let’s get practical.
This year I’ll be writing out the book of Mark. I’ve made a writing plan for how much to write each day - which you can access here.
The writing plan has about 15-25 verses of writing per day. From past Bible scribing experiences I’ve learnt that it takes me 20-30 minutes per day to do this.
Here are some tips:
Don’t spread the writing throughout the day - find a solid chunk of time and do it in one sitting per day (mornings are often the best).
Use 2 notebooks - one for writing the Bible and another for taking personal notes.
Get a good pen. Cheap pens are fine for quick notes, but for longer periods of writing can be uncomfortable and event painful.
This is definitely a unique experience. In 2023 I wrote out the Book of Luke and absolutely loved it.
You’re welcome to join along as well and write at your own pace.
God bless!