Lent 2026 E46

How do you observe a Holy Lent? Courtney & Shawn catch up on their Lenten journey to the Cross and a couple of other milestones like having two children in their 20s! 

If you would like to read the McGuire Lenten Devotional, you can find it on their webpage at www.mcguiremc.org.

We recently created a IG account for the podcast and would love for you to give it a look @hornsbymarriageadventures

If you found anything helpful or encouraging, please consider subscribing and sharing with others. 

As always, thank you for listening!

#marriage #adventures #jesus #healing #children #husband #wife

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:31

All right, hey everybody. Welcome back to Adventures in Marriage Podcast. Sean and Courtney Hornsby here. Glad to have everybody. And for us, it's uh spring break. So we're in Louisiana, and weather is definitely warmer, cooler mornings, warmer afternoons, things are starting.

SPEAKER_01 0:50

Longer days. Longer days.

SPEAKER_00 0:52

So starting to feel a little more normal again, just coming out of the fog of winter. And though we still have cool snaps, we had some really chilly weather last week, and I think it's going to drop down again in just a few days. It's going to get down into the 40s this weekend, the low. So but just starting to feel a little bit more normal coming out of what I just call that fog. It's just dark and it's cold and dreary. That's maybe Sean's love language. Yeah, not mine for sure, but just being able to be outside and get some sunshine and get off work and come home and it's still daylight. It just really feels like a treat for me. So I'm excited about that. And so this is spring break for our local school system.

SPEAKER_01 1:35

And she's like, Yeah, I I checked the weather for that earlier today when I was uh actually sitting right here with Alan and we were recording for Fight in the Shade. And um I think the low where we're going up in Arkansas, the low on Friday night's gonna be in the 30s.

SPEAKER_00 1:51

Okay, well there there you go. Y'all will both you should love it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:54

Yeah, it's gonna be great. A little camping trip with Cooper.

SPEAKER_00 1:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Um he wanted to go, of course, he he dreams big because he doesn't understand geography. But he wants to go to like the Rockies, you know, he wants to go to Colorado or someplace.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

It's like a 20-hour drive, no big deal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:10

I was like, dude, we can make Arkansas.

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Yeah. So yeah, things are always for us. Um obviously Sean's pastor, spring break usually falls very close to Easter. Yeah. Certainly falls during the season of Lent. And we're gonna talk about Lent today. That's what we're talking about. So it kind of leads into that. And you know, Lent obviously is a 40-day period for those who don't know that, but Sean's gonna talk a little bit about what that means, and we'll talk about how that applies to marriage and some of the things that we've tried to do and adopt in the course of our marriage over the past several years. And so, yeah, taking a big trip to the Rockies, that doesn't really get to happen because we don't get on these big, full-fledged spring break trips uh because gotta be back on Sunday. Usually got a lot going on during Lent, certainly preparing for Easter and Palm Sunday and all the things that are coming. And the spring, you know, just is a very busy time for us anyway, because uh we didn't we don't take a lot of family trips during spring break because we have three kids, two who are older, and they don't get off for spring break. They don't have that time off. We've got one that has a real job who's working, and then we have another one who just turned 20. And so for us, that means we now have two that are in their 20s, which is kind of very we're down to one teenager. Yeah. Part of it's like, oh, that's awesome, that's cool. And part of it's like, wow, we have two children in our 20s. In their twenties.

SPEAKER_01 3:44

Let's see. When did we first when did Peyton become a teenager?

SPEAKER_00 3:47

Um that would have been Well, are you are you thirteen if you're counting thirteen? Are you counting that as a teenager?

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So that would have been nine years ago. Yeah, nine years ago. So yeah, for for a decade we've had teenagers in the house and and uh we're just down the one now.

SPEAKER_00 4:05

Mm-hmm. But two young adults.

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Two young adults. Officially young adults. New era. That's right. It's uh pretty crazy. Cause um you and I, um, even though you know we've we've had lots of adventures together, it doesn't feel like we should have two young adults.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

No, even though we were married in that age.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yeah, it's weird. You yeah, if yeah, if Peyton was following suit, she'd be getting married because I was 23 or 22.

SPEAKER_00 4:30

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

I mean, it's still it's only March. Who knows what could happen at the end of the year.

SPEAKER_00 4:35

But I'm not even going there. I'm kidding. It's um, yeah, it's just a different phase of life. So just getting ready to explore what that means and what does that look like, and watching them try new things and figure out where they are going and what they want to do, who they want to be.

SPEAKER_01 4:49

I got to talk to a guy who has a baby, you know, young kid, like under three, um, while in the retreat a couple weeks ago, and and I just reminded him, I was like, look, every age is special, but but like you're gonna look back when your kids are older and you're gonna wanna just recapture these moments. So I said, just whatever you can do to soak up these moments, even though you're you probably don't have as much money as you want, and you can't do all the things you just like just know that this time is so, so like special and it goes by so quickly.

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Yeah, they all do.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

Oh, they all do, but yeah, and I'm sure in 20 years we'll you know, we'll be uh looking back and saying, Oh, I wish we had those 20-year-old, you know, those 20-something kids and that teenager boy again, you know. But it's just I remember the little ones, and you're like, wow, their little voices and their little the little mannerisms and little things we're teaching them, and everything was just so different then. But anyways.

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yeah, but just a little catch-up of where we've been and what we've been doing. So that was um, you know, celebrating our middle daughters turning 20.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

Uh someone asked me today, did she have a good birthday? And I said, She is having a good birthday week. Yeah. And they laughed and said, of course. Yes, yes. Yeah, it's the it's the festival of Emily right now.

SPEAKER_00 6:07

She likes to have a good time and she's making sure that it she is well celebrated.

SPEAKER_01 6:12

Well, it it's only fair. She's giving all the people who love her ample opportunity to celebrate her.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

That's right.

SPEAKER_01 6:17

She's she's just being fair about it.

SPEAKER_00 6:19

That's right. Yeah. With multiple choices of things to do. So that's good. So yeah, so it's a you know, fun time, and again, just spring, and the spring is always very busy for us, again with Lent and Easter and all the things. And Sean just was a co-director for a men's retreat, which we've talked about retreat ministry before. Uh spring break, taking a couple of field trips for work with our mayor's youth council, and we've got our anniversary coming up, which we'll record in you know, we'll have another episode before then.

SPEAKER_01 6:48

But hopefully a couple. But I gotta say, you you um first day of spring break and you were doing schoolwork. You know, taking the kids to the Air Force base and giving them the tour and that kind of thing. That's uh uh good on them. How many how many students do you have to go with you?

SPEAKER_00 7:02

We had about 12 of us, 12 students and adults.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

That they took the day out of their spring break.

SPEAKER_00 7:07

Uh one of them didn't have to have a choice, it was our son, but yeah, went to Barksdale Air Force Base in Bosier City, so uh major global strike command center, if I said that correctly. So uh home of the B-52 Palmer, for those who don't know, and you know, major uh role in our nation's nuclear defense. So we always welcome the opportunity to be able to share knowledge with our students. So but again, yeah, just a lot going on. Yes, but uh always a lot going on, it seems like, and just depends on the season. So uh getting ready for a very busy couple of months, April and May coming up, super busy, lots of work-related events, lots of um social events, milestones for our family. So, you know, we'll share along on the adventure as we get a little further down the road with further episodes. But Sean, let's talk about Lent. And, you know, assuming people who are listening maybe don't know what Lent is or always the best place to start.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

So so I I like to tell everybody um because you know we have some people that have come to Maguire who have not been in the practice of observing the what I call the liturgical calendar, what everyone, what everyone who does this knows as the liturgical calendar. And and essentially that is a way in which Christians have developed um a means by which, and we talked about this in Advent, uh, a means by which they they remember different aspects of the story of God, and in particular, in particular, Jesus. And so let me just go ahead and if you're like uh like, oh, what is this kind of cult like it's not a cult-like thing. Lent is not prescribed in the Bible. It's what the church, the the the Christian church has done for, depending on where you look back, sixteen hundred years, you know, uh aspects of the Christian church have said, hey, we we recognize the holiness and and the uh immense like attention and reverence that Easter, the resurrection, the day of resurrection, deserves. We're gonna spend time fasting and praying in preparation for that day because that's a holy day in which we recognize that uh salvation has been brought into the world through the blood of Jesus Christ. And so Lent, this time of of of um of what prayer, fasting, almsgiving has developed over 16 centuries.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

And what is almsgiving for those who don't know? Um and sometimes you hear the word service. Yeah. You hear that word used, giving of yourself in service to others, but I think it can also mean you know, tithing. That's an another word. And for those who don't know that word.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Yeah, some people would would kind of um uh maybe maybe interchange the two. And almsgiving is a little a little different. Uh it it it's it's about you know loosening your grip on material possessions, it's about um uh you know, maybe a focus, it could be more of a self-discipline. It it's the things that we do to become more Christ-like, to imitate Christ. And and uh sometimes it has to do, we think of giving, we think of like what we turn loose of, uh, but it's also uh alms giving in some ways is are the acts of service in which we we go and we do for others. And so prayer, fasting, alms giving is is more than it's more than it can include tithing, but it's more than that. Yeah. And um, you know, it it's about uh taking our our physical needs and our physical abilities and and and meeting those meeting the the needs of others with our abilities.

SPEAKER_00 10:41

And so Lent starts on when?

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Uh what we call Ash Wednesday, which is you know, if you're in the south, uh undoubtedly you've heard of uh Mardi Gras, you know, and and Fat Tuesday. And so that's sort of the day before Lent begins. And uh uh the whole idea was like let's get rid of the fat in the house, let's get rid of um all of the the richness because we're gonna enter into a a time of fasting. And so um you know, the these practices kind of lose some of their spiritual meaning as they become more popular in the culture, but uh there's very beautiful um you know uh religious symbology and and practices behind this, which all of it, and and this is my I think I said this on I hope I said this during advent all of it, uh if I didn't say it here, I said it on Fight in the Shade, but should all of this should point back to Jesus. And like none of it should become something that we worship. It should all be a practice in which we a means by which we worship Jesus, by which we we pay honor and pay glory to Jesus. And so fasting, did Jesus do that? Yep, he sure did all the time. We see that. Prayer, did Jesus do that? Yes, he did. He was he was in prayer all the time. He he did he prayed with the disciples, he went alone and he prayed by himself. Uh was he an almsgiver by the definition? Yes. He healed the blind, he he he served the sick, um, he he he showed uh uh kindness to others. I mean he you know he did all those kind of things. And so these are all things that in this in this season of practicing we just try to do a little become intentionally more like Christ.

unknown 12:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

We make ourselves available for that.

SPEAKER_00 12:25

Right. And they're the kind of Sean talked on some of the basics, the like the three tiers, right? Yeah. You know, praying, fasting, almsgiving, but there's so many different ways to observe the Lenten season and and we're we're really kind of talking about certainly it's an individual journey, but we're kind of talking today about how we try to do it in marriage. And and you know, he and I may have both of our own individual things, but then we have things that we try to do together either very specifically or just in general, things that we're you know trying to focus on. And so again, we said that Lent ends on, Sean said, Ash.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

I'm sorry, it begins on Ash Wednesday. Yeah, begins on Ash Wednesday, yeah, with Easter, the resurrection night.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

So and in the middle of that, or getting to the end of that, you've got Palm Sunday, which is the Sunday before, and we're getting ready to celebrate that.

SPEAKER_01 13:14

Those of you who are good with math, you're saying, wait a minute, 40 days of prayer and fasting, but if I start on Wednesday of Ash Wednesday and go to Easter, that's 46 days, and you're absolutely right. Um the beautiful thing about the the ancient church, they're very intentional about everything, and they recognize that Sunday, the Lord's Day, the day of worship, is not a day for fasting. It's a day of resurrection, a day of feasting, a day of celebration. And and every Sunday is seen as a mini Easter, so to speak. And so within those, within that Lenten period, um, we don't recognize, we don't practice the fasting part on Sunday. We believe that just like Jesus said, you know, he he was talking and he says you wouldn't expect um uh the the um you wouldn't expect the bride, the bridal party, the groomsman essentially to fast when the bridegroom is there. And he was talking about when he was there and and how his people were celebrating and stuff like that. And and so it's like no, on the day of on the day of uh celebration of of our Lord, the day of uh worship, we're going to feast. We're gonna celebrate, because the good news is that Jesus Christ um has died for our sins and rose from for the dead.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

We were uh I was talking to someone uh several weeks ago, but during Lent, and was explaining that to them because they were talking about what they were giving up and maybe how hard it was, and that might have been a soda or candy or something, you know. Things that if you've heard of that, giving up something for Lent, things that you might hear people.

SPEAKER_01 14:43

A form of fasting, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

I said, but you know, on Sundays that doesn't count. It's like a mini Easter, and they're like, Oh, I've never heard that. And this person I think might have been Catholic, and they kind of laugh, they're like, Yeah, I've never heard that. I'm like, No, I'm it that that's really a thing. I'm telling you, they're like, Yeah, I'm still not gonna do that. Okay, you know, perfect. Go yeah, that's fine. Do whatever you want to do.

SPEAKER_01 15:04

It's not meant to be legal, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Just that this person was like, I've never heard that, so I'm not gonna do it. It's like, okay, you know, that's fine. Again, this is a very unique journey for folks. It's not a pers there's no prescribed way to do it.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

I think if you get that's a great word. If you get hung up on how it's, you know, the prescription of it, you're missing the point. Yeah. The point is to intentionally engage in a spiritual practice that that reminds you to be more thoughtful, intentional, prayerful of your walk with Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 15:35

Which is something that could be done any time of the year. This is just an a very intentional like the word you just use. Yeah, yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 15:44

So we got a lot of uh there's several Baptist churches around here. And and what I love about being uh in our tradition is we don't we don't have to be you don't have to be wrong for us to be right. Like what the these are ways in which we follow Jesus. And and there's several churches around here who do who enter into a time of fasting at the beginning of the year. They start their calendar year off with 21 days or 30 days or something like that, different churches of fasting. That's great, perfect. It's an intentional time in which they approach, they they start their new year. This is the calendar year. Uh this is a way in which we say, okay, Easter's coming. We believe uh that it it's due uh a period of of intentional reflection, prayer, service, fasting, whatever. And so we engage in that for Easter. And and I don't and they don't have to be wrong to do what they do in their church for me to be right to do what I do in my church. Um because Jesus is Lord for them, Jesus is Lord for me. And so that's the beautiful thing about it. So if you get if you run into somebody who's overly involved and concerned about the prescription of it, just say, Oh, that's nice and walk on, okay, because it's just not worth the argument.

SPEAKER_00 16:53

Yeah. And so again, this is just what we do, and and it's also explaining because a lot of people don't know when they've asked or questioned and just didn't understand. So a couple of things that we have done, uh, or maybe that we practice. So one is that our church has done a Linton devotional booklet, and it's for you to read every day during the Linton season, starting on that um Ash Wednesday. Ash Wednesday. And you know, what's what's always great about it is that the individual devotions are written by church members or people who are friends and associates of Meguiar. This is, I think, the third year we've done it, and it's not too late. So it's available. I think you can get it online.

SPEAKER_01 17:34

You can get it online on our website.

SPEAKER_00 17:36

Yeah, on the Meguire Methodist website.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

So if you don't have it and you want to MaguireMc.org, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

Yeah, Meguiremc.org. So if you want to look at it, it doesn't matter that we've already been several weeks in Delint. You can look at it, you can start to read it. Um you know, just that one little thing, focus on reading something and spending a few minutes reflecting on it every day. And then on Sunday, our tradition is that there's a piece of artwork done by a local uh child, local child of our congregation. And so because it's that mini Easter, we have a beautiful you know image for driven, uh drawn by our children. And so that's one tradition that we do, and then you know, we make the so not only uh are we actively trying to read it and engage in that, but at least for Sean and I and and at least one of our family members, uh we're actively writing those devotions. So we actually start thinking and reflecting and praying about it really right after Christmas into January as we're leading into the what what's called you know the carnival season or epiphany. And uh so we're thinking about it, writing it, putting it together. So there's a lot of intentionality that goes with that.

SPEAKER_01 18:45

I I'm gonna start after school starts this year because uh it seems like in August? Uh maybe September, but maybe after Labor Day, I'll start thinking about devotionals because it sneaks up on me and it's like, oh my gosh, I gotta pull a couple all-nighters.

SPEAKER_00 18:57

Sneaks up on you.

unknown 18:58

Shh.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

Yeah, just go with it.

SPEAKER_00 19:00

I'm gonna say I I wrote like three or four, maybe four.

SPEAKER_01 19:04

I think you wrote five.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

You wrote four, five. I wrote most of them just while sitting in a coffee shop with you in New Orleans, what in January. So I'm gonna remind you of this, and we'll go back to this podcast and reference this. Labor Day. Okay. All right, we're gonna remember that. So, but that the writing of it is also one way that we engage in that for he and I. So we engage in that practice, which is something that helps get us prepared for it. Um, personally, for me, I also listen to so talking about like not married to one denominate, one denomination's not better than the other. Um, I for a couple of years now have been listening to the Hallow app, H A L. H-A-L-L-O-W. And it's a Catholic app. I mean, it very much is Catholic. They don't shy away from that. Um, I somebody shared it with me years ago, and I started listening to it. And I I specifically listened to it during Lent. Um, I I've I had subscribed to it, so I have access to it all year. But, you know, Linton challenges that are very focused trying to, you know, get you. Usually there's a the prodigal son is a theme in this year's Linton study. There's a particular book that they reference, there's devotions, there's guided prayer, and then um, hey, you know, just because I like it, uh, on Fridays, it's called Fasting Friday. And it's led by Chris Pratt, who is an actor.

SPEAKER_01 20:26

And the real reason you listen to the Hallow.

SPEAKER_00 20:28

I like Chris Pratt. Are you talking about Marky Mark?

SPEAKER_01 20:30

Marky Mark.

SPEAKER_00 20:31

Mark Wahlberg. So both are actors, performers, whatever you want to call them, and they are uh publicly, very unashamedly Christian, uh open about their faith, and they're cat practicing Catholics. And so they both lead um fasting Friday, and um they they're guiding you through the practice of fasting, encouraging you, and uh and I'll go over one of their themes for this season, but what I wanted to talk about specifically in that is that when people hear the term fasting, they uh usually get stuck on fasting from food and drink. So I'm not gonna eat for 12 hours, or I'm gonna fast from candy for the 40 days, or soda, or chocolate, or sweets. We hear a lot of those things. And those things are all, you know, good, but valid. Those are all things that can be done. For some, they may be more of a sacrifice than others. But fasting can also mean, you know, purging yourself of things that are unhealthy for you, that are not just the things we put into our bodies. Fasting from technology, fasting uh from always having our technology when we're trying to engage with one another. That that's kind of a key, maybe for a couple. Engaging from um bad, harmful thoughts that are you know affecting your mental health or your self esteem or uh maybe a Toxic relationship or social media. I think we mentioned social media, but um things that you know from gossip could be the news from judges.

SPEAKER_01 22:09

Yeah, it could be the news. You know, I'm not gonna watch the news for 40 days.

SPEAKER_00 22:12

Yeah, just just things that uh maybe you have been able to decide are not healthy for you. And again, that's why Lent is a very personal journey of reflection, being able to truly reflect on the things that maybe you need to take a break from, that you need to try uh to look at differently, even you know, fasting from a perspective, from a thought process, just trying to look at things differently and more openly.

SPEAKER_01 22:38

Yeah, and and what's more Christ-like than to kind of work on you know the the log in your own eye versus the speck in your neighbor's eye? I think it's much better that we we take some time to be introspective and ask ask God, all right, Lord, what is it about my life that that needs to change? How do I need to deny myself and pick take up my cross, especially as the day of resurrection approaches and and the greatest story ever told is about to be retold. And and how do I, as one of your followers, one of your disciples, uh how do I reflect that, the glory of of Jesus in my life? And and that that reflection takes a whole lot of us getting out of the way so that the the truth of Christ can shine through. And you and I have have tried to do a little bit um to to just share this in our marriage. I have to say, I was gonna say this, uh, I I kind of low-key, you know, listen for you to get on the hallowed app. It's almost part of the Lenten tradition. You're in the you're in the bathroom doing your makeup and kind of getting ready and stuff, and I hear it playing. Not all the time, but I know that's part of your morning routine, and I kind of like it, you know. Uh I'm not always listening, but I I know they've been doing uh brothers care and Mazoff or I'm you know Caram, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:52

It's uh I can't pronounce it, sorry. Right, right, right. Alioshius is one of the names.

SPEAKER_01 23:56

Yeah, I know that that was kind of a theme that they're using uh this year, doing some character work through that, and I thought that's so great. Um, and I just like that you do that. So, but we we engage in a very simple practice that we've picked up from, I guess, our childhood, uh, you know, not together, but uh out of central Louisiana, where we like to joke that the Protestants and the Roman Catholics meet, uh right there in Alexandria across the state line or across the middle of the state, um fish on Fridays. You know, there's no meat on Fridays, and and it's just this old Roman Catholic tradition, I guess. I I don't I've never really looked it up. Uh but we don't we don't eat meat on Fridays. We don't like prescribe this for our children. Our children are free to eat bacon or burgers or whatever. Right. Uh but Cordy and I just made a conscious effort that, like as a married couple, husband and wife, whether we're together or whether we're separate, um, we're gonna not gonna eat a meat on Fridays. And it's just a way for us to kind of, I don't know, experience Lent together.

SPEAKER_00 24:53

Right. Yeah, yeah. I mean it's just something that we try, we've been doing it for years. I know. And just something, you know, but I grew up Episcopal and we were married in the Episcopal Church and more more of a Catholic tradition, at least where we were from, in that central, certainly central part of Louisiana and South Louisiana, uh, where we lived a long time in Nacodish. There was what kind of, you know, how many Linton fish fries were there?

SPEAKER_01 25:15

Tons, right? Right.

SPEAKER_00 25:16

So I mean, it was just a big tradition. So we just made it something that we owned, that we could do together. Sean does his own, you know, individual journey. I'm doing mine. Um, but that's something we can do together. And so what's great about it, even when we're apart, so a couple of Fridays, I've had to travel for work. Uh Sean's been at a retreat. Uh, we just, you know, make a point. Like he was going to the retreat and they were part of the cook team. And I was like, what are you gonna do on Friday? He's like, Oh, good point. Hadn't thought about it. So we went and bought some tuna steaks. And it's just, again, it's the intentionality and it's doing something together. Um I know there are more traditions that we could take on together as a couple, um, but that's just and we've talked about this on this podcast before, but just reminding people who haven't listened uh to that episode. It's just something that we do. Again, it doesn't make it more right or more wrong. It's just something we choose to.

SPEAKER_01 26:07

It doesn't uh we're not gonna be closer to Jesus in heaven. It it's just really a matter of like, okay, how can we intentionally um as husband and wife practice and remember this Lenten season and preparing for the resurrection?

SPEAKER_00 26:21

Yeah. So that's what we do. We just like to share that with folks.

SPEAKER_01 26:24

So and it's not even I mean, some days it's not even a sacrifice, one because it makes us get together and then we go have a McDonald's fillet of fish together.

SPEAKER_00 26:32

Right. Again, it it it's a way that he and I can come together.

SPEAKER_01 26:35

Right.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

Uh because we're, you know, we we go in a bunch of different directions.

SPEAKER_01 26:40

All the time.

SPEAKER_00 26:41

And it's just one little thing that we look forward to, that we get to focus on together, and we get to share. You know, and so I think that's always some of the point of when we talk about things on this podcast is that we're actively choosing each other, and you have to constantly do that because it's so easy just to go your way, I go my way, and I'll just see you later.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

But yeah, because if we're not choosing one another, then we are actively, I mean, we're actively choosing something else.

SPEAKER_00 27:09

Yeah. Yeah, it doesn't mean someone else, it just means something else that is occupying our time, and then we're not focusing on one another.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

And that's not and that's not the vow we made. I know that sounds kind of hokey to some people. That's not the vow we made, that's not the commitment we made, that's not the expectation that we set for one another.

SPEAKER_00 27:26

Right.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

And and uh and quite honestly, I mean, we have a lot of fun together.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah, and it's not what we want, like yeah, we don't actively want that. That's not what we want, you know. So I I like that we do that. And I I like that we get to share that tradition and remind folks of that tradition. It's just something that we set. So what um as we kind of wrap up about Lynn, uh, one prayer that has come out of, and I've shared it with you that's come out of Halle. And you were you're kind of touching on it just a second ago, but a prayer that they have repeated often and that goes everywhere from the speakers to the nuns who Sister Miriam, who has given her devotions and prayers, and also Marky Mark and Chris Pratt. So the prayer comes from a sister um who, Olga, I think, sister Olga, who is a uh head of a an order uh of nuns in the United States, and her prayer that they've adopted this lint is Lord, uh empty me, fill me, and use me. So, Lord, empty me of those things that I need to shed and help me see what those are. You know, thoughts, words, deeds, whatever they may be. And then fill me, Lord, fill me with the things I need to be filled with, so that Lord, you can use me, however that is. So I think that goes along with what you're saying, that goes along with the prayer and the fasting and the alms giving. So, you know, might not be might not be able to remember that word, almsgiving, right? That's a different word, but I think we can all remember, Lord, empty me, fill me, use me. Yeah, and that's inviting the Lord to come in and help me do, help do that work for me, help me know what those things are and guide me in those ways. So I think that's a simple prayer that I've enjoyed this lint. Because sometimes we can get overwhelmed with trying to figure out what's right and what's big enough and what's good enough, and sometimes it can be just as simple as that. Just asking the Lord to answer that for you.

SPEAKER_01 29:30

We want to be complex and complicated and we we want to show off for our Heavenly Father. And and just like our kids, you know, we look at it and we're like, you don't have to do anything. I love you already. You know, and and so you know, the whole empty me, fill me, use me, that's so simple. It's so good. Yeah, like in in the few times it's been repeated, I think everybody with half a half a bit of intention can remember that. Empty me, fill me, use me.

SPEAKER_00 29:56

Yeah, maybe we can when we post this link to this podcast, we can share that. So uh just just for those who maybe are looking to celebrate or want to know more about Lent, again, you can get the Linton Devotional off the McGuire Methodist website. But there's several services coming up, and I think we'd be remissed if we didn't at least remind people of when they're coming up.

SPEAKER_01 30:18

Yeah, so if you're local in Washtaw Parish or the northeast Louisiana area, love to have you. We'll have our Palm Sunday service, 10 30 regular time. You know, the kids kind of walk through with their palms, and uh, I'm gonna play my trumpet. Uh oh boy, okay. I know, I know, I gotta rehearse some more. Yeah, it's a fun service. And then uh during Holy Week, that starts Holy Week for us, uh, we'll have our Monday Thursday service, which is the celebration of the Last Supper and and where Jesus gave us the Great Commandment. That's what Monday means. It's from the Latin mandatum and and the the the you know, that last great commandment to go and love one another as he has loved us. And then um that'll be six o'clock Thursday, and then six o'clock Friday, we'll have our Good Friday service where we uh remember, and this is this is one of the most unique services in our tradition. It's not an upbeat, clappy happy, you know, it's not a celebration, it's very much a remembrance of the the debt that Christ paid on our behalf, the ransom that he provided that was his life. And so that's a six o'clock Friday, and it's a it's a much more heavier reflective service uh by design to remember that that Christ died for our sin. And then Sunday morning for for Easter, April 5th, we'll have uh a sunrise service at 6 30 out at the what are we calling that the pavilion?

SPEAKER_00 31:41

The pavilion at 7th Square. The pavilion at 7th Square near the farmer's market in West Monroe.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

Yeah, we've got to work out a few more details on that, but it's coming along. And then of course our Easter morning service here at McGuire at 1030.

SPEAKER_00 31:52

Yeah, with a brunch at 9 30 and the service at 10 30. Yeah. So those who are local, if you were looking for a place to experience Easter or Holy Week, you can go to the McGuire Methodist Facebook page and um you'll there'll be information that will be posted about that. So just wanted to share that for those who may be listening that don't have a place to go for Easter. So yeah, this was just a a brief check-in, spring, spring version check-in, and um some of the things that we have tried to do over the years related to Lent and uh the observation of Lent as specifically as a couple for us.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

Yeah, be it your faith or your marriage or your your faith in your marriage, uh the the reminder here, the the short lesson is you have to be intentional. Be intentional with each other, be intentional with your walk with Christ, and be intentional with where Christ is in your marriage. It's so important.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

Yeah. Well, for those of you who um we don't see, but happy Easter to everybody. Uh as always, feel free to reach out to us if we can do anything for you, pray for you, or if you have any questions or suggestions, we're always looking for those. And I will be certain to recap Sean and Cooper's big spring break adventure, adventure, and how that goes. So looking forward to catching up to everybody soon. Thanks for listening.

SPEAKER_01 33:14

Bye, y'all. Thank you.