So What's the Plan?

I'm a compulsive planner. When I was in college, I had a draft of the courses that I needed for every term leading up to graduation. Before I begin a new semester, I plan the topics, activities, and tests for every single day that I'll be teaching. I don't really mind altering the plan if necessary, but not having a plan to follow sends me into a serious state of stress. I have to have an idea of what is to come, and the further in advance that I can ink it in, the better. So, what's the Lentblog plan?

First, the dietary laws. I am wildly interested in my own dietary habits. I read about nutrition, grow some of my own vegetables, count calories, and keep a food journal. The journal incorporates exercise and the carb/protein/fat proportions that I consume. (There's an app for that!) With that said, I can't imagine that anyone else would find such notations as anything but soporific. So, unless the food is somehow relevant to the day's meditation, I'll show some restraint and spare you the bite by bite commentary of my nourishment.

Next, how often am I going to post? Well, Easter/Pascha is on April 24 this year which is 55 days from now. The devotional guide that I'm following has 40 entries that reference 9 Biblical Canticles (also called "Odes" or "Songs").  If I can manage a response to each of the 49 meditations on a more or less daily basis, then I'll still have a little cushion left for the days when I just can't get everything together. One thing I've learned already is that I'm going to have to write these things and then leave them alone. I woke up in the middle of the night last night thinking of a better word than one I had used in an earlier post. I think I've gone back and made at least one editorial change on everything I've written after it was posted. I'm reminded of Guy Clark's response when someone asked him how long it took him to write a song. He said he didn't know; he'd never finished one.

What is there to say? I'm not going to try to "teach" St. Andrew's hymn. For anyone who wants to read it, there are multiple sources online if you just google "The Canon of St. Andrew." No one needs me to tell them what it says. Besides, I'm the last person who should be teaching about poetic writing. I am not a poet. I feel the urge to laugh hysterically at the understatement of that last sentence. Eight of the canticles are Old Testament passages that praise God for His work in history for our salvation. Mary's Magnificat from Luke is also included. (I'll post a list of all of them with the Bible references.) I'm just planning to read them and then write whatever seems like it needs writing down.