Ash Wednesday is tomorrow, and I am not looking forward to it.  I feel sick and crumby, which is not the way Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday is supposed to feel like.  I am stuffed up and have a sinus headache when I should be rejoicing before I begin the Lenten fast. 

I am going to go through N.T. Wright's Reflecting the Glory meditations during Lent again, and try to focus on the aspects of celebration within suffering and hope within suffering, which is why I am bummed about my Mardi Gras cold. 

The overriding though for Lent this year for me is going to be Satan's picture of the kingdom during his temptation of Christ, and how Christ responded: in a rejection tinged with hope.  The kingdom is coming, even in the wilderness of suffering and fasting---that is what I hope for as we all begin this Lenten season.