Lent is a very important season in my life.  I did not grow up ‘giving something up for Lent’.  That is traditionally a Catholic practice and I was raised both Methodist and Presbyterian.  To be honest when I was little we spent most Easter weekends at the lake and didn’t even go to church.  We went to church on a regular basis, but Easter weekend was usually a beautiful spring weekend and so we went to the lake to get the property ready for the summer. 

Fast forward to my life as a wife and mother.  Lent is the single most important time of the year for me.  Holy Week is truly my favorite week of the year.  Yep, it trumps Christmas and birthdays and Halloween (and you know how I LOVE Halloween).  As an adult I have found not only a church and group of church friends that inspire me to be more Christ-like but also a husband who is a fantastic spiritual partner.   I think because I wasn’t raised with ‘giving something up for Lent’ as a requirement, it feels so much more real to me.  I take this season of discipline very seriously.  Every year I pick something that I love, but that I should give up.  One year it was tortillas.  Seems minor, but it was a BIG deal.  One year I gave up cheese.  Seriously, hardest 40 days ever.  This year I had several things I desperately wanted to do to honor Christ and the sacrifice he made to save us all.

Remember my earlier post about being more intentional in my life?  The first Lent discipline I could think of to honor that desire was to give up Facebook.  Facebook is not a priority in my life, but it is something I do all the time, without thinking.  When I’m waiting for a meeting to start, I check FB, when I’m waiting for Reed to finish eating breakfast I check FB, when I’m riding in the car I check FB (riding, not driving!).  I realized how often I check it, and I don’t even really care about it.  Seemed like a very obvious distraction that I should forgo for these 40 days.  What have I learned?  I really don’t need FB!  I honestly don’t miss it at all.  Will I get back on once Easter comes, sure.  Will I incessently check it? Nope.  It is amazing how easy it is to give up Facebook.  Do you find yourself checking it all the time just to fill an empty moment?  I encourage you to put it away.  Look out the window instead.  Or talk to your kids more.  (Or do some work! :))

The second thing I did for Lent was give up sugar.  That’s right.  ALL sugar.  Including high fructose corn syrup, etc.  Why sugar?  Because I absolutely LOVE it.  )I also have lots of baby weight I need to lose and I figured this would help).  I have been dreaming of sugar even before Lent started because I was nervous to give it up.  I ate my weight in birthday cake (mine and Reed’s birthdays were right before Ash Wednesday) because I was so nervous about giving it up.  How am I doing now that Easter is getting close?  Do I still miss it?  You better believe it!!  I dream about sugar.  I also dream about the shame I would feel if I forgot and accidentally ate some.  That gives me nightmares.  Am I already planning what I will eat first?  You bet!  I c-a-n-n-o-t wait until Easter morning when I can eat some sweets!! 

The final thing I committed to do for Lent is read a 40 day devotional called ’24 Hours that changed the World’.  It has been fantastic.  It has grounded me every single day and reminded me why I am denying myself these human pleasures.  It is to honor and remember what Christ did in those last 24 hours of his life.  I highly recommend this devotional if you are looking for one.  It is appropriate for any time of year, not just during Lent.

There you have it.  My heart on a platter.  Hope you enjoyed 🙂