Every year, I give something up for Lent and no, I'm not Catholic. I found this website that explains why some people give up things for Lent, here's an excerpt:
Giving Something Up For Lent
In Lent, it's traditional to give up (or 'fast from') something(s) that we do a lot of and that we find pleasure in. This giving up or fasting is done:
*as a discipline for learning self-control, to free our minds from the chase after material things, to tell ourselves 'no' and make it stick;
*to identify with Christ's sufferings, and remember what the true pleasures are for followers of Christ;
*as an act of sorrow over our wrongdoings and our state of sin.
In Lent, it's traditional to give up (or 'fast from') something(s) that we do a lot of and that we find pleasure in. This giving up or fasting is done:
*as a discipline for learning self-control, to free our minds from the chase after material things, to tell ourselves 'no' and make it stick;
*to identify with Christ's sufferings, and remember what the true pleasures are for followers of Christ;
*as an act of sorrow over our wrongdoings and our state of sin.
I do it for me as a challenge for God, to see that with God, I'm strong enough to do without one of my favorite things in life in addition to the reasons listed above. At church this past Sunday, the pastor made some comment along the lines of if you want to give something up and it makes you feel better then go ahead. Phew! I was a little offended but he also said that instead of GIVING something up, we should also ADD something to our lives. So here's my game plan for Lent:
*Fasting from potatoes (Thanks Mrs. D for this idea!).
*Lent has 7 Sundays, my goal is go to church 7 times. Our church adds a Wednesday service during Lent so we have 5 opportunities to make it each week.
*Compliment my husband every day for 40 days.
*Start a prayer journal.
So that may not be exactly what the pastor was talking about but I feel that by adding a compliment every day about my hubby, it'll help our communication. I love potatoes, Matt frequently tells me I can't have meat and potatoes for dinner every night so I figure that'll be a tough one for me. Attending church, we've done a pretty good job attending regularly this year but I want to keep it up and as I stated above, I love the story of Easter so what better time of year than to try to attend every week. And for the prayer journal, well, my prayer list is getting pretty long and I want to be sure to remember everyone and take note of all the answered prayers. So this is just me being totally OCD!
There you have it, my game plan for Lent. So tell me...what are you giving up or adding to your life for Lent this year?
There you have it, my game plan for Lent. So tell me...what are you giving up or adding to your life for Lent this year?
7 comments :
Very similar to my plan! My friend told me that her college priest encouraged parishioners to give up or add something in three areas:
1) for yourself
2) for others
3) for God
My goal is to make it to the gym two times per week, speak words of affirmation to my husband once a day, and to make it to church every Sunday until Easter.
The words of affirmation part--have you read the Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman? I highly recommend it, if you want to work on your relationship! It's not that anything is wrong with our relationship, for the record--there doesn't need to be a problem in order to work to make it better. :)
compliment MY husband!!! I LOVE this one. I am going to steal it as well! I haven't decided on what to give up though..so far I have had nothing but coffee..its too tough
LOVE this post! And I so love the idea of a prayer journal. I have a bible study for self-control. I think now would be the perfect time to start it. I love your list, I may steal it. :) Although I am super confused about not having meat and potatoes every meal. i was going to try and give up the extra junkfood I eat.
Love your plan - I pray you see Jesus in a new way during your fasting and adding for Him.
Great plan lady! I gave up Facebook.That's a BIG one for me, as social networking is 50% of my day.
This is awesome! I don't give up anything for Lent, although my mom has for the past two years (last year: cookies & brownies; this year: candy).
You got this, girl!
I'm going to work on not gossiping. I'm also going to start a journal for my hubs and exercise for 40 days straight. Yep. I'm a moron.
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