Lent & Something *NEW* for Sarah

I posted this "note" on Facebook, but thought that I'd share it on our blog. I should've posted here first, then "shared" it on FB...hindsight!

For years, I have always heard about a thing called Lent & honestly, have always just scoffed at the idea. Even though for many of my elementary & middle school years I was taken to Catholic & Episcopal churches, I never understood the reason & meaning behind Lent & not even sure I was ever even told it either. I also never heard the reason behind the idea of “giving up” something for 40 days prior to Easter. So, to me, Lent & the “giving something up” seemed as just another meaningless & mindless tradition that everyone just did "because." So, until very recently (as in 2 days ago), I have never given Lent a second thought & have definitely never sacrificed anything for the Lenten season.

So, first things first, What is Lent? Taken from http://www.ibclent.com/

Lent is a forty-day period observed in preparation for celebrating the Resurrection of Christ in the Easter season. The Lenten tradition, which began in various forms in the early centuries of Church history, is characterized by repentance and preparation. There are three specific themes associated with Lenten spirituality: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (the generous giving of physical goods to those in need around us).

Note that the 40 days do not count the Sundays during the Lenten Season. This is because every Sunday is considered a “little Resurrection Day” and thus many choose to take a break from their Lenten fast on these days.

During the Lenten season we are encouraged to “give something up” for the season to serve as a reminder of what we have in Christ, and his sufficiency in our lives.

So, why the sudden interest in Lent for me? Well, this year, I've actually decided to give something up for the Lenten season. I've felt a spiritual "nudging" to try & remove some distractions in my life. The Lord has blessed me with so much that I need to take better care of it. He's also given me some responsibilities that I need to focus on & do better to tend to those. I've decided that I need to give something up for HIM who gave up so much for me! I need to turn my focus on Him & remember why I'm doing this!

I know you're wondering what it is that I'm sacrificing! I've decided to sacrifice something that seems to have become a daily, multiple times/hours per day part of my life! I'm giving up FACEBOOK!!! For some of you, this isn't much of a sacrifice! However, most of you know, I am on Facebook A LOT...I know too much! I don't start or end my day without getting on FB. I just like to be "in the know" with my friends, and FB is an easy way to do that! I, also, like the
mindless escape that FB gives my brain from lots of other things! However, I'm realizing that FB takes A LOT of my time...time I could be using in prayer, or for my work, or to work on my home...lots of other, more important things to do! And lets be honest, I'm letting FB interfere with my work right now just by trying to write this note!

So, Lent starts tomorrow & ends with Easter. Apparently, I'm traditionally "allowed" a break from my sacrifice on Sundays. However, I'm going to try my best to not log on! This will be very difficult for me because we are also going on our trip to Germany during Lent! I had intended to give updates via FB during our trip, but I'm going to have to forego that idea!

Since my focus will be on praying more, I liked the idea of my friend, Kristi, to keep a prayer journal. Another focus was to use the "additional time" to work on my home since I'm still unpacking & purging. So, I'm hoping to dedicate at least 30 minutes a day (outside of my normal chores) to work on my home!

So, let the countdown & prayer begin! I may see you on Sundays! We'll see! For a while, I've tried to get our family blog caught up & kept caught up. So, if you're curious as to what I'm doing, I may try to make some blog entries & a journal of my Lenten experience! Again, we'll wait to see what the Lord is leading me to & has in store for me!