lent /lent/ (in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter.

As years go by, I am finding that the seasons of Advent and Lent are not practiced as much as they have been in the past. Are these a part of your life? Do you spend the weeks of Advent preparing your heart for the ultimate gift that we received on Christmas Day? Do you spend the forty days before Easter preparing your heart for the ultimate sacrifice that was given to us on Easter? Honestly, I don’t always, but I love the intentionality of preparing our hearts and reflecting on the importance of these life saving gifts we have the opportunity to receive.

When I was teaching, the 2 p.m. doldrums hit me hard and I picked up a habit of drinking a can of coke at that time every day to help me make it to 4 p.m. when school was over. One year I decided that I would ‘give up’ my can of coke for Lent as a tiny act of sacrifice, reminding me every day at 2 p.m. what it was that God gave up for me. Truly, my giving up my can of coke hardly compares to God giving up his Son on the cross so that I could ultimately have eternal life with Him…but it really did make me think of this sacrifice and my appreciation grew as I took this time to reflect on the sacrifice made.

I’ve been thinking about this for this coming Lent…starting today. What are some possible things I could give up for 40 days?

• Chocolate
• Coffee
• Meat
• Smoking or Drinking
• Social Media
• Sleeping In
• Speaking Poorly About Others (Including Yourself)
• Don’t buy anything that you don’t NEED
• Throw Away 40 things for 40 days
• 40 Days of home Organization
• Work out daily to take care of the body God gave you.
• Don’t Eat After Dinner
• Give Up Soda for Lent
• Say 3 Nice Things to Your Spouse & Kids Daily

In recent years I’ve been drawn to the idea of adding something at Lent instead of giving something up. Doing something a little extra to better myself, do something for others, and draw me closer to my faith. Some ideas for adding something at lent are:

• donating money
• writing letters to friends and family
• daily prayer
• daily devotional
• reading the bible
• completing random acts of kindness. I love the ideas in Make Their Day.
• being on time
• journaling
• walking
• exercising
• make your bed every morning
• spend more time outside
• call a friend or family member
• compliment a person every day

I love the tradition of the advent wreath at Christmas and one day dream of getting the Cradle to the Cross Wreath to have as a part of our Advent and Lent tradition.

Are you doing anything special in this season of Lent? I’d love to hear about it.