Lent

For the last few years I have been doing more and more Bible Study groups. It has been our glue. Unfortunately I had not been able to get to them physically this last year, but I have continued doing a number of them online.

The last one I attended, Me, Myself & Lies, I love Jennifer Rothschild, I was unable to complete. However, I will not give up. The lessons to clean ones closet, trunk, yard, where ever one has stored these thoughts or issues takes a lot of work when one has been through as much as I have, but giving up is not an option. There is just a better time to tackle it.

In the meantime I searched and found what my souls needs as it needs it on line and in my daily readings. I also follow some awesome blogger who fill this need. During Christmas I did a Jesse Tree but had a hard time finding a devotional that fit my needs, meaning no cost. I wanted to incorporate my ornaments that span almost 75 years. Unfortunately blogging about it never happened. I did take some pictures, and I packed away the ornaments separately, so next year it might just be bit more organized.

Now Lent is upon us. Like tomorrow as I write, or today as you read, or yesterday, or last week, depending on when you stopped by. I decided in order to focus on this time, I needed some help and Stephani who has this great blog A Defined Life, gave me some inspiration.

For the next 40 days I will not sign on to Facebook, my addiction so you must know. No, I am not a farmer, well not anymore. I am not on the Oregon Trail, my party has probably perished by now. I LOVE Words with Friends and will have a dozen games going at one time. I also play a number of card games and such. It is just how I keep in touch with family and friends, like how many other million people. But for 40 days, there will be no status updates. No pictures uploaded of egg coloring or hunting.  As Bob the Builder says, “Can we do it?’ “Yes we can!”

Along with Facebook, I plan to incorporate some of Stephani’s days of the week
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Mondays - Make No Purchases – Fast purchases of all kinds including lunch out, gasoline, etc. Great idea! Since we did the Crown Financial study group, with the tools we learned from that, it will make this day kind of easy. Does that defeat the purpose of giving up something. I mean I am not a daily shopper to begin with.
Tuesdays - Fast Noise – In our house it is the T.V. that makes the noise. I don’t really watch what is on it, during the day, it is just a voice in the room. Hubby has his favorite shows and Punky loves her Elmo, so I foresee some compromise with this one.
Wednesdays - Make a Personal Contact – Here is where Facebook comes in. Instead of using Facebook I will make phone calls, write letters, (sorry it can’t be by hand or no one would be able to read them), and of course have my Grandma Wednesdays.
Thursdays - Add an Extra Hour of Sleep –After a Grandma Wednesday that won’t be hard.
Fridays - Fast a Food of Your Choice -  Good day to cut out my coke. Oh, that’s a drink not a food. Okay so maybe each Friday will just have to be something different. I’ll let you know.
Saturdays - Add an Hour of Physical Activity –Bella will surely enjoy this time. While I walk her, I can try out this Pray Walking I have been reading about. I wish my hubby had gotten me the goBible. Sure would come in handy for this.
Sundays - Celebrate in Worship

Here are a few more ideas I found that you could incorporate as part of your Lenten practice: (Bummer, I forgot to copy the link)

1.       Memorizing a new Scripture verse every week.
2.       Reading a book on spiritual discipline.
3.       Meditation for one hour each day.
4.       Picking one Gospel to study.
5.       A daily Prayer walk.
6.       Praying for an opportunity to meet a specific financial need of an individual, a ministry or your local church.
7.       Finding one new person a day to demonstrate what “I love you” looks like.
8.       Using a social media outlet to open a discussion about the importance of Lent and Easter.(Since I gave up Facebook, some else will have to pickup the ball here)
9.       Start a running list of how The Lord has blessed you and your family.
10.   Committing to pray every day during Lent for one person in particular.

How will you be observing Lent?