Lent

Lent - definitely something I heard growing up but usually only from friends at highschool that were Catholic.  As I've grown older, I've begun to realize that Lent is one way that I can become more intentional about focusing on all that Ressurection Day & the days leading up to it means to me.

I'm not sure that I have ever intentionally given something up for Lent and I have never quite understood why people choose to make a big announcement about it.  Perhaps it's a form of accountability or maybe they are telling others as a way of pointing others towards the Cross...I guess everyone might have a different reason. I'm going to be blogging more during this time period for my own reasons and I'm sure there will be a blog post just about that :)

Earlier this week, my mom came across this and emailed it to me...

It struck me from the moment I saw it because I had never seen "fasting for Lent" in this light.  This image and the words on it stayed with me all day because I knew how much I struggled with so many of them and at some points all of them.  I knew He was leading me to start "fasting" from different sins that were on this page.  

I love the idea behind giving up something for Lent because everyone says that the point is to focus on Him.  The goal is the time you would spend eating chocolate, drinking caffine, or on FB, you will instead spend in Scripture or prayer.  It's one of those lightbulb moments ya know?  That is indeed the ONLY way we will ever have victory over the sins in our lives...is to continually bring them before His throne and spend time with Him instead of in the sin.  

Now, I'm not saying chocolate, caffine, FB, or whatever you may have chosen to "fast" from is indeed a sin - but I'm guessing it's something that you do spend a lot of time and/or money on...that's why you chose it.  For me, what He is calling me to give up, they are sins.  They are thoughts that take up entirely too much space/time in my brain and sometimes in my heart.  Yes, I am starting with the beginning of Lent but I know it has to go far beyond the next 40 days.  These are sins that can wrap their chains around me and cause me to be ineffective for His kingdom & inactive in sharing His love.  Honestly, all of them just seem extremley selfish in light of what He did for me in the garden, what He did for me on the cross, what He does for me daily...

So starting (yesterday), I am going to intentionally try to truly bring every thought captive - not for the sake of Lent but for the glory of Christ.  I'm not sure what it will look like day in and day out but I know there are conversations I will need to have and some I will need to walk away from, there will be things I need to claim as Truth outloud and others that I need to realize are lies straight from the enemy...

so here it goes...