"Lent is the opportunity to change what we ought to change but have not...Lent is about becoming, doing and changing whatever it is that is blocking the fullness of life in us right now...Lent is a summons to live anew...Lent is the time to let life in again, to rebuild the worlds we've allowed to go sterile, to "fast and weep and mourn" for the goods we've foregone. If our own lives are not to die from lack of nourishment, we must sacrifice the pride or the sloth or the listlessness that blocks us from beginning again. then, as Joel (2:12-18) promised, God will have pity on us and pour into our hearts the life we know down deep that we are lacking"
Lent began last week, and as a follower of Christ, the next 40 days are very important to me (but no, I won't be writing posts about it every week, as I want to stay true to the purpose of this blog, and I don't want to single out or keep people from returning). There are so many great things happening already over this period before Easter, and Lent just ads to the greatness of it all. There is so much to reflect on as we prepare for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. When I was a child, I "gave up" the usual stuff - candy, sweets, soda, etc. As I've grown older, some of that sacrificing has gone by the wayside, and I have focused more on making myself a better image of the Lord in certain ways. This year, I have a couple of things on my mind - I'd give up "snacking" but truthfully, Mr. K and I don't have much in the way of unhealthy snacks in the house anyways. We try to keep bananas, clementines, apples, avocados on hand instead, and it's worked pretty well.
The one big thing I find myself constantly doing is checking my phone, namely Facebook, if Mr. K goes out of the room, or if we're just watching shows. Sometimes when I'm laying in bed waking up, I'll grab my phone, check my email, then Facebook just to avoid getting out from underneath the covers! I think it's actually become a habit, and I don't like that. I love conversations, deep, great discussions, especially with my husband, and I don't like outside distractions when they're not needed. Enter: Facebook. I've done it before, and I plan to do it again starting tomorrow - Facebook is being deleted from my phone so as not not have those distractions during my night. I plan to pick up my REAL alarm clock from my parents' house to put on my bedside table to use instead of the alarm on my phone. Cell phone stays in the kitchen/living room until the next morning. No more distractions, no more delayed bedtimes because I'm checking Instagram, and no more of Mr. K saying things like "how are your stats?" when he thinks I'm on Facebook.
I must sound like a high school teen, but really I believe that this is the way things are nowadays. We always feel the need to check up on what's going on, we never want to be late finding out that someone is engaged, or seeing what funny quiz someone posted results too. Believe me, I'm not criticizing anyone else who does this, I just want to put it behind me. I honestly hate technology sometimes and wish that people didn't always expect me to have my phone right next to me 24/7 and respond to their text within 15 minutes. I cannot wait to start this Lenten period so I can focus more on myself, my husband, my spiritual studies and promises that I made to myself at the beginning of this year.
Another thing I'm doing for Lent is sticking to an exercise schedule and goal. The reason behind this is that I keep starting a plan, usually a 30 day squat or arm challenge, and I do really well for the first week and then life gets busy, I go out of town or the weekends come and then I get out of my routine and easily forget about it and find other things to do (like binge watch episodes of Blacklist). This Lenten promise helps me become a better person for a couple of reasons - it's important to stick to goals and it's important to keep a promise - to yourself, to your friends, and to God. I find that when I commit myself to working out, I have more energy, I'm a more positive person and I believe that carries over into all aspects of my life. I'm motivated and inspired to keep up with my plan of reading the Bible in a year. All of these things go hand-in-hand, at least for me, personally, so I feel that starting with something that I can physically challenge myself with every day is a good start to getting back on the path of becoming myself, and therefore a better person devoted to God. For instance, yesterday when I started a few 30 day challenges (squats, glutes, arms and abs), I ended up being so motivated that I cleaned the entire apartment and organized, something I've been putting off because I've been too lazy, too tired, to unmotivated. I finally did it, and it felt great. It keeps me from procrastinating, and therefore helps me reach a goal that's been impossible for years: stop procrastinating!!! I love how events, routines, challenges and attitudes in life are so intertwined, and this is one way to show how much they're intertwined in my life.
Those are my Lenten promises, among other, more personal ones. I hope you've found what motivates you to do all good things and to excel in the person that you want to become.
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