I used to give things up for Lent. I've given up caffeine, sleep, this, that, and what have you. I like the discipline of saying "No, I don't really need this" and then learning that it's true. Abstaining showed me on an emotional level that the things I think are necessary to be happy aren't as necessary as I believed.
However, I've discovered it's better for me to use Lent to plan on doing something. What can I do to grow in my faith? This year for Lent, I'm reading the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. There are 40 chapters and the books encourages the reader to read only one chapter a day. That fits Lent perfectly. The topic is important and it fits my goal of reading more, too.
Each chapter only takes me about 10 minutes of reading and reflection, so I'm trying to also instill the habit of starting my day off with it. The results are mixed there. I hope to do better moving forward.
That is such a powerful book! It has changed people's lives for the better for many years. I'm so glad you chose to read it! Dad and I are so proud of you!
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