In the past I have had a tendency to pick way too many things that I'd like to do, and then not do very well with any of them. Just like cleaning schedules, and diet and exercise plans, I start off with enthusiasm and then peter out after a few weeks. Doing a lot of things is a big temptation with all the wonderful ideas that can be found out there in internet land! This year I'm hoping to get out of that habit by picking just a few meaningful things that will still challenge me, but are reasonable to accomplish.
That being said, this year I have to get creative because of the wonderful news that my husband and I are expecting our second child! So no fasting for me, and dang it, I'm going to eat what I want (or can keep down!)
Just today I came up with something that I think will be a great creative solution. As regular readers may know, I work from home as a teacher for a virtual school. While sometimes staying cozy in your PJs is one of the benefits of working from home, I have fallen into the bad habit of staying in my pajamas all day, every day. Seriously, I pretty much only get dressed if I have to go somewhere in the evening. I'm not saying I'm proud. So for Lent this year I'm going to get dressed every morning before I start work. This may sound a little silly, but I really think its going to be beneficial. That time when I'm getting dressed will probably be a good time for a little morning offering prayer as well.
Another idea I've seen that I like is writing letters. I always have people that I want to write to in the back of my mind, but I almost never do it. While I don't think I could do 40 letters, one for each day of Lent, I would like to try to write a letter to someone I've been meaning to write to once a week during Lent.
I'm also going to attempt to finish my Lenten cross-stitch project from the past two Lents! I posted about this last year, when I was determined to finish it then!
http://www.better-cross-stitch-patterns.com/he-is-risen.html
Of course our family will be working adding more prayer and charity as well. I also hope to add in little things like reading more faith based stories, and listening to religious music while I work.
Figuring out how to make Lent meaningful for my four year this year is proving to be challenging. He has definitely fallen into a phase where church is very difficult for him. No matter how well our conversation about why church is important and why we go and how we should behave goes before hand, it never seems to matter once we actually get there. When I gave simple examples of things people might give up during Lent the poor boy was almost in tears. He couldn't understand why God would want him to do something so incredibly sad as not eating candy or watching cartoons. I tried to explain that when we give things up we show God that He is more important than those things, and when we get closer to God and love Him more we get happier, not sadder, but I couldn't stop the tears. So I figure he's not quite ready for giving up something like that. We talked a little longer and came up with something that I think, I hope, will work well. Sam has decided that he is going to give up whining for Lent. I think he can understand how trying to stop doing something naughty can make God happy, and help get him ready for Easter.
I'm also going print off a Lenten Calendar and Prayer chart to help guide him, and us, through Lent.
http://enterundermyroof.blogspot.com/2014/02/activity-lenten-prayer-stained-glass.html
The calendar printable we will use is from Catholic Icing, but I am currently having trouble connecting to the site, so I will add that link in later.
What do you think, is my list already too long?
I hope everyone has a fruitful Lent!
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those are fantastic ideas for lent, and congratulations on the news of a new little one arriving <3
ReplyDeleteLaura Sira