Lent

I cannot believe that Easter is less than 40 days away! The past year has FLOWN by!!!

I am Catholic. For those of you that don't know about catholocism, please...NEVER hesitate to ask me! When I was teaching, my students always asked me if Catholics were Christian...hehe...YES we are! Maybe one day I'll write a post about how the different denominations of Christianity came about...(I have a degree in History and my specific study was in European and Medieval studies...haha!) I'm fascinated by religion...especially my own!

ANYWAY...I'm Catholic and during Lent (the 40 days before Easter), we fast. Not COMPLETELY fast, but we DO give up things to remind us of the fasting Jesus did while in the desert and the temptations he faced...but also to remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus gave us. We don't eat meat on Fridays during lent....but we also do personal sacrifices also. Fr. Jim, our priest (amazing man), explained that during this time of Lent we clean ourselves of what keeps us from being closer to God...that's where your decisions of YOUR personal sacrifices come from!

Every year I give up 2 things. Usually one is more of a personal thing...stop gossiping...make up with people I have had an outing with...etc. The other is usually material...give up Dr. Pepper, chocolate...etc.

This year when I thought about Lent, facebook came to mind IMMEDIATELY. It kind of rules my life...and for no other reason than to see what everybody else is up to. Now, I'm not a facebook stalker...I rarely go to people's pages or photos...but I will spend an hour on facebook. I've known this takes away from my time as a mom and wife...so I'm giving it up for Lent! so far I'm on day 3...and the urge is finally starting to hit! I hadn't realized how much I rely on it as a means of friendship...but I DO have a phone! I need to use it more often!!

I'm also giving up "sweets". This means candy, donuts, cupcakes, cookies...etc. This is finally starting to get hard too! I didn't realize how much I snacked on sweets! Again...day 3! While I was at United shopping, i found my favorite candy in the reduced basket...Ferrer Rocher...12 pieces for $1!!!!!! I bought 3 to save for my Easter surprise! haha!

While this can be tough (as SILLy as it seems when soooo many people never have the privelege of eating sweets or the internet)...I feel like it does bring me closer to God...everytime I stumble...I remember that Jesus stumbled too...he was tested...but he persevered and saved us!!!