I am giving up my tablet. When I told DH he was overjoyed;he regrets the day he gave it to me. I really do think I am addicted.
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wow, I would have a REALLY hard time doing that!! Good for you. DH and I have a rule, no tablet when he gets home from work until LO goes to bed.... I hate that rule!lol!
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I'm not giving up anything; I'm adding in extra quality time with my family. I'm going to try to spend 30 minutes of individual quality time with each of my kids and my husbabd every day, with no distractions from technology/chores/etc..
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I'm not giving up anything but I am going to wake up early and give myself some meditation time. I think it will help with stress and giving up something has never really helped me do anything long term.
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I should do that. I dunno...we have a newborn and I just don't feel like doing anything. Maybe pray through one feeding a day?
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That would be soooooooo hard! I usually give up chocolate for lent, but I've been gravitating to chips rather than chocolate now that I'm pregnant. I'll have to think about this one...
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I don't usually give anything up, but I may add in a healthy habit.
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I consider myself exempt since I'm pregnant, the way I'm exempt from fasting on Ash Weds and Good Friday and no meat on Fridays. But I do like to add in something. The hardest one I ever did was give up cursing-- I never thought I cursed very much, but it was surprisingly difficult. Should do that since it's probably a good habit to get into before LO gets here anyway!
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I always 'give up' thinking negative thoughts about people. It's tough, (especially when somebody cuts you off in traffic!) but I think it's good for me and it definitely leads to better habits for me. Baby is due 2/15 though, so I'm thinking I won't have that much contact with the outside world this Lent so I'm back to the drawing board. I prefer Lenten promises based on doing good works/bettering myself but it's hard to do that with a newborn!
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I gave up screen time at home last year. This year, I'm probably not going to do anything. I toyed with giving up meat, but we're going on vacation during lent and I wanted to enjoy
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Are you exempt from fasting if you are breastfeeding? I've never seen that written anywhere, and can't imagine the men thought of it. But yeah, I can't imagine fasting while LO sucks all those calories out!
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@jedeve: I have to think you are exempt. I don't think I've seen the pregnancy exemption written anywhere either, but I know I heard it. BFing takes more calories than pregnancy, and then you'd be hurting yourself and the baby.
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@Foodnerd81: I'm pretty sure that BF and pregnancy would be exemptions.
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I do busted halos fast/pray/give. This will be the fourth year I have done it and it is life-changing!
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@jedeve: @Foodnerd81: Yes: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/questions-and-answers-about-lent.cfm.
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@matador84: What is busted halos fast/pray/give? I am intrigued!
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Naive person alert! Is lent for just one certain religion? Can anyone participate?
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@anonysquire: It's a Catholic thing. (Also Lutheran, Methodist, Episcopal and Presbyterian)... but Catholics have kind of a strict set of rituals around the season.
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@anonysquire: It's mainly a Catholic observance, but other Christian denominations do too, like Methodists and Presbyterians. Here is a cool, short video that gives you the basics!
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@Mrs. Jacks: Oh ok, thank you!
@JerricaBenton: Cool video, thank you for that!
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@anonysquire: In Mormonism there is very little emphasis on the crucifixion, so I would imagine it's not compatible.
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@Mrs. Jacks: Ya, I guess we don't really celebrate that or do anything significant for that.
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@anonysquire: DH really isn't religious at all-- he was baptized Catholic and that's about it-- but he usually gives something up "for lent". He uses it more as a will power exercise, so I try to tell him not to say it's "for lent" but he does anyway. So you could always just give something up or make a commitment to doing something good for 2 months or whatever, doesn't have to be for Lent
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@Foodnerd81: I like that idea. I just don't know what I should give up. Maybe sugar or diet coke!
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The whole giving up something for lent gets lost in translation often...the purpose is to eventually give it up permanentely.
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@matador84: It's so not how Catholics play it though
I remember as a kid gorging on candy until the day lent started and then gorging again at Easter, being so proud of myself that I didn't cheat!As an adult I find it really fun to be mindful of something that I'm very attached to for a period of time and see if I can change the strength of that attachment over the course of the lenten season.
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@mrsjacks I know and it is a shame! If you are considering giving up something for lent, I always encourage people to do fast/pray/give or just whatever part fits you. It helps get away from the "urge to purge" and then going right back to the old ways when lent is over.
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@matador84: @Mrs. Jacks: I've never seen it as giving something up that's a bad habit. But more to have a voluntary fast of something relevant to you.
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@jedeve: hmmm... I cite my chocolate example, I gave up at home screen time last year, anything that has the potential to have too strong of an attachment and probably shouldn't be. I don't know that I'm in a position to debate anything theologically, but I really use lent as a time to reflect on and reassess those (maybe overly) important things that I'm attached to.
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Giving up sweets! I have such a sweet tooth.
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@jedeve: "Giving up" is the popular slogan for the practice of mortification. The former sometimes does not really reflect the latter in practice. Like some others said, I think Lent is really about "adding in" God, rather than cutting something material or edible out (although sometimes you have to cut something out to add God in). As for the fasting component, Lent is a penitential season marked by formal fasts, but the food rules often get kind of muddled. The bishops determine the precise guidelines, as I understand it.
I encourage you to read this from the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' site: http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/liturgical-resources/lent/us-bishops-pastoral-statement-on-penance-and-abstinence.cfm. The USCCB has a lot of good resources online and the info there seems to be easy to find.
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I'm attending a non-denominational church that does follow liturgy and we will be giving something up during Lent as a congregation. Sugar. Then on Sunday, people will bring something sweet to share because Sunday is a day of celebration. They stress that Lent is a communal affair that should involve conversation and prayer with others.
Here's a general explanation given by my church : "Lent is a time of self-examination, listening, preparation, and repentance....Lent is 40 days to reflect Israel's 40 years wandering in the wilderness, and they recount Jesus' 40 days in the wilderness where he overcame Satan's temptation...the point of a practice (or discipline) is not to prove you can do something hard or to show God (or others) how serious a Christian you are. Rather, a practice provides a way to be attentive to grace, to what God is calling you into or what God is calling you out of."
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I went and got my ashes today for the first time in a few years!
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@Mrs. Jacks: That's a big deal! We've been stuck in the house all day dealing with more issues, so no church for us.
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@Mrs. Jacks: way to go!!
I'm giving up caffeine, but that's partly due to the fact we got our BFP a week ago, and I'm giving up my time. I'm doing a devotional in the morning before I go to work.
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@Honeybee: House issues? Maybe you should give the house up for lent
@Jennimac: Double duty with the caffeine
Congrats again. I'm so thrilled for you!
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I'm not giving anything up but I'm going to use the bible app on my phone and start a reading plan. :))
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@Jennimac: OMG I didnt see your BFP announcement!!! I just teared up I'm so incredibly happy for you!!
My LO has food intolerances so I've already had to give up dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, nuts and fish. I think that's enough!
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@Mrs. Jacks: Lol, I should!
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@MamaMoose: Oh yeah, definitely enough! It was such a thrill to add them back in when the intolerance improved
I remember as a kid gorging on candy until the day lent started and then gorging again at Easter, being so proud of myself that I didn't cheat!Subscribe to our newsletter
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