to give up...or not to give up? that is the question...

happy fat tuesday! hopefully you have eaten all your favorite foods and are stuffed cause you know what tomorrow is......ASH WEDNESDAY and the beginning of LENT! and you know that during lent it is "suggested" to give something that you love dearly up! if you didn't succeed in your new year's resolution this is your second chance! haha but not really! ;)

growing up we were told to give up something like candy, soda (actually did this one year and i am still not drinking soda...or as much as i use to), ice cream, chips, etc. i remember hearing people say "i am going to give up swearing!" and i thought "well duh! you shouldn't just give it up for lent but FOREVER!"

i think many of us may have the whole 'giving up thing wrong.' i remember when i was around 16 that my priest gave a homily/sermon on the season of lent...he spoke saying that you can either give up something or do something...all that mattered was that your goal was to get closer to God...wow this made me so happy...now instead of giving up soda or yogurt or something, i could do something instead...i tried reading a chapter of the bible everyday during lent...well i did that...then i believe the next year i did that too...then later on in my college years i brought in matt and our relationship and we both began reading together, then last year we did a devotion everyday together...

the past few days (i should start thinking about this maybe in january) i have been trying to think of something i could do this year...well the bible study we are in requires us to read 2 chapters of the bible everyday so that is already covered...maybe a devotion with matt? well we already do that...hmmm....i am still trying to think and i can't figure out anything...

well maybe this year is the year i give up something...i thought maybe yogurt! hmmm that seems really really hard...but isn't that what it is suppose to be? HARD? so that we can get closer to God during this season...

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster." -Joel 2:12-13