"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by You." - Extreme (I love the 80s!)
Showing posts with label The Big Guy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Big Guy. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Day One
I miss you, Facebook. :(
"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by You." - Extreme (I love the 80s!)
"There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by You." - Extreme (I love the 80s!)
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Hello, Lent.
Every year for as long as I can remember, I have participated in Lent. I’ve given up alcohol (not so successful), queso (surprisingly, quite the success) and numerous other material items without fully analyzing the point of giving stuff up for Lent and the true purpose of the season. Like a lot of people, I get bored about halfway through Lent and pick back up whatever bad habit I thought I was going to get rid of.
What is Lent? Lent commemorates Jesus’ fast and temptation by Satan in the wilderness of Judea, which according to the Gospel lasted 40 days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22, 2012) when pastors mark the heads of parishioners to humble our hearts and remind us that we are created from dust and to dust we will return. The ashes are a symbol of penitence and help us to develop a sprit of humility and sacrifice. Lent ends on Easter Sunday (April 8, 2012), when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus (woohoo!).
Basically, Lent is about stripping down all of the barriers between you and God. It is a season of reflection, devotion and focus on strengthening your relationship with Him. We remember all that He gave up for us by fasting and abstaining (from certain foods, not necessarily THAT kind of abstaining). It's a period where we confront and confess our sins and repent and grow as Christians.
That being said, looking back on my Lent history, I’m not so sure that sacrificing my love for melted cheese necessarily helped strengthen my relationship with my Creator. So, I decided to make a change. I’m going to actually fast and abstain from things that will challenge me – food and Facebook.
Food. During my pregnancy something happened (I just realized that I start out a lot of sentences this way); I just gave into whatever food I was craving. Sweet, salty, spicy, fattening, greasy, the gross list just runs on and on. The smell of lettuce made me want to hurl. The thought of baked chicken and vegetables disgusted me.
I gave birth 392 days ago, and not a whole lot has changed in terms of my super healthy lifestyle. I have not treated my body like a template, which apparently as a Christian I’m supposed to do. Since part of Lent is denying the body its usual comforts to encourage self-reflection, it seems pretty fitting that I should, oh, I don’t know…actually deny my body comfort foods? Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to starve myself for 40 days, but I’m going to take the time to reflect on what I put into my body and eat things that nourish my temple rather than destroy it.
My name is Heather, and I am a Facebook-aholic. And, Facebook? That’s just silly, right? To me, not so much. I am literally constantly on Facebook – in the morning before getting out of bed, all throughout the day, at stoplights, in the evening before bed. I’m on Facebook when I should be doing other things, like homework or spending time with my family, friends and God. As soon as I pick up my phone to look at the time or check an email, my little index finger automatically takes me to Facebook. When I should be getting up in the morning and devoting my time to the Big Guy, I’m checking to see what random updates my friends posted since I went to bed. I’m fairly certain that while it’s fun and mind-numbing, I could use the break and my mind could use some thawing.
When I sat down to think about things that I could NEVER give up for Lent because it would just be too hard, these are the two things that instantly came to mind. Can I give up all the comfort foods I've been enjoying and my countless time on Facebook for 40 whole days? This is kind of what Lent is all about, right? Sacrificing the things that we think we can’t go without so that we can focus our energy on the one thing we truly can’t live without – our God. Wish me luck!
Xoxo
Heather
What is Lent? Lent commemorates Jesus’ fast and temptation by Satan in the wilderness of Judea, which according to the Gospel lasted 40 days. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 22, 2012) when pastors mark the heads of parishioners to humble our hearts and remind us that we are created from dust and to dust we will return. The ashes are a symbol of penitence and help us to develop a sprit of humility and sacrifice. Lent ends on Easter Sunday (April 8, 2012), when we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus (woohoo!).
Basically, Lent is about stripping down all of the barriers between you and God. It is a season of reflection, devotion and focus on strengthening your relationship with Him. We remember all that He gave up for us by fasting and abstaining (from certain foods, not necessarily THAT kind of abstaining). It's a period where we confront and confess our sins and repent and grow as Christians.
That being said, looking back on my Lent history, I’m not so sure that sacrificing my love for melted cheese necessarily helped strengthen my relationship with my Creator. So, I decided to make a change. I’m going to actually fast and abstain from things that will challenge me – food and Facebook.
Food. During my pregnancy something happened (I just realized that I start out a lot of sentences this way); I just gave into whatever food I was craving. Sweet, salty, spicy, fattening, greasy, the gross list just runs on and on. The smell of lettuce made me want to hurl. The thought of baked chicken and vegetables disgusted me.
I gave birth 392 days ago, and not a whole lot has changed in terms of my super healthy lifestyle. I have not treated my body like a template, which apparently as a Christian I’m supposed to do. Since part of Lent is denying the body its usual comforts to encourage self-reflection, it seems pretty fitting that I should, oh, I don’t know…actually deny my body comfort foods? Now, I’m not saying that I’m going to starve myself for 40 days, but I’m going to take the time to reflect on what I put into my body and eat things that nourish my temple rather than destroy it.
My name is Heather, and I am a Facebook-aholic. And, Facebook? That’s just silly, right? To me, not so much. I am literally constantly on Facebook – in the morning before getting out of bed, all throughout the day, at stoplights, in the evening before bed. I’m on Facebook when I should be doing other things, like homework or spending time with my family, friends and God. As soon as I pick up my phone to look at the time or check an email, my little index finger automatically takes me to Facebook. When I should be getting up in the morning and devoting my time to the Big Guy, I’m checking to see what random updates my friends posted since I went to bed. I’m fairly certain that while it’s fun and mind-numbing, I could use the break and my mind could use some thawing.
When I sat down to think about things that I could NEVER give up for Lent because it would just be too hard, these are the two things that instantly came to mind. Can I give up all the comfort foods I've been enjoying and my countless time on Facebook for 40 whole days? This is kind of what Lent is all about, right? Sacrificing the things that we think we can’t go without so that we can focus our energy on the one thing we truly can’t live without – our God. Wish me luck!
Xoxo
Heather
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