Fat Tuesday! Fastnacht Day! Mardi Gras!

if you celebrate and however you celebrate - its a time to have fun!!! i took a great picture of my son with a HUGE white powdery donut smile with my cell phone this morning and i have no idea how to download it.  i left my camera at my parent's house last nite...........sigh.....so i am picking a random pic from my harddrive to post........

i guess it'll work....its kinda mardi gras-ish..ok maybe not - but at least its colorful.

anyway - there is so much excitement over here - tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent - and we have a huge competition starting...

40 days and 40 nites of change!!!

in the spirit of Lent - it is time to spring clean our bodies, minds and souls.  we are giving up stuff, making postive changes in our lives, pushing ourselves to the limit.  we are seeing what we are made of.  we will be feeling discomfort, wanting to give up - but we will push through it and succeed. 

there are a bunch of us involved - some things we are doing together.  other things are being added on by different individuals...........

i'm not going to spend every day talking about our progress - but i will keep you posted once in awhile.

preparing for Lent: part 2

i stumbled upon this PDF while googling Lent.  beautiful words that shouldn't be limited just to the season of Lent.....

Lent should be more than a time of fasting. It should be a joyous season of feasting. Lent is a time to fast from certain things and to feast on others. It is a season in which we should:

Fast from judging others; feast on the Christ dwelling in them.

Fast from emphasis on differences; feast on the unity of all life.

Fast from thought of illness; feast on the healing power of God.

Fast from words that pollute; feast on the phrases that purify.

Fast from discontent; feast on gratitude.

Fast from anger; feast on patience.

Fast from pessimism; feast on optimism.

Fast from worry; feast on hope.

Fast from complaining; feast on appreciation.

Fast from negatives; feast on affirmatives.

Fast from bitterness; feast on forgiveness.

Fast from self-concern; feast on compassion for others.

Fast from discouragement; feast on hope.

Fast from suspicion; feast on truth.

Fast from thoughts that weaken; feast on promises that inspire

 

 

another website calls the season of Lent simply, a time to examine ourselves carefully. 

 

so, from what i gather its a spring cleaning for our soul.  i really never thought of it that way and i like that idea.  perfect time of the year for it too.  its the time to look inward - see what is working and what is not - and make the changes necessary to be the person you want to be and are meant to be.  what i think is helpful about doing that type of soul searching is that you can do it along side Jesus - meaning if you need a mentor and guide...you can follow His journey, His struggles and temptations and periods of self doubt and find strength in His success.  with that type of support - you can then embark upon your own journey and revel in your own success.