Lent

Growing up, Lent was a huge deal in my life, I was baptized and raised Catholic. I attended Catholic school and went to Mass almost every weekend with my family. Every Lenten season, I chose to give up something: chocolate, cookies, pop, and ice cream as the usual. One year I remember giving up red meat (I ate a lot of chicken in those 40 days). Most of the time, our religion teacher led our path to what we chose to give up but I had little understanding of the meaning as to why we were giving something up. I didn't understand the sacrifices Christ made for me let alone what he went through and continued to go through for my salvation.
Now as an adult, I have a new perspective and choosing something to sacrifice for Lent takes a lot more thought and preparation on my end. I reflect on things that I use a lot of in my life and how sacrificing that said thing or things would make my life better. I choose to sacrifice something that will help "save" my life as Jesus chose to save mine.
This year, I chose frivolous spending. I have a great job where I earn the right amount of money to cover bills and extras every month, but it wasn't until I took this job that I realized how much I spend each month (or in a 40 day period). I am a sub-contractor now and I have to track every penny spent while on the job. I had no idea how much gas, food, or supplies I was buying until I had to start keeping receipts and track of it all. It was a ridiculous amount and that was just what I was recording. I wasn't recording anything I was spending for personal use. I knew/know I had to make a change.
To make sure I was choosing something that would require me to really attend to what I was doing daily, I looked back at everything I had spent whether it was by cash, gift cards, debit or credit cards for the previous 40 days prior to Lent.  I never spent more than I made, but basically it came down to a difference of pennies from what I earned and what I spent each month.
Once I decided to sacrifice frivolous spending I set my parameters. I looked up the definition of frivolous to make sure what I was justifying to spend (basic bills, gas, & necessities) during the 40 days was accurate and would not fall into the frivolous category. I had some trips planned prior to Lent and set aside money and set a budget for each so to not falter.
I have chose to keep all of my debit and credit cards at home so I do not have easy access and it is making think twice before spending. Instead of cards, I have $20 in my wallet with the goal for it to last at least 20 days. It can be spent on anything but once it is gone it's gone. Well it's been almost 7 days and my $20 is gone but to a good cause. I donated it to one of my favorite restaurants that experienced a horrific event last week. I have another 13 days before $20 can go back in my wallet.  
Even though it has been 7 days since Lent began, this sacrifice and challenge has really shown me that it isn't important to have everything I want or consider a "need." That taking a moment to realize this helps me get closer to God and the real reason for the season of Lent.

On top of sacrificing for Lent I also began a new Bible study from Nap Time Diaries. I love Bible studies as they help me reflect on my relationship with God and help keep my faith in the forefront of everything I do. I am not someone who will willingly walk up to a stranger and discuss my beliefs and attempt to "save" someone, but I also will not do something if I believe it goes against my values and morals (thank you mom and dad and Catholic school for this upbringing). I believe religion and faith are private and everyone is entitled to what they believe, even if I may disagree (even blogging about faith sometimes gives me anxiety). I am honestly struggling quite a bit with this Bible Study. Every day of Lent a scripture passage is provided along with blank space for reflection. The reflection part is very difficult for me as I like guidance following a scripture passage. Without this, it has required me to dig deeper into my thoughts to produce even a simple sentence. I know though that this Bible study is the one chosen for me. Many things have changed for me in the past 6 months and are going to continue to change in the coming weeks ahead (more on this in future posts). This study which looks at eight different characteristics of God is also showing me how to work within myself to strengthen each one of the characteristics in my own personal life and how to strengthen my relationship with him. In addition to the Bible study, I follow an account on Instagram (@daily_bibleverses) that provides one character from the Bible each day throughout Lent. Each character provides concrete examples of how we should live our lives for God. Ironically, the individuals they are discussing coincide with my Bible study and are encouraging me to dig deep.