Lenten Promises

Vanilla Ice Cream Mashed with Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies

topped with a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie

This right here was the last bit of non-celebratory sugar for me for 40 days--I ate this yummy treat in the final hours of Mardi Gras yesterday. Lent started today, and I decided on the the following lenten promises; one for health, one for home, one for heart.

1. For Health: No non-celebratory sugar.

2. For Home: Spend 15 minutes each evening de-cluttering.

3. For Heart: Spend 1 minute for each day of lent in quiet prayer/meditation/peace.

The last time I gave up sugar for lent was when I was 19 and it was one of the dumbest things I've ever done...it's pure torture to turn away a big chocolate sundae that waiters bring to the table at your birthday dinner. So, my plan this time around is to say no to non-celebratory sugar...you know the popping a cookie in your mouth just because it's there kind of sugar. Now when there's something to celebrate or a special event then all bets are off. Lucky for me, my birthday, Jeff's birthday, and our anniversary all land somewhere in the next 40 days :) I gave up sugar as part of a challenge with my good friends Deirdre and Mary Alice for the 10 days before Thanskgiving and that went well. With the Christmas sugar fest behind me, I thought I'd give up non-celebratory sugar as a New Year's resolution. In theory (but not in practice) I'd like not to have a sweet every single day and I figured New Year's was a good time to start this new habit. Then on January 3rd, I found that we still had some chocolate-covered popcorn left from Christmas and decided that this was reason enough to celebrate...and I've been celebrating ever since. Hence, my first Lenten promise.

My second Lenten Promise is to declutter the piles of stuff that seem to pop up all over the place around here. My plan is to do this for 15 minutes each night after the kids go to bed. Often I collapse somewhere once the kids are finally in bed, but I know that carving out this time will make a world of difference.

Finally, I feel drawn to a Lenten promise that nourishes the spirit, so I'm choosing to add an additional minute each day of Lent to some time in prayer.

I'm a sucker for a fresh start and Lent always gives a great reason to re-commit and start anew. The kids were asking about Lent and I explained that a lot of people choose to give something up for Lent and then I went into the meaning that such a practice holds. The kids were trying to decide if they wanted to give up anything for lent and, if so, what. James thought it over for about 30 seconds before he said, "I know! I'll give up brushing my teeth for Lent!" Nice try. I quickly told him, "No, it has to be something that will make your life better...and not brushing your teeth will definitely not make your life better (though it might make our dentist's life better)". He mulled it over some more and said, "I'll stop annoying Meagan for Lent." We'll see how long that lasts.

I decided to start Lent in the right frame of mind and went to mass this morning and I have to say it was just lovely to be in the old pink church downtown and have some time to reflect on this Lenten season.