How many non-Catholics do you know that celebrate Lent? Do you celebrate Lent? I grew up Catholic (I’m no longer a participating Catholic, long story that I may blog about at some point) but I have always appreciated the season of Lent. Lent begins today, also known as Ash Wednesday and ends on March 26th. Lent is a time preparing for Easter by fasting and repenting.
The past few weeks I have reflected and prayed about my relationship with God. I’ve been looking for ways to strengthen that relationship. I’m not proud that there are many times that I should be putting God at the center of my life but I also know there is room to grow. That is why this non-Catholic girl celebrates Lent by intentionally using the season of Lent as a time to grow closer in my relationship with the Lord.
Growing up, we seemed to always give something up for Lent. I remember giving up Pepsi, ice cream, and candy bars as a kid. That’s all great but I never found myself feeling a deeper relationship with God after it was over, I was just really happy to be able to eat whatever it was I gave up. (I’m not saying people shouldn’t give up food, I think fasting has its place, it just didn’t work for me.)
So as I thought about Lent 2016 I wanted to not necessarily give up something but to gain in my relationship with God. I have been wanting to do a better job of getting into the Word so this Lent I will be doing 2 things I enjoy. Each day I will be journaling Scripture and praying over how it spoke to me. Not necessarily original or earth shattering but I think it will be good for me!
You can see 5 unique ideas to celebrate Lent here!
I’d love to know if you celebrate the season of Lent and what you have chosen to do!
Hi ladies! Welcome to week 58 of Women With Intention Wednesdays!
Welcome to a new week of Women With Intention Wednesdays!
Last week we had a lot of awesome posts (94 to be exact)! Last week our most popular post was Five Things Every Blog Post Needs by Currently, Kelsie (and I completely agree with these 5 things)!
Welcome to Women With Intention Wednesdays!
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Community Building Question: Do you celebrate Lent? If so what are you doing this year? Are you giving anything up or doing something you normally wouldn’t?
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I do celebrate lent, but I grew up Catholic and am Lutheran now. I think it is an amazing time to set aside and be intentional about preparing for and meditating on the sacrifice Christ made for me and the hope I have because of His resurrection!
Yes, I celebrate Lent. But I don’t give anything up for it. My very favorite part is the beautiful hymns our church sings during the Lenten season. Some of my favorite hymns are Lenten hymns.
Some years I have taken on a special reading project or devotional. This year I’m just entering into a resurrection frame of mind and waiting for spring!
I’ve never celebrated Lent . . . only learned what it is in recent years! This year I am using Praying the Promises of the Cross (it’s a resource I mentioned in the post on prayer I linked) preparation toward Easter. (I love your daffodil picture – one of my favorite flowers.)
This year I am giving up Lent for Lent…you’ll have to read it to appreciate it!!! Love your linkup each week.
Yay! This is so exciting. Thanks so much for sharing my post 🙂 Thanks for hosting, as always!
Hi, my name is Hanha from Transparency Blog! I don’t celebrate Lent, but my church did participate in consecration at the beginning of the year! I went on the Daniel’s fast for about 30 days! It was such an amazing experience. God taught me so much and I learned more about His character.
Hi Jenny! This will be my second year celebrating Lent. Last year I gave up sweets, and for me this year, it’s less about giving something up and more about taking in God’s word. Have a wonderful week!
Yes, we celebrate Lent. I won’t be giving anything up though, I’ll just be focusing on the Lord’s death and resurrection with my family in small ways at home and with our church.
Jenny, I love how you’ve chosen to participate in Lent. Thanks for the challenge.
I celebrate lent, even though I grew up and belong to an evangelical church. It was a curious thing to do for me, before I came to live to South America. During the years I’ve learned to appreciate the act of giving up something to concentrate on God. For me giving up works the best 🙂
I have not been consistent in celebrating Lent in meaningful ways. I just read your post about 5 ideas of how to celebrate Lent and love the idea of changing a bad habit (like putting yourself down). I think I will choose something like that….it honors God to change our behaviors to reflect Him more. Blessings!
We don’t do lent. I have just recently learned what it is.
You are right, Jenny; Lent can definitely be used as a reflective time and for preparation of the heart. I definitely think that it can be helpful to set aside certain seasons like this for reflection/fasting/special seasons of prayer, etc. I know that the Lord has used this in my own life (not the observance itself) but the “seeking” Him to draw closer to Him through the observance. I know that it has been helpful for me in my walk with the Lord.
Hi Jenny!
Interesting topic today! I did not grow up Catholic although I knew many who did. We are in a new church over the past 6 months. This undenominational church had an Ash Wednesday service that was beautiful and full of meaning. The meditation prompted me to write on it in a post I will put up on my website tomorrow (2/12) if you want to check it out. I agree with your post and definitely observing the Lenten season.
Blessings and thanks for hosting the linkup today!
I am a practicing Catholic and have grown up celebrating Lent each year. It’s only been in the past decade though, that I’ve understood the idea of “giving something up for Lent” as a very meaningful and personal way to walk alongside our Lord during His 40 days in the desert and through Holy Week. I definitely need this annual opportunity to “clean some things up,” spiritually speaking!
I do give up desserts, as a small way to increase self-control and to lean into Jesus more as I feel tempted by something chocolate! But the much more signifcant part of celebrating Lent for me is the increased prayer time and increased commitment to participating in the events offered by our church, such as a weekly (every Friday in Lent) walk through the “way of the cross” known as Stations of the Cross.
Thanks for this post!