Lent

Well it's that time of year again: Lent.  No, we are not Catholic, but for the past few years, I have found great strength from celebrating lent and giving up something for God.  So I continue to do it, and now I have forced Ben into it as well.  :) This year we both gave up Facebook.  I gave up Facebook for the first time that I decided to do Lent and it ended up being an amazing experience.  I don't feel as strongly about it this time around, but I will admit that it has felt good to not look at it for 2 weeks now.  I'm sure I've missed out on a dozen or so life changing announcements- such as engagements, weddings, and pregnancies.  But that's ok, right?  Facebook has a lot to offer that is really great, but I know that I check it way too often and in a way it has become an addiction for me.  So it's definitely good to take a break every once and a while to gain some perspective.  I could go on for days about the damage of social media... but I will spare you all and not. :) 

Ben and I have also decided to dedicate ourselves to writing in our journals every single day for Lent and reading the scriptures together every night.  We are reading a "Life of Christ" challenge that breaks up the gospels into 45 days of scriptures describing the life of Christ in chronological order.  So far we really like it and I can definitely say that it has made a difference in our home.  Writing in my journal has always been a habit that I have had throughout my life, but I will admit that since being married, my habit has fallen short.  So it's been good to get back into it.  

Overall, I would definitely recommend giving Lent a try, if you never have.  I liked that this year we gave up something and committed to something- I think that made it a little more meaningful.  And you also get to go to Fish Fries on Fridays if that's something that you like to do. :) We went to our first one last week, and it was actually very fun.  It's kind of a fun little tradition, at least in St. Louis.  

Other than that, life continues on.  I'm 33 weeks pregnant now.  Which means I'm 7 weeks away from my due date.  Yikes! How did this happen? I can't imagine what it's going to be like to have a baby of my own, but from what I hear, it's the best.  So I'm counting on it :)