This Lenten Season

Four years ago this Easter I officially became a Catholic. My husband was raised one, and it was very important to me that we share the same religion and ultimately raise our children together in it. When I converted (from being a denomination-less Christian) I took on many of the same traditions, including the sacrificing of something for Lent. The first year I gave up sweet tea. Might not seem like a big deal to some, but I'm a Southerner who drinks it at every chance. The next year I gave up frivolous spending. I can at least say I tried there. I don't remember what I gave up the third year. Livers had only recently been born, so I was still in a new Mommy idiot stupor. Last year I gave up reading celebrity gossip. That was HUGE for me, especially since the Oscars were smack in the middle of Lent.

This year I think I'm going to give up writing in my blog for the next 40 days. To some of you that might sound like crazy talk, but I think for many reasons this is the best. First of all, I've just not been feeling it for awhile. What started as writer's block has turned into writer's disinterest. Second, by making it "forbidden fruit" for the next 40 days I hope to spurn the creative juices in my mind again and come back fresher and happier with the process. I already felt a bit of this happening when Livers woke up from her nap with ridiculously crazy hair and the first thing I thought was, "I have to take a picture of this (to put on my blog)." Third I hope that the time away will help me to write more in my journal, which might in turn spill over to other avenues in April. Finally, I hope that by giving this up I will be able to spend more time with God. I've been a Christian most of my life, but I can say I do not know nearly enough about my God and what He says, so I hope to spend this time reading about the God I love so that I can know more for myself and to be able to in turn talk about Him to others.

My second Lent I was told of a so-called "loophole" that some Catholics use during Lent that allows them to partake in what they've given up on Sundays. A friend who was beginning his own conversion said that since Sundays are Holy Days they are exempt from fasting status. I used that to my advantages the past few years, but this year I am not going to do that. Along with fish on Fridays we're going to be a little more devout with our practices and try to go the WHOLE 40 days. My sincere hope is that this really is difficult for me, because it will tell me that what I've given up was a true sacrifice, and that's what I'm going for.

I don't want to lose the few blog friends that I have left over the next few weeks, so I will definitely be visiting your blogs and commenting when I can. I've enjoyed meeting all of you, and I don't want to give up on the friendships that I've started to create. You just will have to do without your bi-weekly piece of substandard writing from yours truly.

Until sometime after April 12th!