Lent 2014

If you've been following the blog for a while, you know that Matt and I enjoy taking on a Lenten practice each year. It seems we've captured all of the big ones in years past No Excess, More Time Together in 2013 (the year in which Matt began Lent with a week long hospital stay) Simplify in 2012 (in which we rid our house of excess clutter), living on a food stamp budget in 2011 (I think that one is self explanatory but there are lots of posts on what we learned), and eating rice and beans in 2010. This year we decided to take a different approach.

After seeing this list composed by Nadia Bolz-Weber, pastor at House for All Sinners and Saints, we decided to modify the list and create our own practices for the next 40 days. The plan is to reflect together at the end of each day (and to actually do some of the practices together--the ones that lend themselves to that) and I'll do my best to blog about our experiences to hold us accountable. Here is what we came up with (many of them are the same as the list above but some of the things seemed too easy, as in we already do them, and so we tailored it more for our day to day life):

1.     Pray for your enemies

2.     No TV

3.     Don’t turn on the car radio

4.     Give $20 to a non-profit of your choosing

(SUNDAY)

5.     Take 5 minutes of silence at noon

6.     Look out the window until you find something of beauty you hadn’t noticed before

7.     Give 5 items of clothing to Goodwill

8.     No bitching day

9.     Do someone else’s chore

10.  Buy a few $5 fast food gifts cards to give to homeless people you encounter

(SUNDAY)

11.  Call an old friend

12.  Pray the paper (pray for people and situations in today’s news)

13.  Read Psalm 139

14.  Pay a few sincere compliments

15.  No phones after 5:00pm

16.  Educate yourself about human trafficking (www.praxus.org)

(SUNDAY)

17.  Forgive someone

18.  Internet Diet

19.  Only use necessary electricity and water

20.  Check out morning and evening prayer (http://dailyoffice.wordpress.com)

21.  Ask for help

22.  Tell someone what you are grateful for

(SUNDAY)

23.  Go on a walk

24.  Read Psalm 121

25.  Bake cookies to give to a neighbor

26.  No shopping day

27.  Light a virtual candle (http://rejesus.co.uk/spirituality/post_prayer/)

28.  Light an actual candle

(SUNDAY)

29.  Write a thank you note

30.  Walk, carpool, bus, or bike

31.  Use Freecycle (www.freecycle.org)

32.  Make art

33.  Read John 8:1-11

34.  Experience a different worship service or faith tradition

(SUNDAY)

35.  Pray for Peace

36.  No sugar day—where else is there sweetness in your life?

37.  Give $20 to a local non-profit

38.  Educate yourself about a saint (www.catholic.org/saints)

39.  Have friends over for dinner

40.  Reflect together on what practices we like and want to keep