This Lent thing.....

One of the guys in my Monday Night Bible study challenged us to do something for Lent this year. Lent has never been practiced at the churches I've gone to, so I've never participated before.

In fact, I was once so ignorant about Ash Wednesday that one year a guy I was working with went to an Ash Wednesday service at lunch (I didn't even know it was Ash Wednesday). He came back with the ash mark on his forehead. When he walked by my desk I saw the mark out of the corner of my eye and said, "Hey, you have something on your forehead." He got angry and said, "Very funny." I was confused. Later on that day I found out it was Ash Wednesday and someone told me about the practice, so I went to him and appologized.

So anyway, Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. "Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of adherents as a sign of mourning and repentance to God." (Wikipedia)

"Lent in the Christian tradition, is the period of the liturgical year leading up to Easter. Lent is a time of sacrifice for Jesus. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer — through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial — for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which recalls the events linked to the Passion of Christ and culminates in Easter, the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ." "There are traditionally forty days in Lent which are marked by fasting, both from foods and festivities, and by other acts of penance. The three traditional practices to be taken up with renewed vigour during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbour). Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."(Wikipedia)

Well, this year I'm going to do 'this Lent thing' and see what comes of it. I really wasn't sure what to do though, so I talked to people and did some internet research. Lent is practiced quite a few different ways. I've decided I'm going to do Meats & Sweets.

Now if you know me, you think that sweets will be no big deal for me. For the most part you're right. I can skip a donut or a candy bar or a piece of cake and its no big deal. On the other hand, I like coke and sweet tea and Quacker caramel corn rice snacks. I just gave my bag of Quacker caramel corn rice snacks to a co-worker.

Meat is an entirely different story. I like meat. Pretty much any meat. From your basic sandwich meat you get at Wal-Mart to a fine steak. Meat is good. Pretty much every meal I have has meat in it. Eggs and sausage at breakfast. Sandwich meat or leftovers from last nights meat meal for lunch. Maybe a hamburger or something if I happen to go out. Dinner always has meat. Chicken. Beef. Shrimp. Pork. Crab. Whatever. I love all types of meat.

It's going to be hard not to eat meat for 40 days. But if I get some physical & spiritual health benefits from it, then it's worth it.

Now one thing I'm still confused on, and I'd like other people's perspectives..... I've read that Lent is actually 46 days and some people 'skip' the 6 Sunday's because they represent a 'mini-Easter'. What do you think? Should Sundays be excluded? Does this minimize your commitment?