Lent!

So, as per usual I am about 3 days behind the rest of the world and as a result have only started thinking about the fact that it’s Lent right now. Last year I wrote about Lent Sacrifices and how good I thought Christian Aid’s count your blessings scheme was, and then promptly didn’t do anything for Lent again.

 

I have really been challenged on my thinking about people over the last few months. I long to be able love people like Jesus did, not to take people on face value but to be more laid back, give people the benefit of the doubt and to carry of loving them even when they throw it back in my face. I’ve also come to the conclusion recently that I get annoyed with people who have an issue with something and don’t do anything about it (there I am, judging people again!), so I figured that I should do something about that too. If I have an issue with something, however big, I am going to do whatever I can to improve the situation.

 

So, how does this relate to Lent?  Well, I figured for Lent this year I could simply and consciously make more steps to be like Jesus. To be honest this isn’t really a Lent thing – I should be doing this all the time, but roll with me here… Apparently it takes three weeks to create a habit, so if over the next six weeks I challenge myself about how I treat people every day, and try and take practical steps to improve my relationships then I should be able to work patterns into my life which will stay with me long after Lent has finished.

 

There are plenty of ideas for Lent on the web. Tearfund’s carbon fast can be found here. I have also found generous.org really helpful and inspiring too. We’ll see how it goes!

Lent Sacrifices

Okay, I am a little late with this, and have also shamelessly stolen the idea off my brother’s blog – but hey, I think it’s a good idea worth sharing. 

Lent is traditionally a time when Christians fast to think about Jesus and his sacrifice for us at Easter.
However, I feel like it’s often become a time when people give up things (TV, facebook, chocolate, meat) just for the sake of it and not really focussing on why they do it.
That’s why I don’t give anything up, which probably makes me just as bad! 

Anyway, Christian Aid’s Lent Resources this year encourages us to count our blessings and then bless others by doing something to help those not as fortunate. Each day there is an activity to carry out (e.g 52p could pay for a notebook, pen, pencil, sharpener and chalk, allowing a woman or child to attend literacy classes in Afghanistan. Give 52p for each personal email or note you wrote today).

We have such unimaginable wealth in the West. Why not really think about lent this year. Jesus made such a sacrifice for us –we should be more than willing to make such a small sacrifice for him, and for others around the world.