Lent 2016

 It is now the Lenten season, once again, and, as in recent years, I intend to take this time to make changes that draw me closer to God and to who He created me to be.

Looking back, I see that I have grown a lot over the past year. I took 6 months off from facebook, only returning to keep up to date with our homeschool groups. However, my time away from social media showed me a few things. 1) I am way more productive when I leave it be. 2) I honestly didn't miss much. 3) I don't NEED it. 4) God comes first. First thing when I wake up, I shouldn't be reaching out to the social media world, because there isn't much to see there. Instead, I can focus on my relationship with God and prioritize my day. 5) Using social media is consuming. Constantly checking it to make sure you don't miss something important, having to wade through all the memes and reposts, and posts of things people liked from other pages just to find the post about your cousin's new baby or your friend's genuine prayer request. I'm thankful for the time I turned my back, to refocus and connect better and deeper with God.

This year, I am taking a different journey. A journey for my health. Every year my husband uses lent as an opportunity to cut back on his sugar intake. It hasn't been easy for him, since I've never joined him. I've decided to be his wing mate in this season as he takes on that challenge again. When I say sugar I'm not referring to honey, fruits, and such like that, just for the record. I want to know if I can do it, because quite frankly, sugar is probably my biggest vice. Or at least *I* think it is. I want to see what happens when I cut it. How will my health change, my mental state, etc. I am curious.

Today, the 1st day of this journey, I have succeeded. I will take this one day, one step at a time. I will do my best to be mindful of what I am eating, just as I try to be mindful of who I am being and how I am living. In so doing, I hope to draw closer to God and to lead my children down a better path than I have been.

I pray that all of you seeking to grow deeper in God, this Lent, will find the strength and courage to do so through your chosen efforts.