40 days

My entire life I have been grounded in religion. I was raised Lutheran, went to church every Sunday and went to Lutheran schools until I went away to college. I still go to church regularly and I stand firm in my faith. For me, my faith helps me stay balanced and keeps me grounded. It's reassuring to know that I can always turn to God and he will guide me in what is best for me and my life.

For Christians around the world Lent begins this week with Ash Wednesday. Just a day away! Lent is the 40 days in the church calendar leading up to Easter. In my family growing up we always gave something up during Lent- usually insignificant things like fast food, pop, sweets you get the picture. As I got older I realized that it shouldn't be about giving up the insignificant things that you know you'll be fine not having for 40 days. We should challenge ourselves to live our lifes with out something that will be a struggle to not have. I found this on a website and think it addresses Lent spot on.

Every time we want what we have given up, we are reminded of what Christ gave up for us. Christ gave his life. While our sacrifice pales in comparison, it serves as a frequent reminder of God's overwhelming and complete love for each of us in our season of preparation for the resurrection.

In the past I've committed to things like reading a book every week of lent, going to the gym everyday or trying to stop my swearing habit. This year one thing I have chosen is to be vegetarian for the 40 days- no meat!



There are many different types of vegetarians and the diet that I'm going to follow during Lent will classify me as a "pesco-vegetarian". This mean that I won't eat red meat and poultry but I will eat fish, dairy products and eggs. I am going to limit the amount of fish and eggs I eat because I want to stay as true to vegetarian as I can. I have begun training for a triathlon and so I do need to get protein to fuel my body that fish and eggs offer.

I think this might be hard considering that I still have to cook dinner for Gregorian every night and he is a meat and potatoes with a side of meat kinda guy. But I'm up for the challenge and I'm excited to share with you all how it goes and maybe even some meat-free recipes that I come up with. So keep an eye out for those! I'm hoping that in the end I will have a greater appreciation for those who have committed their dietary lifestyle to being vegetarian. I'm also fan of "clean eating", meaning that we eat organic and minimally processed foods. I also generally cook everything from scratch. Overall, I'm really excited about the health benefits that will come from my 40 days of being a "pesco-vegetarian".

I have also committed myself to a "do good" type thing for Lent. I don't want to share it yet because I think that it will have a bigger impact and I will appreciate it more once Lent is over. I guess that is another thing to watch out for in 40 days!

What do you have planned to do for Lent?