How is Lent next week already?! Wasn’t Christmas yesterday? Not that I finally took down the last of our Christmas decorations today or anything.
Before the children, my Lenten observance would consist solely of eliminating my Coca Cola vice. Except for me, it quickly turned into more of a Matthew 6:16 activity, where I was pridefully letting everyone know that I had given up Coke for Lent and it was really hard for me, you guys! Not good. Once I got into the swing of having children, I told myself I was way too exhausted and overwhelmed to do anything at all for Lent. Also not good.
This year, I’m really loving Kendra’s idea of doing something for Lent instead of giving something up. Here is my list for this year:
- Getting up before the girls and showering and getting dressed.
- Making the bed.
- Doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen before going to bed.
- Praying a rosary at least once a week.
- Keeping my temper in check when correcting the girls.
But I also plan on giving up my attachment to sin. You know, that sin that we confess to God or in the confessional knowing full well in the back of our minds that we are going to do it again? I am giving up that one. (Erm, those ones). God calls us all to be saints, and this is fully possible with His grace. (While we are on the subject of the book of Matthew, check out Matthew 5:48.)
Lastly, my dear blogging friend Nell from Whole Parenting and a couple other brilliant mamas have put together a beautiful scripture study for Lent designed specifically for busy (read: frazzled? overwhelmed? Is that just me?) mothers of young ones. I bought their scripture study for this past Advent and loved it, so when Nell offered me the Lent bundle to tell my fabulous readers about, I readily agreed. I love these devotions because they are manageable to do daily even given a mom’s unpredictable schedule. The devotions speak directly to the struggles, weaknesses, and joys we have as mothers and masterfully use them to create a deeper understanding of Lent. It is strictly Bible based, so don’t feel like you can’t use it if you’re not Catholic.
You can subscribe to the newsletter here
And buy the mother’s bundle here. $11
The bundle includes a Lent Journal that you can use to reflect and review, as well as the scripture study. My favorite part of the scripture study are the lovely printables that you can put somewhere prominent in your home to remind you of the devotion for that day or week.
If you are interested in gathering together a group of moms to do a Lenten scripture study this Lent, there is also a group leader’s guide and group leader’s bundle.
You can purchase the leader’s guide here. $3
Or the full leader’s bundle here. $13
The leader’s bundle includes everything the mother’s bundle has, plus the Leader’s guide for 6 group meetings and a discount code for the mother’s bundle for all of the group members.
Well, that is what I plan on doing this Lent! I’m really excited about the scripture study in particular because their Advent study made for a very reverent and fulfilling Advent for me. I didn’t feel like I was just going through the motions of waiting for Christ’s birth and I learned some new scripture to boot! I know, I know. Try not to be shocked and scandalized that I am not really excited about making my bed every day and waking up at the crack of dawn to shower and get dressed every morning. We were not made for comfort alone, apparently. Oh hey! I have a quote on that. Perfect way to end this post. I love it when that happens.
The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness. -Pope Benedict XVI
How do you observe Lent? I’d love to hear as I am always hungry for new ideas, especially for the little ones.