Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lent, Ash Wednesday. David and I have never observed Lent before, the churches we attended didn’t observe it, but we have decided this year to give it a try. David listened to the Lent Series from Mars Hill last year, but we’re going to download it again and listen to what it has to say. I have been searching online for an explanation of Lent and to learn more about it – but most everything I find is centered around Catholicism (understandably) and there are many rituals involved that I don’t necessarily believe with (they are man based rather than Biblical). So I am eager to hear Rob Bell’s take on it. We should have started listening to the series earlier (it is 8 messages long), so we’ll have to play catch up.
But we have decided to give up television for Lent. We have been feeling lately we should be giving up television anyway, it is such a distraction. I struggle with it more than David does, but it still is hard to not watch. It is weird how common it is to just walk in the door and immediately turn on the tv. We already have gotten rid of cable (nearly a year ago), and actually gave away 1 of our tvs this weekend (from our bedroom, now we only have 1 in the living room). And tomorrow we will put away the rabbit ears – so we won’t even be tempted to turn it on. I estimate I watch around 20-25 hours of tv in a week. If I gave all that time up – can you imagine all the things I could do!
Some things I plan to do (instead of watching TV) are:
- read (I love reading, but lately don’t have ‘time’ to read anything)
- homework (I am so bad at procrastinating, maybe I can buckle down and concentrate on my work)
- budget (lately I don’t have ‘time’ to budget, so then we just spend, spend, spend)
- hang out with friends (so many people I want to see)
- Learn how to clean naturally
- Start cooking from scratch (ie make frozen pizzas!)
- Spend time with God (I don’t know if the daily devotions that we were taught to do growing up are exactly the right ‘way’ (ie reading Our Daily Bread every morning) – but I do know that I need to begin spending time with God again and figure out what works best for our relationship)
But the more I think about Lent, I wonder, wouldn’t this be a wonderful time to give up something environmentally? I believe God is Green, and He wants us to live a greener life, because it is His Earth we are living on – shouldn’t we care for it just as Adam and Eve cared for the Garden of Eden? Isn’t this our Garden, and we should love and respect it? There are many simple things one may do, so consider giving up something to Green your Faith – I think you’ll be surprised how easy it is when you center it around God and taking care of His land.
- Are you a 2 (or more) car family? Consider giving up one car. David and I only had 1 car for the first year of our marriage, and we survived. I actually prefer 1 car. Less insurance to pay, less gas money,etc.
- Give up shopping bags (if you don’t think this is possible, first try giving up 1 shopping bag a trip), BYOB, use reusable shopping bags. This is one of the biggest wastes produced by American’s, just grab a reusable bag and it works the same (in fact they are stronger and don’t rip!). There are fancy ones you can buy (we use these and these), but also just hit up your local thrift store (I have some great ones that cost me $2).
- Give up disposable plates,bowls, plasticware, cups, etc. An easy ideas! Just ditch the disposable and grab a real plate. We used to only use disposable (I am not exaggerating), so this was an easy way to produce less waste. Plus you are cutting down on CO2 Emissions cause by producing and shipping it to you.
- Go even further, give up paper napkins and paper towels. We use all cloth napkins (bought at thrift stores, very cheap, in fact I went crazy and have way more than we could ever need, if you want some just let me know!), and old washclothes in place of paper towels. It is easier to switch than you think.
- Give up meat. Go vegetarian. This actually is an old custom of Lent (in ancient times they wouldn’t just not eat meat on Friday’s during Lent, they’d give it up the whole 40 days). Meat production (because we eat about 4x a normal portion size) is a huge waste in the US. Most of our grain goes to feed our cows than it does to feed humans. Use the money you would have spent on meat to donate to a local food pantry.
- Give up bottled water. Buy your own reusable bottle. Ditch the disposable bottles. A huge waste. I picked up mine at the Dollar store. And another at the thrift store.
- Quit buying. I really like this idea actually. Give up buying anything for 40 days (or an alternate is only buy used for 40 days). Necessities, such as diapers, food, gas, etc. doesn’t count – but go 40 days without buying new shoes or Birthday cards. You will realize how much money goes out of your wallet that is unnecessary. It’s not so bad, these people went a year buying nothing new.
Are you going to observe Lent? What will you give up? Please comment, it’s great to encourage others.
Editor’s Update:
Great resource on Mars Hill Bible Church about Lent (from a non-denominational church)…weekly reading lists, preparing for Lent and more.
chet3 said,
February 20, 2007 @ 11:08 am
I just stumbled across your blog through a tag list, and this is a subject that has been of interest to me lately. While I think the majority of your ideas are great, the impetous of Lent is troublesome. The truth is that great ideas for living how God wants us to are on a solid enough foundation. They shouldn’t need to be propped up by a tradition that promotes excess on either side of the event. It’s similar to the Islamic practice of Ramadan, which allows the excesses before the sun comes up and after it goes down. Perhaps striving for biblical moderation throughout the year would be a better alternative.
Candace said,
February 21, 2007 @ 12:45 pm
Hi, I found yoursite via Flickr (you added me as a contact – Crafty Daisies) and thought I would say hello. It’s so cool you’re celebrating Lent. Our church (which is evangelical) observes this and this will be the first year I’m participating. I’m actually giving up spending anymore money other than what’s neccessary. I spend way too much money on silly things and we don’t even really have it to spare. I’ve been feeling really guilty about it lately, so that’s what I’ve decided to do.
Anyways, I just wanted to say hello and I will be checking out what Rob Bell has to say, too, about this tradition. Take care!
joy said,
February 21, 2007 @ 4:30 pm
Hi Megan! Great post! I have been exploring lent for a couple of years now and i always find that when it rolls around there is something else in my life i need a break from. This year it’s music. I think Lent is a great oportunity to make a sacrifice. Like fasting does. It just says i am willing to give this up to show YOu how much i love You. I don’t think it is necessary to choose something bad to give up for Lent. thisyear i want to make space. Like you, using the time you would spend watching TV doing other good things. i will use the time I would listening to my ipod to still my heart and my mind. Setting my mind on the things above.
I am also curious to see what Rob Bell has to say about Lent. Thanks again for your great posts! May the Lord bless your sacrifice this Lenten season. Peace to you and Dave.
tam said,
February 24, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Thanks for posting this. I found you through a google search on lent and nondenominational. I grew up Episcopalian and “did Lent” out of obligation. This year, I am taking a more earnest attempt at Lent, but find non-denominational resources on it lacking. Thank you for the Rob Bell link. You’d think I would’ve thought of that since he is from my neck of the woods!
I also appreciate your environmental ideas for lent. I hope all goes well with your television free Lenten journey.
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Andrea said,
January 28, 2008 @ 4:25 pm
I am seriously considering giving up TV for Lent 2008. I know I would get a lot more things done and be a more productive SAHM. I don’t know if I should also cut out TV for our 1 year old as well during lent. I think I probably will. And my husband is not on board with this plan as Lost premeries this week. So I’m unsure if when he is watching TV should I leave the room or as long as he is watching sports or something I’m uninterested in I can stay? I just realized that Lent starts Feburary 6th which is next week! A part of me feels like I’ll be missing out on something without tv. But that’s the problem, I’ve become to accustomed to just turning on the television all the time w/o a second thought.
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