An aside from the "30 Great Details"

Sooooooo

Next week is Lent. I've grown up a Lutheran and really enjoy my faith. Most people who aren't Lutheran tend not to realize that Lutherans observe Lent as well as Catholics (which usually everyone associates with observing Lent). Anyhoo, I usually tend to give up something meaningful for Lent or at the very least add on one good behavior. Lent itself lasts 40 days so just about the right amount of time to form a great new habit. The "suffering" gets you in a more somber frame of mind to truly appreciate the celebration of Easter and you improve yourself for the better to boot.

There was the year I got really deep and gave up all potato products. (Don't laugh, as a German-American it's literally in my blood to have potatoes at every meal. Which I was doing, and having potato based snacks on the side.) That was also the year that I decided and announced to my church group what I was giving up before realizing that I'd be in Germany over Spring Break, ie. during the middle of Lent. That particular trip was an interesting one, but I am proud to say that I did not eat a single potato product in those 40 days despite the numerous opportunities that presented themselves. I also lost something like 10 lbs. Win-win. That was a tough year.

There have been years where I swore off the internet for 40 days, even opting to do things like research papers "old school" style using actual libraries. Funny enough those semester grades were always a bit higher than others.

I'm not in any great position this year to give up food groups due to the pregnancy. I'm also doing my master's degree online, so the days of giving up the internet are pretty much out. I suppose that I could cut out social networking sites (really, just Facebook is all that I peruse if you don't count things like Blogger or LJ). The difficulty there is that I'm so isolated here in KY. I don't have many/any friends and the social sites are my only link to "back home" where I do have substantial numbers of people who're still trying to keep up with the goings on of my life. To shut them down to access to me and vice versa for 40 days would probably affect my sanity too negatively.

I have found a way to prepare my heart for the resurrection of Jesus though! A pastor I had in college and who I still keep up with is doing at 40 Day Challenge with her current congregation and I've decided that I'll be following along and posting in here. I've already made a page (up near the top of this blog) with the 40 days of topics listed out and ready to go. They've got dates next to them so it'll be an exercise in staying current for me to stay on top of all the topics.

To view the topics as a whole, either click the link at the top or click right here.