Lent Begins

Tonight Luke and I are going to our Church's Shrove Tuesday pancake supper. (I know- odd timing to most- the Western Church began Lent last week, and the Eastern Rite Orthodox began earlier this week with Clean Monday. Oh well.) Actually, we will be cooking a bit of the dinner too- Luke in the baby bjorn to watch and smile at all the people coming in and out of the kitchen.

This Lent, we are going vegetarian- the cheap, beans, rice, pb and jelly, bulk Costco cheese, 99c store special finds, type. (I have found that it can be easy to spend more money on vegetarian food) Nathan and I have not yet decided to do with the grocery savings, though there are more and more charities that need it.

I recently bulked up my pantry with lots of dried beans, grains, nuts, etc... and I am sure that the crockpot will be my best friend. When I come across good recipes I'll be posting them. I am also going to try and focus more on prayer and spiritual reading when Luke is napping, rather than putz around on the computer. Really, my overall goal is to draw nearer to Christ and be a better wife to Nathan and a better mother to Luke.

I usually approach Lent wrong-headed. Intellectually, I understand that Lent is not about giving up some kind of food or activity, but sometimes I let it devolve into that, seeing only what I can't do or can't have. It is about preparing to meet Christ at his resurrection- to die with him that we might also live with him, to partake (in some small way) in his suffering, to partake with Him in His glory. This year, I am going to try to focus on cultivating virtues, positive actions, rather than the things that are removed with Lent.

When I am done here, I am going to put up prayers and post the fruit of the spirit up around the house to remind myself where to focus my attention. It really amazes me how quickly I can lose focus.