Sometimes on the blog I focus on faith, and since today is Ash Wednesday, if you needed any last-minute inspiration for Lenten sacrifices you plan on making, here’s a glance at what I’m doing.
Lent is an opportunity for growth. Through Lenten sacrifices, I’m able to grow closer to God, strengthen my Christian faith, and make improvements to myself that will help me become the best version of myself. Why, then, do I always struggle to decide what I will give up or take on for Lent? I always overthink what I am going to do because I want to do something meaningful that is still manageable. I want to do something that will impact my life after the 40 days end.
This Lenten season I’m doing multiple things. The first thing is actually allowing me to take something on while still giving things up. I’m going to slowly declutter my life. Our society puts so much focus on material items, and I have too many things in my little life.
Every day I’m going to take one little section of my bedroom, one drawer, one shelf, etc., and go through that one section, so that I am left with less mess and more visual peace. This practice also gives me the opportunity to give away and donate things I no longer need. For example, I don’t need 20 t-shirts in a drawer when I don’t wear all of them, so I could donate a few to someone who might not have access to clothes without the generous donations of others.
Another thing I’m going to try to work on this Lenten season is following daily routines that I set for myself. I have awesome daily routines posted on my wall, yet I don’t always follow them. I’m not off to the best start this Lenten season because I was sick today, so I didn’t quite follow all of these routines, but I think God will understand. Some of the things that allow me to grow spiritually in these daily routines include journaling, reading devotionals, reading the Bible, and intentional prayer. These daily routines also include self-care, exercise, and eating healthy foods that will nourish and fuel my body. I hope that following these routines during Lent will help me to focus on them more and accomplish making these habits part of my daily life.
The last thing I’m going to do this Lenten season is push myself to live with purpose and intent. I often find myself going through the motions, but I want to live out God’s plan and purpose. I want to leave a legacy. Also, this Lenten season I’m going to work this blog and ministry that I’ve started. I’d like to dedicate a little more time and energy into growing a platform so that I can impact more people. I have incredible ideas for service projects that I should try work on and develop, and Lent is the perfect time to get started. There is a lot I can work on this Lenten season, and I’m excited for the spiritual journey I will take over the next 40 days.
This blog post is going up on Wednesday, not only because it’s Ash Wednesday, but also because my life has been a little chaotic recently. Check back in on Sunday for a blog post on impact. I promise that I will post a blog post on kindness soon – I know I’ve been putting it off for a few weeks now. When I finally do post my thoughts on kindness, hopefully there will be some exciting updates over on the Kindness Crew.
Just Julia Reese 