Lent...

I have been a Christian for 30ish years, have been in church most of my life, attended a Christian college and was married to a pastor for 10 years, however, I do not intend to sound like a biblical scholar as I write this post, nor do I really think I could even fake sounding like one. Anyhow, people around me have been talking a lot about lent over the past few weeks. I have spoken about it a great deal with one of my close friends who happens to lead a Bible study with a group of ladies that primarily happen to be Catholic. I have always felt like Lent was a "Catholic Thing" and because I am not Catholic, it didn't really apply to me. Well, what I do know is that Lent is the 40(ish) days before Easter and that it is a period of time that is specifically set aside to prepare us to remember Christ's death on the cross and his resurrection that followed. Well, if I am a Christian (and I am) why wouldn't this apply to me. Christ's death and resurrection are foundational to my faith.

So this year, I have heard people talking about what they will be giving up for Lent. I had a client yesterday use the word "sacrifice" as she spoke about what she was abstaining from during this time. Sacrifice is really a key word as I consider Lent and the decisions I am making in order to make this season different than the days that proceeded it. Since Christ sacrificed HIS LIFE, doesn't it make since that I would sacrifice something of significance that will hopefully remind me (if even to some degree) of the sacrifice he made and the understanding that the sacrifice was not an easy one. We often forget that even though Christ was fully God, he was also fully man. He had choices every day, just like we do...and yet he made the choices that give us life and hope and grace and so much more.

So when I awoke yesterday, still not knowing what sacrifice I was going to make, I asked myself the question, "what do I not want to give up?" And in that moment, I feel like God was suggesting that I give up facebook. Yes, you can laugh now. Facebook. How can giving up facebook be a sacrifice and how can that sacrifice cause me to move closer to God? I spend a lot of meaningless time perusing facebook...status updates, friends' pictures, etc. I walk past our office and feel the urge to jump on facebook (if even for just a minute which usually turns to 2 or 3 or 4 or 5). That is the time, those are the urges, that I desire to turn over to God. In those moments when I "just want to check in really quick", I will pray or think about Christ's sacrifice. During that time, which I spend looking through facebook while David is working on the computer beside me or when I think I have nothing better to do, I will read or pray or reflect.

So, this is my small sacrifice that I am making in the hopes that over the next 40ish days, I will be more in tune with the depth of the sacrifice Christ made for me.

Happy Birthday David!

Happy 35th Birthday to David Allan Smith ~ 15 1/2 years you walked into my life and I am forever grateful that I have the privilege of being your wife. You are such a blessing in my life. I treasure seeing you grow as a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a friend, a counselor, a teacher, and as a man. You provide me safety, joy, laughter, wisdom, compassion and you truly help me to become more of who God has created me to be. Thank you!

Snow Days

So, I love snow days and it is not because of getting to play out in the snow. In fact, being cold makes me a bit cranky. However, I love the thought of being trapped inside our house. It seems that on those days, there is some sort of permission given to stay in your pj's all day long and do nothing productive outside of just enjoying the company of the people with whom you are trapped. That is exactly what we have gotten to do a few times recently at the Smith house and I really do love it. To that, I say, "bring on more snow".