Lent

I was baptized and raised in the catholic religion. As I get older I have come to realize that what I hold as more important than classifying myself as a Catholic, is the fact that I am a Christian. Catholicism while it has its bad points (doesn't every organized religion?) also has it's traditions that I will always hold dear to my heart.

 This is the tattoo that I have on my wrist.

…when a Christian met a stranger in the road, the Christian sometimes drew one arc of the simple fish outline in the dirt. If the stranger drew the other arc, both believers knew they were in good company. The symbol is still used today to show that the bearer is a practicing Christian.

—Christianity Today, Elesha Coffman

Lent is the period of time that we have in preparation for Easter. Unfortunately most people only know it as a time period where you give something up. If you do a little bit of digging, giving something up is the most basic thing about lent and usually it is how we teach children about Jesus resisting temptation during his time in the desert.  In Layman's terms (wikipedia) here is the story of The Temptation of Christ.

A few years ago I decided that along with giving something up, I was also going to make an effort to add something to my life which would force me to reflect on my day. So started my habit of saying my prayers each night. It may seem trivial but I literally am not able to fall asleep without saying my prayers and it gives me time at the end of every day to reflect on what I'm thankful for and pray for people that I know are in a time of need.

This year for lent I'm making a conscious effort to do the readings before I go to church. This is much like before the first Penn State game or Steelers game of the season, I like to look up information about their starters. It makes me feel more prepared for and knowledgeable about the game and what is unfolding. There is also a book that I've been meaning to read but keep putting it off, it's called Crazy Love.  Hopefully adding these things to my weekly routine will give me a little more time to reflect, be quiet, and really focus on what is important in my life right now.

Source : Good Reads