Lent...

Lent has never been a very big deal to us. I don't remember our previous churches putting much emphasis on it all.

But this year at NCC we are encouraging everyone to do 40 days of fasting and prayer which kicked off on Ash Wednesday.

Chris and I had fun negotiating what we would fast and when. ;-)

We decided on one item for the entire 40 days and then each week, we would fast something in addition to that. For the entire 40 days we are fasting sweets...it might not seem like much, but for people who eat ice cream on an almost nightly basis, it's a pretty big deal. And, I had just discovered Joe Joe's...Trader Joe's version of sandwich cookies...man, are they good. I had to bequeath my box to one of my friends since I can't tempt myself by having the box in my office!

This week (from Feb 6-12) we are also fasting beverages (everything other than water)...which means no coffee. I think I'm almost to the point where I might kill someone just to steal their cup of coffee. But I'm confident I can make it a couple more days...looking forward to Wednesday morning when I can enjoy a nice, yummy cup of coffee.

In addition, to beverages, we are also fasting 24 for this week. For those of you who don't know, Chris and I are totally addicted to the show 24. We started watching it on Netflix and have now watched 5 out of the 6 seasons and own all 6 seasons on DVD. And because of the high intensity of the show, it's very hard just to watch one episode...so it's not unusual for us to watch 3 or 4 episodes in an evening. So no need to explain the reason to fast this...it takes up a huge amount of our time.

In addition to fasting, we have all been trying to add something to our daily routine. So, it's not just taking something away, but adding something that helps refocus on God. I have to admit that up until today, I haven't really added anything. But when I came downstairs this morning, there was a copy of the devotional, Seek God for the City, 2008. This is a devotional especially for the 40 days of Lent and has a different focus for each day. So, today I started with Wednesday's devotional (those of you who know me, know that I can't just start in the middle...I'll have to catch up). It was a nice way to start the day. And I spent a few minutes in prayer for my friends! Looking forward to what's next!