Season of Lent, 2018: Ash Wednesday

Last year, I abstained from social media for Lent.  It was a great experience and it helped me to change my outlook on my phone.  I no longer have notifications on for any social media, and that has really helped me to limit my time on social media throughout the year. Jesus spent 40 days in the darkness, and that was my what I also experienced last year, being "in the dark" about the things happening on social media.  

Focuses for Lent 2018

This year, I have many things I am planning on working on during this season.  I'll list them to make it a bit easier to read.  Feel free to steal some of my ideas if you feel called to do one of them!  

Fasting

• Traditional: no meat on Ash Wednesday or Fridays throughout Lent
• No eating after dinner - Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights.  I love to sit around and snack in the evenings, and it is going to be really hard for me to cut this out.  In this way, I'll be able to experience a bit of what Jesus did in the desert.
• No more hitting snooze in the mornings.  Instead, I will get up and spend more time praying and reading from the Bible.  
• No more complaining, foul language, or "road rage."  I get frustrated about things and I get negative, and I know that is not in the likeness of God.  
• No more than 30 minutes scrolling on social media in a day (for similar purposes as my social media fast last year). 

Prayer

• List of people to pray for, add to it every day and keep it throughout Lent.  This needs to include those who have made me mad during the day, strangers, and people I wouldn't usually think to pray for.  I will also set up a Facebook page for prayer requests. 
• Journal and work through a specific devotional plan. 
• Take prayer notes from church and the news. 

Adding/Giving

• 40 service hours (hopefully this will actually work!)
• Bible study at the church
• Listen to KLOVE, Christian podcasts, and music while commuting to and from school.
• Pray before meals - even in public.
• Share positive stories on social media and in my blog - lift the community up, not tear it down.
• Spend 10 minutes a day outside.
• Get up by 8:30 daily (see "no more hitting snooze" above).
• Give money to the church offering at least 4 times.
• Write 40 letters/notes of gratitude and thanks to people. 
• Speak openly about Jesus and my faith.
• Find a specific local charity to donate at least $1/day to (about $40).
• Write down every day's "Verse of the day" from the Bible app.
• Also do the photo challenge on Instagram. 

The Ash Wednesday service I attended tonight was a perfect way to start off this season for me.  The ashes we use symbolize our beginning, our sins, our mortality, and how God is there with us through it all.  From ashes we come, and to them we will return.  But - He makes beautiful things out of the dust and out of us.  I'm excited to see how and where God uses me in this season.  

[PLEASE, if you are doing something to celebrate and observe the time of Lent, please have it Christ-focused.  Lent is not a time to fast for a diet or to give up sweets just for fun.]