Once again, I am writing from the land of papers and panic. Thus, the belatedness of my Lenten greetings. As you may or may not know, the Christian season of Lent began last Wednesday (aka: Ash Wednesday). Lent is a 40-day season of repentance in preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus at Easter.
Many Christians choose to observe Lent by taking on some kind of discipline (sort of like a Lenten resolution). These resolutions can generally be classified in one of two categories: giving something up or taking something on. My friend Rev. Katie Bishop used these themes to organize a little Lenten devotional booklet for young adults in our conference of the United Methodist Church. You can download the devotional here and read many great Lenten thoughts, including two entries from yours truly!
When I was making my own Lenten resolutions, I thought about Katie's themes of Giving Up and Taking On. So, here is what I am working on until Easter:
Giving Up: Spending that does not help me reach my goals. Last year, I did a total spending diet at Lent and only bought necessities. This year, I thought a little harder about why my habit of mindless spending is a bad thing, and I decided that the main reason is the way it keeps me from doing things I really want to do. In the next year, I really want to do some travelling, pay down debt, and get all the equipment I need for my triathlon. So, for the remainder of Lent, I am only spending money on necessities (very narrowly defined) and things related to those goals. So, no take-out, no downloading books on the Kindle (except the free ones), no clothes, no miscellaneous Target impulse purchases. The one exception I'm making is for eating out with friends, because seeing my friends more is another goal of mine.
Taking On: I have two resolutions in this category-
First, I am committing to put more time into my schoolwork. I have an obscene amount of work due by the end of April, and I am also taking my counseling licensure exam (ack!) April 16th. You would not know these things by the amount that I have been studying. I need to do better so that I can complete the work to anything near my standards and so that I do not spend all of April in a state of panic.
Second, I am taking my Weight Watchers to the next level. Last week, I weighed in at 148.5, which means I have lost 10 pounds since November! Hooray! In order to keep going, I know I need to kick things up a notch. My gym has been helping in this endeavor. Since the beginning of February, they have been running a contest called "The Biggest Mover." Every time you take 5 group exercise classes in a week, you fill out a little card and get entered into a drawing. There is a winner every week and there will be an overall winner who earns the most points throughout the contest (it lasts 12 weeks). Now, I always take a lot of group exercise classes, but I can't say that I was always taking 5/week before this contest started. For 5 out of the last 6 weeks, though, I have made my 5. (I'm a sucker for prizes.) I am definitely seeing the results of those classes on the scale. Even better, I got a call from the gym earlier today and I won this week's prize!
Well, in the interest of Lent, I need to go pick up my prize, take another group exercise class, and then resume studying. (Without spending money, of course.)
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