Give it up for Lent!

For centuries, Christians have been giving things up for the 40 days of Lent as a way of preparing for the good news of Easter.  Often the practice has been to sacrifice something that brings us pleasure (chocolate, wine, TV, dancing, etc.) in order to be more attentive to God.

But what if we looked at giving something up for Lent from a different angle?  What if instead of giving up something that brings us pleasure, we give up something that gets in our way?  What if we give up something that reduces our ability to live whole-heartedly?

During Lent 2018, we invited everyone to give up something that blocks your ability to live abundantly as God intends for us.  For some people, it was one thing for the whole 40 days.  For others, it was one thing a week for each of the 6 weeks or one thing a day or any combination.

What if instead of leaving us feeling deprived, our Lenten practice became an invitation to new experiences, new self-understanding and a renewed relationship with God and others?

Julie and Beth took on various challenges and documented their progress through video blogs.  Check out our Lenten Video Series on Youtube.