Lent

Lent is coming up and it has me thinking. Although I know what Lent is, I really didn't know all the "rules". Growing up, we did not eat meat on Fridays during Lent but that's all I remember about it. We stopped going to church when I was in the 6th grade. Now that I'm an adult and going to church regularly, I really want to try to observe Lent as I should. Last year I learned a few things and I abstained from meat on Fridays but I didn't fast. I really didn't know what that meant last year. The minimum the Catholic Church expects is fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and abstinence on the Fridays of Lent. Ash Wednesday is next week so I really have to mentally prepare for this.

I know most people try to give up something for Lent. This sounds horrible, but I'm really having a hard time coming up with something. I feel it needs to be something difficult. I've thought about computer time but I use the computer for other things besides entertainment...like paying bills, etc. I would like to give up washing dishes, does that count? LOL. Seriously though, at the top of my list is t.v. but I'm really having a hard time giving that up. I guess it's supposed to be hard or I wouldn't really be making a sacrifice. Decisions, decisions, at least I have one more week to figure it out.

Some people make additions during Lent and I really like this idea. Being Catholic, I would say that I'm a bit Bible challenged. We always had a Bible in the house but it was never a habit to read from it each night. I'm a little bit ashamed to admit that I haven't gotten much better. Being part of the MOMS sharing group at church has helped a little. If the book we are currently reading references a particular passage, I will go and look it up. I also listen to Spirit FM in the morning and they have a scripture reading each day. Anyway, for Lent I'm going to make the addition of reading scripture every day/or night. I've already signed up for an online course called "The Story In The Bible" There was a little blurb in our church bulletin about it and since it is Free for all St. Stephen's parishioners, I had nothing to loose.

Changing the subject now, we took the top bunk off the bunk beds this morning to prevent Joshua from climbing up there. Shawn was a little distraught about the whole thing. He doesn't do well with change. I bought him the biggest night light I could find and he seemed pretty happy about that. Tonight is the first night in about a year that he's sleeping with the light off. This should help save on our electricity bill, lol. With both beds on the floor, there is not much room left. We need a serious storage overhaul. The only space left is against the wall by the foot of Shawn's bed. Right now there is a small computer cart but we are going to have to replace it because we really need the space right there. Here's my idea of what to replace it with: this shelving unit from the Container Store That way we can use the vertical space for extra toy storage and still have a place for the computer and we can also utilize the space underneath. I'm not sure how long it will be before we move Joshua into the room with Shawn but that is my goal. I really like the idea of having their toys separated into different bins that they can't reach, lol. That way, they have to clean up all the toys before I'll bring down another bin. Don is trying to find a cheaper way to do with the same results so we'll see if we actually end up with that unit or not.