Impromtu Update Post

I had planned to post a recap of our weekend today - complete with lots of cute pictures of my family and my friend's cute little 8-month old that we babysat overnight on Saturday.

But...apparently my phone and my computer had a fight.

My pictures won't upload from my phone and my computer photo program is giving me some sort of error message. And after trying to re-start it, fix it and curse at the screen, nothing seems to be working, so instead, I'm going to "walk away" from the photos and post about something else.

Let's see...

Maybe an update post will work instead.

I've been keeping up with the Lenten gratefulness experiment. Remember this post where I talked about how instead of giving something up for Lent, I was going to write down something I'm grateful for each day?

It's been a very enlightening experience. Some days, my thoughts are deep and focus around my children's health and my marriage and the "big" things that mean so much to me in my life.

Other days I write things like, "I'm so grateful for a clean kitchen table with nothing but a beautiful bouquet of flowers on it." Deep, I know.

But reading back through the list makes me very, very happy and grateful.

It makes me realize that life is comprised of some really amazing things - like "Christian girlfriends who support me and love me even when I don't feel like I deserve it" - and awesome, insignificant things like, "this amazing bottle of red wine tonight and how good it tasted with our greasy NY-style pizza."

It doesn't always have to be something monumental to make me smile. But reading through my list of things thus far definitely puts things into perspective when I'm having a rough day.

I'm glad that I have a daily reminder of this precious Lenten season.

And I'm eternally grateful for what Easter is, and how my heart is preparing for the most important Christian holiday of the year.

Okay, that's all I got for today.

Hopefully my computer and my phone will kiss and make up and I can post some pictures later this week. Until then, have a great week everyone!

Lent

Growing up, our family didn't participate in the idea of "giving something up for Lent." I just assumed it was a Catholic thing and never gave it much thought.

But as I've gotten older and have come to gain a better understanding of the season of Lent, I think "giving up something" has a nice ring to it.

Not because I have all of these terrible habits and really need to give something up for 40 days. But rather, I want to prepare my heart for Easter; have a daily reminder of what is coming. So maybe I don't necessarily need to give something up for 40 days, but rather come up with a daily reminder of the importance of the Lenten season.

For me, Easter is the most important "holiday" of the year. It is the celebration of Christ's resurrection from the dead.

It is not the celebration of the newest flavor of Peeps, or a party for the Easter bunny, as many people seem to think (don't even get me started about the nationwide confusion over the true meaning of Christmas).

So, this year, instead of giving something up, I have been inspired by a favorite author/blogger of mine, and I will be participating in her "Gratitude Experiment."

Glennon Doyle Melton, author of the blog, "Momastery" is challenging people to grab a journal or notebook and before you lay your head down to rest for the next 40 nights, jot down three things you were grateful for that day.

You can read her entire blog post about it here.

I love this quote from her...

"I  have a relentless and heavy hunch that gratitude is THE KEY to peace. I’m not sure we need to change our circumstances, but I think we might need to change the way we SEE our circumstances." 

Ironically, this challenge ties in perfectly with my 2014 Goals in which I want to be more appreciative. I have a feeling this is really going to help me hone in on that goal.

Want to join me during this season of Lent?

I've got my journal and my pen...and lots of gratitude to share. 
 

I have a relentless and heavy hunch that gratitude is THE KEY to peace. I’m not sure we need to change our circumstances, but I think we might need to change the way we SEE our circumstances. - See more at: http://momastery.com/blog/2014/03/06/gratitude-experiment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Momastery+%28Momastery%29#sthash.lhRhm4Of.dpuf

I have a relentless and heavy hunch that gratitude is THE KEY to peace. I’m not sure we need to change our circumstances, but I think we might need to change the way we SEE our circumstances. - See more at: http://momastery.com/blog/2014/03/06/gratitude-experiment/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Momastery+%28Momastery%29#sthash.lhRhm4Of.dpuf