Food for Thought

     Before Breakfast was even over I was reminded again how badly my children are in need of a detox from sweets. Lately they have a bad case of the "Give-me's. If they get dessert... they want seconds. One cookie never seems to be enough. "I want, I want, I want!" (I'm beginning to wonder if I sound to God like my children sound to me)."

     With the season of Lent approaching I've decided it is time for our whole family to make a sacrifice for the purpose of drawing closer to God. Okay, I've probably lost some of you with that last sentence. You may be wondering how giving up sweets (especially chocolate) can help us draw closer to God. I think (and hope) this can be accomplished in a few ways.

     I want my children to be more thankful for their blessings... in particular the healthy food we have an abundance of (as well as the occasional treats). We don't truly know the meaning of the word "hungry" (though we tend to use it on a daily basis)... a little self sacrifice can go a long way if we do it meaningfully. I would never even begin to compare Christ's Sacrifice on the cross with giving up sweets for 40 days but I pray that through the process we will become more aware of how blessed we are and how thoroughly God provides for our daily needs. I also pray that we would begin to show more gratitude and thankfulness to God for his many blessings as well as to others who bless us with their time and thoughtfulness.

     I do want this to be a meaningful process so one other thing I would like to add is some different prayers at meal times. I plan to teach my kids a few more "standard" prayers but mostly I hope to expand on our spontaneous prayers at the dinner table. We often default to the same prayer and I know it can lose meaning when it just becomes habit. My oldest sometimes gets upset when we don't default to our usual prayer for saying grace. I think this will be a good opportunity to build on this special time of saying Thank You to God... as well as adding to this important family time together.

     Ash Wednesday is the beginning of the season of Lent and this year it falls on February 22nd. I've given up a few different things for Lent in the past but this is my first attempt at involving my whole family in the process. I am looking forward to 40 days of preparation and reflection as we look forward to celebrating Christ's Resurrection and all He accomplished for us on Easter Sunday.