Catholic Alert. Lent begins in 1 week!
Lent is one of our favorite times; yes you can call us crazy!
Advent like lent should always be in our hearts, not just one season of the year. But being human we need to celebrate these things once in a while to bring us back to the points. Example Valentine’s Day. My husband treats me like its Valentines day nearly every day, but it was really nice to be able to firmly celebrate that day, have a nice meal together and take time to recommit ourselves.
Lent, the 40 days fast preceding Easter is a time for all to do what we like to call, Heart housecleaning. Hopefully it happens all year, but again, so grateful that there is a special time set aside to really remind us of this.
Every year we find ourselves getting a little more creative. Last year was by far our best Lenten observance yet, so this year might be in for some competition!
Last years goal was to focus less on the fasting and more on the increasing of our prayer life. From this naturally sprung a deeper desire to fast from unneeded things and to offer them to God with a grateful heart.
We will continue on those same lines this year but with an additional twist that matches the economic crisis we all find ourselves in.
We want to commit and to CHALLENGE you dear friend to a “Living Light for Lent” challenge.
What does this mean? Well there is some homework involved.
1-Living perfectly according to your budget. – YES you need to create one if it doesn’t exist!
2- Offering up each small financial sacrifice you make, (when you have a want, reflect if it’s a need, if its not, let it go) for one of the following intentions:
-The protection of every country from terrorist plots- I think its time to pull out some serious prayer.
-A peaceful end to the horrors of abortion.
-For those struggling with infertility – this is very close to our hearts and we storm heaven everyday for those family and friends trying to conceive, its one of the most painful sufferings.
So who is going to take up the challenge? I know we will probably get like 0 or 1 or 2 responses only but hey it’s worth a try. Comment even if you are a stranger.
RULES OF THE CHALLENGE
-You must have a working budget.
-Read Phil Lenehan’s guide to family Finance, or but the Economides book on America’s Cheapest Family. They help you make a budget as well.
-Have fun, being frugal for the sake of virtue and not just for the sake of being frugal, will actually be a heck of a lot of fun.
-You must comment back on your little frugal tips and successes
You have 1 week to prepare by reading on of the books. Start even if you haven’t fully read the books, just get that budget done!
Finally remember, Avoid debt, live below your means and become a thrifty shopper. Budgeting and being frugal isn’t for the poor and struggling, it’s for everyone. If you have enough money to go around, great, all the more is required to use it wisely. Also keep the big picture in mind, if you save a buck but spend hours of wasted time doing it, it wasn’t worth it. Time is a value, relationships a value, and proper use of money a value, pray for prudence to know what takes precedence in situations.
Weekly we’ll be posting our successes and failures as well as including little stories.
Lent is one of our favorite times; yes you can call us crazy!
Advent like lent should always be in our hearts, not just one season of the year. But being human we need to celebrate these things once in a while to bring us back to the points. Example Valentine’s Day. My husband treats me like its Valentines day nearly every day, but it was really nice to be able to firmly celebrate that day, have a nice meal together and take time to recommit ourselves.
Lent, the 40 days fast preceding Easter is a time for all to do what we like to call, Heart housecleaning. Hopefully it happens all year, but again, so grateful that there is a special time set aside to really remind us of this.
Every year we find ourselves getting a little more creative. Last year was by far our best Lenten observance yet, so this year might be in for some competition!
Last years goal was to focus less on the fasting and more on the increasing of our prayer life. From this naturally sprung a deeper desire to fast from unneeded things and to offer them to God with a grateful heart.
We will continue on those same lines this year but with an additional twist that matches the economic crisis we all find ourselves in.
We want to commit and to CHALLENGE you dear friend to a “Living Light for Lent” challenge.
What does this mean? Well there is some homework involved.
1-Living perfectly according to your budget. – YES you need to create one if it doesn’t exist!
2- Offering up each small financial sacrifice you make, (when you have a want, reflect if it’s a need, if its not, let it go) for one of the following intentions:
-The protection of every country from terrorist plots- I think its time to pull out some serious prayer.
-A peaceful end to the horrors of abortion.
-For those struggling with infertility – this is very close to our hearts and we storm heaven everyday for those family and friends trying to conceive, its one of the most painful sufferings.
So who is going to take up the challenge? I know we will probably get like 0 or 1 or 2 responses only but hey it’s worth a try. Comment even if you are a stranger.
RULES OF THE CHALLENGE
-You must have a working budget.
-Read Phil Lenehan’s guide to family Finance, or but the Economides book on America’s Cheapest Family. They help you make a budget as well.
-Have fun, being frugal for the sake of virtue and not just for the sake of being frugal, will actually be a heck of a lot of fun.
-You must comment back on your little frugal tips and successes
You have 1 week to prepare by reading on of the books. Start even if you haven’t fully read the books, just get that budget done!
Finally remember, Avoid debt, live below your means and become a thrifty shopper. Budgeting and being frugal isn’t for the poor and struggling, it’s for everyone. If you have enough money to go around, great, all the more is required to use it wisely. Also keep the big picture in mind, if you save a buck but spend hours of wasted time doing it, it wasn’t worth it. Time is a value, relationships a value, and proper use of money a value, pray for prudence to know what takes precedence in situations.
Weekly we’ll be posting our successes and failures as well as including little stories.
This little dude is proof that a little piece of fabric goes a long long way!
1 comment:
Sounds good to me! I'm also cutting out our TV time entirely. That will be a penance for us all! The boys love their PBS and videos... I think a little too much. I like the suggestions you have for what to offer it up for. that always makes the sacrifice a little easier to do for me. We sanguines love our shopping, so it will be a good sacrifice, and my frugal husband will be thrilled!
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