Lent 2014 - A little different this year

I didn't come up with anything to give up this year.  Instead, I'm adding some behaviors to help me become more the person I wish to be.  There are three things I'm attempting.

40 Bags In 40 Days: 

 

Simply fill a bag a day during Lent with the stuff you don't need anymore and donate it to a charity or to someone who DOES need what you have.  http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/40-bags-in-40-days-2014/ to find out more!

40 ways of keeping a Holy Lent (posted by a local church - neat idea!):

Day 1: Hug someone
Day 2: Walk, carpool, bike or ride the bus
Day 3: Don’t turn on the car radio and listen to the birds
Day 4: Give $20 to a local non-profit of your choosing
Day 5: Pray the Paper / people and situations in today’s news
Day 6: Change one light in your house to a compact florescent
Day 7: Give 5 items of clothing to Goodwill
Day 8: Give up complaining for a day
Day 9: Do someone else’s chore
Day 10: Thank someone
Day 11: Call an old friend
Day 12: Look out the window until you find something of beauty you had not noticed before
Day 13: Read Psalm 139
Day 14: Pay a few sincere compliments
Day 15: Let someone know you’ve missed them
Day 16: Educate yourself about Grace Mission or My Brother’s Keeper
Day 17: Think about what you might give someone
Day 18: Call or visit someone you miss
Day 19: Forgive someone
Day 20: Read morning or evening prayer
Day 21: Ask for help
Day 22: Tell someone what you are grateful for
Day 23: Introduce yourself to a neighbor
Day 24: Read Psalm 121
Day 25: Bake bread
Day 26: Light a candle
Day 27: Pray for your enemy
Day 28: Donate art supplies to your local elementary school
Day 29: Write a thank you note to your favorite teacher
Day 30: Plant a flower or some herbs
Day 31: Spend 5 minutes in silence at noon
Day 32: No shopping day
Day 33: Bring someone with you to church
Day 34: No sugar day – where else is the sweetness in your life?
Day 35: Invite someone to dinner
Day 36: Pray for peace
Day 37: Educate yourself about a saint
Day 38: Buy a few $5 fast food gift cards to give to homeless people
Day 39: Remember the best of days
Day 40: Think of ways of keeping a blessed Easter season.

 

100 Happy Days:

The idea is to take a picture of what makes you happy for each of 100 days and post it on Facebook or the social media of your choice.  Or your blog.  Just put it out there.  Apparently 71% of the people who try this fail.  Me?  I think of myself as a pretty happy person and I'm putting my money (or camera) where my mouth is.  Want to try it?  Go to http://100happydays.com/ and register.


All good challenges.  Even if you do some but not all of it, I think the attention to your life and the improvement in your attitude would be worth it.