I feel like back in the day only people who practiced Catholicism "gave up" something for lent. Now I am finding that more & more non-denominational Christians are giving up things for lent as well. I think it is a healthy practice not only to give something up but also to add a behavior or act that would benefit your life as well. I have heard of people adding positive things like: a random act of kindness everyday, eating dinner as a family at the dinner table, working out regularly, or even something as simply as praying more. I believe that the practice of giving something up and adding something positive are great practices during this time of lent.

In light of that, I have decided to give up a behavior, give up an item, & add something as well. I am hoping that these 40 days will start healthier habits for my life & in some way positively impact others. So what are the three things you ask? Well I'll tell ya! :)

The behavior I am giving up is cussing. This is probably not a good thing to admit that I do considering my husband & I work with our youth group on a regular basis. So...let me explain. I do NOT cuss in front of students. Cussing is not something that I do in a normal conversation. Typically it slips out when I am with family, or am really mad in front of close friends. I in no way encourage it. Which is why I want to work on giving it up. It is not something that I want our students to think is acceptable or okay.

The item that I am giving up is sweets. I normally am not drawn to eating sweets. I would much rather have chips or something salty, but here lately I have had my fair share of cookies, chocolate, & other delicious sugary things. This is going to be difficult to give up because the week before Easter Nathan & I are going on vacation and we all know that typically when you go on vacation, all bets are off on diets. So we will see how the no sweets thing goes!

Lastly, the behavior that I am going to add during the 40 days of lent is working out [at least] 5 days a week. I have started this already this week & so far so good. I joined my local gym on Sunday & have been attending a 5:15 a.m. (lasts for about 45-50 minutes) workout class for the last 3 days. Now let me clarify...this is just any 5 days of the week. That means if I miss the 5:15 a.m. class, then I can still hit up another class at a later time in the day. I am very excited for this! I am thinking between the no sweets & working out 5 times a week for at least 45 minutes I will really start to see results!

What are you giving up for lent? 

What do you think you might add for lent?