Lent

Though I'm not Catholic, I've attempted to honor Lent most years. In High School I dutifully gave up chocolate every single Lent. And by the end of the first week I invariably forgot all about my resolution and caught myself eating a Kit Kat at break or a cookie at lunch. Oops. Then I would feel horrible shame and remorse and get down on myself and abandon the whole deal and stuff myself full of the chocolate. This pattern repeated every Lent (with the possible exception of my FB fast one year) every year until last year. I finally decided that honoring the spirit of mourning and suffering temptation just wasn't the way to celebrate my Lord if it meant that ultimately I'd wind up hating myself and distancing myself from Him because I was 'too weak.' So I've changed up my meaning of Lent just a little. I now use the time to add something healthy to my routine so that I can celebrate the life He gave me and renew my focus on Him. Not only do I try to increase the amount of time I spend in His word, this year I am attempting to adopt a fitness related change. The goal is to take up running. However, I have notoriously bad knees/ankle/hip so this will only work if I can a) find some amazing shoes and b) take it slowly enough not to injure myself from the get-go. And I'll probably die on the way to my first mile I'm so out of shape. But something inside of me craves a run now and then and I'm in desperate need of some cardio - so here goes. I hope to get out to get my shoes by sometime next week and in the meantime I'm attempting to add another Turbokick class to my week. Wish me luck and please feel free to leave any running tips you might have - I'm a total newbie and know nothing at all. Happy Lent to you all!!