Dive

I'm diving in, I'm going deep, in over my head I want to be. Caught in the rush, lost in the flow, in over my head I want to go. The river's deep, the river's wide,

The river's water is alive. So sink or swim, I'm diving in.
 ~Dive, Steven Curtis Chapman

Lent begins today. I decided to give up a few different things-- certain dietary decisions, appearance related, spiritual health, restoring creation, etc. I'm going pretty "extreme" this year. In the past I've given up chocolate, or junk food, or soda. All really good resolutions in their own right and for the time I was in at those points in my life. This year I wanted to do it differently though. I haven't been satisfied with how I've been spending my time, what I've been putting into my body, how I've treated myself and those around me.

Without going into great detail I'd like to share a little bit about why I chose each resolution, and what I hope to learn from it. So, without further ado, my lent plans:

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." 1 Corinthians 6:19-20. I need to respect my body more. Some of the junk I've been putting into it is just not good. I decided to begin watching what I eat, only allowing myself to eat certain foods. On the same note, I haven't been disciplining myself with working out. I haven't actually gotten to the gym very much at all this year.

I spend way to much time each day doing my make-up, hair, making sure I look okay, and just am too concerned with my appearance all together. Which is why I'm not allowed to wear make-up, put any styling products in my hair or straighten it. If I don't spend time on my appearance, I won't allow myself to worry about it throughout the day. So if you see me any time soon and think I look more hippie, it is because I don't need to waste time on how I look.

Restoring God's creation is a smaller part of Lent this year. I will recycle and take shorter showers because they are both easy, and I need to be a steward of the creation that God has entrusted me with.

Finally, the big part: Spiritual health. I haven't been that close with God lately, have been putting him on the backburner a bit. No good. I'm being more intentional about reading my Bible every morning, making sure I get to church, getting offline more and spending all my extra time with God.

This'll be interesting. It'll be hard. It's gonna be exciting. I cannot wait.