Well ok not yet, but starting
Ash Wednesday, Lent will be in full effect and I'll be back at work so I'm posting this today on my day off for Mardi Gras. You guys I actually went to a parade this year … it was fun ….. the weather wasn't so great but the floats were fun ….
Now I don’t consider myself a wholly
religious person. Yes I go to church, yes I participate in various events (vacation
bible school, Easter egg hunts, anything really dealing with the kiddos etc.) but this is a practice I've really gotten into for the last several years cause it allows me to shift my focus from me to the world around me. What
is Lent you might be asking me . . . well not me cause I’m not there but likely
the person you are with... I'll answer since that person seems preoccupied to do so ….. rude....
Well according to dictionary.com it’s ….
According to Wikipedia it’s ….
Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian Calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six
weeks later, before Easter Sunday. The purpose of Lent is the
preparation of the believer for Easter through prayer, doing penance,
repentance of sins, almsgiving, and self-denial. In Lent, many Christians commit to fasting,
as well as giving up certain luxuries
in order to replicate the sacrifice of Jesus Christ's journey into the
desert for 40 days. Many Christians also add a Lenten spiritual
discipline, such as reading a daily devotional or praying through a Lenten
calendar, to draw themselves near to God.
However, Lent isn't only about
"giving up" things you could ADD prayer to your day, ADD reading the
bible, Add Meditation about what your spiritual journey means to you. I also
found this list of things you can "give up" that can have a positive
impact on your life and those around you …. enjoy.
Golden used to do a 40-acts Lent event ….. a British movement that uses the 40 days of Lent
to focus on the religious principle of giving to others from a Christian perspective. 40 days of giving back, doing good, and living generously.
Basically
it’s 40 random acts of kindness while expecting nothing
in return. That by the way is the very definition of a Golden but with extra
profanity and diet coke thrown in for flavor. I don’t know if Golden still does
the 40acts but I’m sure she does something similar if not. She’s the most
giving person that I know and I know like enough people to count them without
having to use my toes too.
As I have done the last few years, 2018, 2017,
I’m shutting down my social media for 40 days to regroup, live in the moment,
and step away from the negativity that social media has become. Granted it’s
not as “BAD” as it has been for me lately cause after my first year doing this,
I got rid of a good chunk of negativity on my feeds. As I have said before I’m
a huge believer in a block button, in the unfollow button and in the hide
button. I think sometimes people have views that don’t align with yours and
that’s ok but I don’t need to see it.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to shut down
views that don’t align with mine. However what most on social media users fail
to realize is that a CONVERSATION about different views is good, heck one of us might
even learn something from that conversation. ATTACKING one another for your
different views however is NOT. People are stupid brave behind a keyboard and
it’s insane. I’ll never understand it. You know what I do when I see a post I
don’t like, I keep scrolling. If it’s a post that’s just really unnecessarily
awful or attacking I might report them to Twitter and block said person, but I
don’t give it more thought than that. I especially block and report when I see
someone pretending to be someone else. That’s just wrong on so many levels. Don’t
try and contact me like you are Bryan White when I know the REAL Bryan White
and you aint him! Trust me I've been to the man's house, I've played with his boys, he's awesome people and that guy aint him. Just saying. That’s oddly specific but a thing that happens
more often than you’d guess. PS if the blue check aint there, it’s not him.
Same could be said for nearly every other “celebrity” on earth but back to the
task at hand.
This post is about Lent not the breakdown of social
media and ways to make it better. Maybe that’s a post for another day. For Lent
I have also decided to give up SODA in addition to Social Media this year. No I didn’t suddenly move North, let me explain. For those that know me …. Coke is my downfall. I LOVE a
good COLD Coca Cola, a fresh coke is like my crack cocaine, a Cherry Pepsi is my
meth. Last year I gave up Coke/Pepsi but allowed myself to drink “Sprite” so
I’d still have that carbonated drink in my life. However, this year …. SODA in
general is out. Nothing but water, sweet tea or juice for me for the next 40
days. Lord help the people I work with.
So I’ll see you guys on the other side, cause
as you know I get real involved with this blog when I can’t do much of anything
else during Lent. It’s not social media if you aren’t interacting with people so hit me up in the comments and let's use this forum as it was intended ….
Are you guys giving anything up or adding
anything to your life during this Lent season?!
Marcy (@beaslma)
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