February recap

Where did the month go? We visited family in the mountains and Piedmont, learned about ancient history, cleaned out stuff as part of the Great Lent Let-go, and played played played! Jamie and I did enjoy a night out at the yearly adult banquet at church. Free childcare!!

You can see a few February pics by clicking here.

The Great Lent Let-go continues

(If you missed the idea behind the
Great Lent let-go, click here.)

I had some great pics of the things I was letting go, but I gave away my iPod. (Just kidding, I left it at my mom's.) I began on Ash Wednesday by searching for something sinful to toss in the trash. This was difficult because I have already gone through movies and cds to purge things I wouldn't let my kids ever watch. I finally spotted some bootleg copies of cds I made to use in class when I taught high school. Some of them would be legal copies of cds I owned, but some were illegal because they were made by my students. Yes! Something illegal! I snapped a pic (take my word for it) and tossed them all in the trash. Even though I went out of town for an overnight trip, I managed to toss or donate at least one thing a day. Some of my other donations included a book to the church library (my daughter realized we had two of them), a book to a child in need, and some clothes. I went behind my children's backs and recycled a giant airplane box that has been hanging around my house since Caitlyn's VBS teacher let her take it home last summer.

My goal is to realize how much I focus on things of the earth and miss things that have eternal significance. I have come to see in the last week how much time I waste doing what amounts to nothing - using facebook, tv, or a book as an escape when I have little time to spend in prayer or Scripture. I am convicted that to be like Jesus I must intentionally take time in prayer alone for extended periods of time. I am not sure how to accomplish this unless I get up at 5:30 each morning, and that is unlikely to happen. But now that the conviction has been shared with you, perhaps I will be more accountable to follow through!

So how is it going with you guys? I know one of you is giving away ONE BAG of things a day. This blows my mind. One of you is wearing only clothes at least a year old to consider how we do not need to shop as much as we do. One of you is using the time to catch up on old unfinished projects. Many are like me and working to at least do one thing a day. We would all love for you to comment below on this or other ways God is working to change your heart!

Here's a cute printable of our key verse if you want to place it somewhere to remember to focus on heavenly treasures this Lenten season.

The Great Lent Let-go

(Or for my Jewish friends may I humbly suggest The Great "Passover Purge"? I love alliteration.)

This isn't some grand plan to get your house clean. If you want that, check out 31 Days to Clean or FlyLady. It is hopefully a simple focus away from possessions and onto God. Many people give up something for Lent, be it chocolate, Facebook, or Friday steaks. If that helps you focus on God, go for it.

But I'm suggesting something a little different this year. Each day of Lent (40 days or 6 weeks if you count Sundays) get rid of one thing in your house. It can be as simple of a piece of paper you throw in a recycle bin. It can be as complex as cleaning out your closet and giving the clothes to charity. But do one thing every day and make a conscious decision to focus on the spiritual rather than the physical. I think it will open our eyes to just how much we lay up treasures for ourselves on earth, and maybe we will decide to lay up some treasures in heaven!

Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The Rules (which can totally be broken):

1. It has to be your stuff. My husband fears I will start tossing his things out left and right.
2. Don't go overboard the first few days and burn yourself out.
3. If you put it into a box to take to Goodwill, you can't take it back out.
4. Post below in the comments section the things you toss, or post pics on your blog, Facebook/Google+ page, or Twitter and link back to this page. (Feel free to use my graphic below if you link it back to here.)

We begin tomorrow - Ash Wednesday. Who is in??