lent for the protestant

last year for lent i gave up the internet for anytime other than micah's second nap. it had become too much of an obsession....something i thought about all day long.... checking my email, reading blogs, posting about my runs, shopping, etc. lent was about getting it under control because i saw that it was controlling me....not jesus. could i really have gotten to a place where my email was more important? sadly, yes.

john had a great metaphor about lent as a discipline in his sermon two weeks ago.....he compared it to spring training for baseball. lent is the historic time of repentance and preparation for easter. it is a time of change and of focus on spiritual growth. lent is the spring training of a the christian life. it is not that players don't train & practice all year long, but spring training is the time of intense preparation for the season that is about to begin. we long to grow all year round as christains, but lent is the time to focus specifically for that growth.

in light of that, i am giving up candy....and hot chocolate. it seems to posses me as of late. whether it be twizzlers, red vines, sweet tarts, or that cup of hot chocolate during nap time. which i have been considering a little piece of heaven. it is not that these things are bad; it is that they are bad for me right now. i do not have the ability to demonstrate self-control or restraint. it appears that it has moved from a humorous anecdote to something i really can't control. it is that deeper issue that i am concerned about. when both boys are crying, i want twizzlers....when they are finally asleep, i look to the hot chocolate as my sweet release. i realize that all of these things have become a small jesus in my life. they can't satisfy or comfort, but i think that they can..... so i pray that jesus gets bigger!