As I usually state prior to an overtly faith-spoken post, I acknowledge and respect that not all who read share in my belief. I wish to maintain my convictions without any attempt to force them on others. That said, I invite you to share in my journey if you will. Please know that I welcome your input and thoughts even if they are different from my own.
We are entering the season of Lent on the Christian calendar which is 40 days of preparation before the celebration of Easter. For me this is a time of giving and pursuing in a more intentional way; a time where I open myself to deeper knowing. Its a time where I both offer and ask.

I avoid tradition for the sake of tradition (if that makes sense) yet I truly believe that, as within all of life, my faith also has ‘seasons’. There are times of rejoicing, of hearing, of questioning, of seeking, of following, and even times of…silence. I think that naturally after the seasons of Advent and Epiphany there comes this time of quiet and longing…for more. These next days of Lent are a time of saying, “here I am, listening, teach me.”. And so, over the last few days, I have listened and waited to know what I could give in order to pursue. I didn’t know what it would be until this morning, Ash Wednesday, when I found that the glimpses came together.

In many ways, I see this time as intensely personal, between myself and Him. That is why I am choosing to leave my lent unspoken for the time being but I wonder, do you take part in Lent? Why or why not? How do you view Lent and how do you choose what give up? Do you see it as a valuable practice that has impacted you?
**I really appreciated the perspective of the link above and would have copied it on here but it specifically requests that no copying be done, but it is worth the click!

Edit:

My friend Dea expressed some thoughts on Lent at Our Journey Home that I really appreciated. She gives a simple explanation of what Lent is as well as thoughts on how to participate in it as a family.