{"id":5976,"date":"2014-03-05T07:00:52","date_gmt":"2014-03-05T12:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=5976"},"modified":"2014-03-03T19:18:17","modified_gmt":"2014-03-04T00:18:17","slug":"what-will-you-give-up-for-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/03\/what-will-you-give-up-for-lent.html","title":{"rendered":"What Will You Give Up for Lent?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-2235 alignleft\" alt=\"425877_cross\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/258\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" \/><\/a>Today is Ash Wednesday.\u00a0 It is the beginning of the 40 days of preparation (Lent) that leads to the celebration of Chris\u2019s death (Good Friday), burial and resurrection (Easter).<\/p>\n<p>On this day, we focus on our sins, repentance and God\u2019s forgiveness and grace. It is a reminder of the price our Lord paid to free us from the grip of sin.<\/p>\n<p>So today, as we think about the seriousness of the cross and what it means, examine your heart in the area of relationships. Take a few moments to engage in quiet contemplation. What might you give up for lent?<\/p>\n<p>This year I am giving up all sweets. But in years past, I have given up all kinds of different things. One year, it was worry, another it was anger at someone who had hurt me.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor Phil of the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd in Old Bridge, New Jersey posted a list of 20 things you could give up for lent. He also suggested you give these up for life, not just lent.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/gs4nj.org\/20-things-to-give-up-for-lent\/\" target=\"_blank\">Here is his list and the link to his blog<\/a>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Guilt \u2013 I am loved by Jesus and he has forgiven my sins. Today is a new day and the past is behind.<\/li>\n<li>Fear \u2013 God is on my side. In him I am more than a conqueror. (see Romans 8)<\/li>\n<li>The need to please everyone \u2013 I can\u2019t please everyone anyways. There is only one I need to strive to please.<\/li>\n<li>Envy \u2013 I am blessed. My value is not found in my possessions, but in my relationship with my Heavenly Father.<\/li>\n<li>Impatience \u2013 God\u2019s timing is the perfect timing.<\/li>\n<li>Sense of entitlement \u2013 The world does not owe me anything. God does not owe me anything. I live in humility and grace.<\/li>\n<li>Bitterness and Resentment \u2013 The only person I am hurting by holding on to these is myself.<\/li>\n<li>Blame \u2013 I am not going to pass the buck. I will take responsibility for my actions.<\/li>\n<li>Gossip and Negativity \u2013 I will put the best construction on everything when it comes to other people. I will also minimize my contact with people who are negative and toxic bringing other people down.<\/li>\n<li>Comparison \u2013 I have my own unique contribution to make and there is no one else like me.<\/li>\n<li>Fear of failure \u2013 You don\u2019t succeed without experiencing failure. Just make sure you fail forward.<\/li>\n<li>A spirit of poverty \u2013 Believe with God that there is always more than enough and never a lack<\/li>\n<li>Feelings of unworthiness \u2013 You are fearfully and wonderfully made by your creator. (see Psalm 139)<\/li>\n<li>Doubt \u2013 Believe God has a plan for you that is beyond anything you could imagine. The future is brighter than you could ever realize.<\/li>\n<li>Self-pity \u2013 God comforts us in our sorrow so that we can comfort others with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.<\/li>\n<li>Retirement \u2013 As long as you are still breathing, you are here for a reason. You have a purpose to influence others for Christ. That does not come to an end until the day we die.<\/li>\n<li>Excuses \u2013 A wise man once said, if you need an excuse, any excuse will do.<\/li>\n<li>Lack of counsel \u2013 Wise decisions are rarely made in a vacuum.<\/li>\n<li>Pride \u2013 Blessed are the humble.<\/li>\n<li>Worry \u2013 God is in control and worrying will not help.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thanks Pastor Phil for the challenging but great list!<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today is Ash Wednesday.\u00a0 It is the beginning of the 40 days of preparation (Lent) that leads to the celebration of Chris\u2019s death (Good Friday), burial and resurrection (Easter). On this day, we focus on our sins, repentance and God\u2019s forgiveness and grace. It is a reminder of the price our Lord paid to free&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[916],"tags":[2774,2775,2773],"class_list":["post-5976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-god-relationship","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-give-up-for-lent","tag-lent"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What Will You Give Up for Lent?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/03\/what-will-you-give-up-for-lent.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What Will You Give Up for Lent?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Today is Ash Wednesday.\u00a0 It is the beginning of the 40 days of preparation (Lent) that leads to the celebration of Chris\u2019s death (Good Friday), burial and resurrection (Easter). 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It is a reminder of the price our Lord paid to free&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/03\/what-will-you-give-up-for-lent.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-03-05T12:00:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2014-03-04T00:18:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2012\/04\/425877_cross.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What Will You Give Up for Lent?","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/03\/what-will-you-give-up-for-lent.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What Will You Give Up for Lent?","og_description":"Today is Ash Wednesday.\u00a0 It is the beginning of the 40 days of preparation (Lent) that leads to the celebration of Chris\u2019s death (Good Friday), burial and resurrection (Easter). 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