Sister Josephine urged us to give up something meaningful for Lent, and since she also informed our second grade class that every thought that danced through our minds, was tapped out on a giant typewriter in the sky, I knew my Lenten sacrifice needed some punch.
I wanted to make up for my shortcomings. Like the teeny lie about throwing pinecones at those obnoxious neighbor kids and “misplacing” the hideous winter hat my mother insisted I wear or the forced apology I only pretended happened.
I needed to give God a serious sacrifice, and I knew what my sacrifice would be.
Easy choice, no Scooby-Doo.
See, before the age of entire stations dedicated to the nonstop play of children’s programming, there was an hour of after school viewing. Popeye at three o’clock and Scooby-Doo at three thirty.
I committed. No Velma, Shaggy, Scooby, and crew during Lent.
On my first day, I sat and stared at the blank screen and sadly imagined all the fun Scooby and friends were having in the Mystery Machine.
On day two, I turned on the TV and sat at the edge of the kitchen while the episode blared.
On day three, I gave up.
Fast forward twenty years, and I don’t watch much TV, but I do have another addiction, numbers. I assign value based on numbers in my life. See, if numbers are high, life is awesome. If numbers are low, life is less than awesome.
Therefore, during Lent, I am banning myself from numbers.
No writing out our summer budget again and again.
No clicking over to that evil place called Blogger Stats.
No charting the no’s instead of celebrating the yes’s.
No counting how many times I’ve asked our oldest to clean her glasses.
No allowing the uncompleted items on life’s do-to list to weigh more than those completed.
No tallying the amount of times I’ve hinted at the husband to fix the bar in the closet.
Nope, nope, nopity, nope. Not this girl. For Lent, I am number free.
Questions for you: Your thoughts on Lent? Are you committing to any sacrifices or adding anything special to your life during this time?
Always,
: :
Linking with Jen and Michelle.
Image credit.
23 comments:
yes, i've been giving this LOTS of thought. i'm afraid my thoughts have been running along the same line. as in, not a particular item or something that can be measured so much. for me, it's more about words. attitudes. and maybe even numbers. . . as in the negatives. negative words. negative attitudes. i need to move toward the positive along the number line in so many ways right now.
dang. i might sense a blog post coming up :-)
great words and thoughts to ponder.
thanks!
steph
Steph,
Let me know when your post is up. It's one I need to read for sure!
oh yes! these numbers can run my life too. thank you for the great reminder. I am trying to give up unreasonable needs for control...I may not be doing it perfectly, but trying. :)
I too measure lots of things in life by numbers and it is mostly discouraging. Love this post and your heart to sacrifice something, whethere it be Scooby Doo or numbers. What I love about this the most tho, is how much happier, freer, lighter you will feel after dumping the numbers. Not sure if you felt that way after your Scooby Doo fast, but chucking the numbers...that will for sure feel good!
I have not given much thought to this. I should. thanks for the post!
Giving up numbers. love it. I gave up checking my emails and facebook in the middle of the night when I can't sleep. so far so good.
I am reading an interesting book too called the Willpower Instinct - gives lots of ideas on how to boost the will and won't power we have. and checking numbers to measure how selves with is certainly a habit we all could resist more...
good thoughts Amy!
I love this sweet story, Amy. I just imagine God with a great sweet smile towards you ... wanting to give up Scooby Doo.
The big typewriter in the sky ... must have been rather scary.
Fondly,
Glenda
:) praying for you and the numbers right now. that you will find contentment in him instead of numerical success.... i am writing every day for lent. and that is unusual. i would rathe rread or watch tv mostly. but i feel a god tug to write.
I love Scooby Doo, too :) Scrappy Doo sorta ruined it for me though...
I love the impression that you made with your childhood perspective. I, too, am impressed with personal accomplishment and the means we have to measure our successes. This makes me think, very much....
So friend, find freedom and grace this month as you go numberless and know you, just you, have incredible value!
After two Lents of hearing the Holy Spirit's prompting and not promptly obeying I finally did this Lent: I gave up TV. It's not that I watch a lot but each night I have one show that I'm devoted to. Not this Lent. I am replacing that time with talking to my hubby, reading for pleasure (gasp!) and such. We are going to bed early, which means a better day the next day, which means not dragging myself out of bed in the morning for my quiet time, which means a better morning, which means better homeschooling, which means... But it's hard, man!
Jumped over from Michelle's. Thanks for your thoughts that get us all thinking. I am thinking and praying through what I will fast "from" to go "to" Him more. I have challenged our 20+ 4th-6th grade prayer team members to think and pray through this as well. More on that next week!
Blessings, Beth
Oh my, Scooby Doo. It was the butler who did it, with a mask that he tore off at the end. ha.
I didn't even know what Lent was until I was an adult, so you were ahead of the game. What a tender heart you had/have.
Giving up numbers is excellent. I'll try to remember that for next year. Giving up multitasking is enough for me this year, actually too much--but I guess that's the point--this is Christ's power, not mine.
Blessings on your journey! I'll look forward to hearing how it goes.
I like this. Lent is about discovering freedom. Even through discipline. And I really love you list of no's.
This is a weird year for me. I'm not giving up anything as I've done in years past. But I'm being intentional about life and faith and it feels really good.
Hi Amy. I found your blog through Michelle's Here It, Use It community. I really like you example of Scooby Doo -- and think Lent can be a very very confusing time for kids which only carries over into adulthood. For the past several years, I've used Lent to knit a prayer shawl. The idea is to meditate on a verse/story/person in need while knitting. Sometimes, the knitting becomes a "have-to" and another item to check off my to-do list but when I concentrate, the activity is a wonderful way to celebrate Lent. It took my 15-year old daughter 2 years to get her prayer shawl done but I'm hoping this activity will be something she might incorporate into her Lenten discipline in the future.
Honestly? All I've given up is soda. Now you've got me thinking. . . Which is a good thing. :)
I will pray for you on this. I have to constantly remind myself that my identity is in Christ and not what I get accomplished. I love how God can use situations from our childhood to teach us now.
What a clever idea! It's a really good one and I hope you will find refreshment in that.
We went with just no dessert (no TV was a little over the top) and quietly incorporating The Lord's Prayer with kiddos before bed, intentionally, to offer an opportunity for our children to confess their own short-comings. I realized we were praying, but not confessing (to one another, yes, but not in prayer) and how do we turn away when we don't acknowledge the sin...and it made me a little nervous that I hadn't even trained my eight year old to do that yet.
Grace.
You ARE brave :). We were scooby doo kids too. And I thought my youngest would never give those nosy kids up. That's right, scooby has experienced a second wave. :)
I love Lent, but I am a terrible person with the discipline. So I am doing a couple things, but not every day of the week. Is that a cop out? I don't know. Grace is a good thing.
I've given up checking my feedburner stats. It's kinda killing me already, yeah it is. I've got a little OCD thing going. But maybe it will get better as the 40 days pass.
{your "nopity nope nope" made me laugh}
Michelle,
It does get better...feedburner stats. Yep, I could have totally written that one in on the list.
Aw, this is sweet, A. I can just picture your little self trying so hard and not quite making it. This is a good one to give up. Here's to no numbers!
I love the faith of a child... so sweet. I didn't learn about Lent until an adult. Love the idea of giving up the numbers. I'll have to remember that.
You go girl...need to think about what I could give up. Scooby was a good one. House hunters may be one for me;)
This is a good one. For a time, I would avert my eyes from the number of followers I could see on the side of my screen. Whew. That was hard.
This Lent I've given up desserts. And I'm trying to be more intentional with this cultivation thing. At the first, I'm stellar. The 2nd, not so much.
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