# Giving up anything for Lent?



## punisher73 (Mar 10, 2011)

Is anyone giving up anything that they want to share or maintain accountability on for Lent?

Me and my wife are giving up soda (diet and regular) and all junk food, including chips, cookies, etc.


----------



## Bill Mattocks (Mar 10, 2011)

punisher73 said:


> Is anyone giving up anything that they want to share or maintain accountability on for Lent?
> 
> Me and my wife are giving up soda (diet and regular) and all junk food, including chips, cookies, etc.



I hadn't really come up with anything, to be honest.


----------



## Omar B (Mar 10, 2011)

No


----------



## elder999 (Mar 10, 2011)

Same thing as every year:beer, wine, booze and beef.....


----------



## crushing (Mar 10, 2011)

elder999 said:


> Same thing as every year:beer, wine, booze and beef.....


 
A friend's Facebook status read, "For Lent I'm giving up booze.  For St. Patrick's Day I'm giving up Lent."


----------



## girlbug2 (Mar 10, 2011)

My daily free time. I will use that time for others instead.


----------



## Flea (Mar 10, 2011)

I used to give things up for Lent, but I stopped after a while.  I live a pretty boring life so there wasn't much that meaningful to give - I don't drink or smoke, I'm chronically single, I don't party, and so forth.  So one year I decided to give up giving things up for Lent for Lent, and it's worked just fine.

In fact, one thing I'm terrible at is indulging myself.  I'm compulsively cheap and I don't have much of a sense of fun.  Maybe that should be my "sacrifice" - challenging that status quo.  For the next 40 days I vow to treat myself better and do one nice thing for myself each day.  This morning I got myself a fabulous pair of new shoes for work and my feet were just groaning with pleasure all day.  Tomorrow?  Ballroom dance.  Both were already on my schedule but that's okay.  It doesn't have to be anything fancy or expensive, but that's my commitment for Lent.  Anyone who wants to is welcome to hold me accountable.  :uhyeah:


----------



## crushing (Mar 11, 2011)

Man commits to 40 days of beer for lent



> Newspaper editor J. Wilson plans to drink nothing but beer and water for six weeks as a Lenten sacrifice.
> 
> 
> To the skeptical, Wilson says that his choice is not about getting drunk, but rather about connecting with Franciscan monks.


 
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504784_162-20041680-10391705.html

At the surface, it seems the opposite of Lent.


----------



## Xue Sheng (Mar 11, 2011)

Giving up anything for Lent?

Yes, Lent


----------



## bushidomartialarts (Mar 12, 2011)

I generally give up my new year's resolution.


----------



## Xue Sheng (Mar 12, 2011)

bushidomartialarts said:


> I generally give up my new year's resolution.


 
The only New Years Resolution I ever kept was to give up New Years Resolutions


----------



## Indagator (Mar 18, 2011)

No nothing in particular. Observing standard lenten fasting (one meal per day) and technically the current Code of Canon Law (1983) still requires abstinence from flesh meats on the Fridays of Lent but our household observes abstinence from flesh meats on all Fridays of the year anyway.

I have a series of meditations for Lent which I am commencing over the Lenten period, taken from Alphonsus de Ligouri's "Eternal Maxims".

Same thing we do every year, Pinky. We have three major fasting periods in our household though - Lent, then one from the Feast of the Assumption through Michaelmas and another from St Martin's Day which goes through Advent til Christmastide - basically the typical traditional fasts of the Roman Rite.


----------



## Indagator (Mar 18, 2011)

crushing said:


> A friend's Facebook status read, "For Lent I'm giving up booze. For St. Patrick's Day I'm giving up Lent."


 
in many areas St Patrick's Day is a 1st Class feast day and thus exempt from Lent anyway. Deo Gratias!


----------



## Scott T (Mar 18, 2011)

Vegetables.

It's a sacrifice, I know...


----------



## Darksoul (Mar 18, 2011)

-I think I'll give up Christianity for Lent this year...just kidding, I'm not actually Christian, at least not anymore. However I do see value in giving something up for a bit of time, a fasting of something...tell you what. I going to give up a week of work for Lent. Thats a pretty big one.

-I'm also going on vacation next week. lol


Andrew


----------



## chrispillertkd (Mar 18, 2011)

Abstaining from meat several days a week and rereading Dante's _Purgatorio_ for my spiritual reading.

Pax,

Chris


----------



## Nomad (Mar 21, 2011)

Read the other day about someone giving up sobriety for Lent... planned to only eat or drink beer for the entire period.


----------



## crushing (Mar 21, 2011)

Nomad said:


> Read the other day about someone giving up sobriety for Lent... planned to only eat or drink beer for the entire period.


 
Do you mean this guy from earlier in this thread? 

http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1373849&postcount=8

If so, I don't think four beers spread throughout a day is equivalent to giving up sobriety.


----------



## Nomad (Mar 22, 2011)

Doh!  Teach me not to read thoroughly before posting.  The "giving up sobriety" was part of the (sensationalized) headline from the article I read about him.  I'm sure it's the same guy; I read it from a different source that went into a little more depth on the story, and obviously sported a more sensational headline...


----------



## Brian King (Apr 27, 2011)

This is a very real and meaningful religious season for me and has been for a few years. This year I observed strict fasting which for me included no meat (although I did have a piece of salmon two different nights) no dairy, no cooking with oil etc. For me this lasted close to fifty days. The first and last week of lent I just drank water, watered down juice, or water with fresh squeezed lemon juice and a tiny bit of pure maple syrup added to it.

It had been interesting, especially the strict weeks restricted to water and juice. One of the things I learned was how often I use food as a reward or motivator as well as a stress response and how difficult it is to do this on your own. A pleasant minor side effect was some weight loss (20+ pounds)

This year I also for the first time gave up using a bath towel to dry off (partly lent-partly Systema work) after showers restricting myself to using small hand towels to dry. Part to work my shoulders and part to remember physically what the season is to me spiritually. 

With the limited meals I saved a lot of time and was able to get a bit more reading done which I enjoyed and saved a bit of coin as well. The money saved I was going to send to Japan but kept it local instead. So many people and countries were donating time and money to Japan that my $500.00 would not make a difference, but to a small shelter it can hopefully make a difference.

Regards
Brian King


----------

