Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent. Ella, my mom, and I went to mass this afternoon and when we got home Jeff snapped this photo of Ella and I with our cross of ashes on our foreheads. Funny enough, Ash Wednesday is not a holy day of obligation in the Catholic church, but I attend mass every year anyway. It's just a nice way to begin Lent. I love the Lenten season. It's a time to repent and sacrifice to become closer to Jesus as we await Easter.

This year for Lent I am going to make a conscious effort to eat healthier, especially when it comes to snack choices. I will be trading chips for apples and cookies for granola bars. I am also going to cut out any fast food. I don't eat it all too often, but sometimes as I drive to work, I will stop and grab something, so that will also go for these forty days. I also follow the tradition of not eating meat on Ash Wednesday and every Friday during Lent. I am going to add some extra prayer time into my life and my prayer of choice is the rosary. I used to love to pray a decade with my students when I was teaching at Pacific Crest Academy, and so for Lent I am going to try to pray at least one decade every day and the whole rosary if I have enough time. Thankfully both kids' naps tend to overlap so I can fit in prayer time while they are asleep. I also would like to incorporate Nicholas's children's bible into our daily reading time as a way our family can celebrate Lent together.

Hopefully I can make this Lenten season a meaningful one for myself and my family.