A Lenten Reflection:
Give up complaining --- focus on gratitude.
Give up pessimism --- become an optimist.
Give up harsh judgements --- think kindly thoughts.
Give up worry --- trust Divine Providence.
Give up discouragment --- be full of hope.
Give up bitterness --- turn to forgiveness.
Give up hatred --- return good for evil.
Give up negativism --- be positive.
Give up anger --- be more patient.
Give up pettiness --- become mature.
Give up gloom --- enjoy the beauty that is all around you.
Give up jealousy --- pray for trust.
Give up gossiping --- control your tongue.
Give up sin --- turn to virtue.
Give up giving up --- hang in there! - (author unknown)
I know Mormons don't traditionally celebrate Lent but Knudsens do! We've never adopted Ramadan (the Islamic tradition of fasting 40 days from sun up to sun down) but I'll never say never...
I adhere to President Hinckley's admonition to find the good in all religions and I think Lent is a good and cool practice. I like the concept of Lent on several levels!
Thus, we've adopted our own loose version of Lent...basically encouraging family members to "give up" something from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday!
The Lent season is going to be tough for me this year. I have decided to give up Diet Coke! For someone like Webb, who never got hooked on drinking soda, this would be a cake walk! For me, who reluctantly admits to having a diet coke addiction, this will be really hard! I'm going to continually have to remind myself that I Can Do Hard Things! I'm hoping that 40 days without Diet Coke will wean me from the insidious habit all together!
