Lent and the Book 7 walking with this Family Part 2

     During the time of Lent we want to prepare for the crucifixation and resurrection (Keep in mind we are NOT Catholic.  We attend a Bible church.)  During this time we are going to focus on 8 areas that we need to streamline our lives.  These areas will be somewhat of a fast or a focus.  We will spend 5 days in each area encouraging each child as well as ourselves to continue this over the entire period.  We will work on the order!  It could be in this order or it could change.  Not being Catholic (or any of the other churches/denominations that follow the period of lent) I was not aware that the 40 days being Ash Wednesday and Easter did not include Sundays. This took me a while to figure out. By definition:  Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting,repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection onJesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

Ours are 1. FOOD, 2. CLOTHING, 3. POSSESSIONS, 4. MEDIA, 5. WASTE/GOALS, 6. SPENDING/FRIENDS, 7. STRESS and PRAYER, 8. MAINTENANCE

We will all keep a journal of sorts to write THOUGHTS, GOALS, PRIORITIES, IDEAS.

     1. FOOD:  (W February 13 - M Feb. 18) For 5 days we will eat NO SUGAR, drink nothing but water and have a balanced meal for all meals.  All will eat breakfast.  We are considering no meat.  We'll let you know if we decide on that. This one is big for me because of planning.  To change this we will meet together and make a menu including all meals and sides.

     2.  CLOTHING:  (T Feb. 19 - S Feb. 23) We will all individually evaluate our clothing.  We will have a day for each area and will clean out BIG time.  The ultimate goal is 20 outfits.  The 2 little girls are done.  Whohoo!  Each child will be given the opportunity to sell their clothes online or think about who to donate them to (both are encourages).  20% of sales will be contributed to the "vacation fund" (more on this later).  1. Shoes, 2. shirts/dresses 3. pants, 4. outer garments, 5. undergarments

     3.  POSSESSIONS: (M Feb. 25 - F March 1) Same idea as clothes.  Each child will work in their own rooms and have assignments in various areas of the house as well (game room, book shelves, etc.)
1. shelves, 2. desks, 3.  closets, public bookshelves, 4. game room closet and entertainment center, 5 garage and outdoor stuff

     4.  MEDIA:  (S March 2 - Th March 7) Time limits for all.  We will also focus on straightening the house (deep cleaning and organizing) 30 minutes a day for ALL children (well, let's be real...the 3 littles will be given something else to do).  Limited screens, internet for 30 minutes, no shows or youtube, etc.  15 minutes of Facebook, 15 minutes of emails unless it has to do with homework, school, etc.  Limit texting and be aware of how much you text.

     5.  WASTE/GOALS:  (F March 8 - W March 13)We are going to work on re-cycling (haven't been great at this) and composting.  This will also be a time to write down goals, both long term and short term.  We will evaluate our food and where we are wasting and how to change that.  Pantry will need an overhaul, as well as fridge and freezers.  Empty bin and print out city rules.  Prepare compost bin and get worms.  Have waste bucket set up.

     6.  SPENDING/FRIENDS:  (Th March 14 - T March 19) We will be writing down all purchases.  This will help us evaluate each one. I will add more to do here, but not sure what yet.

     7.  STRESS/PRAYER:  (W March 20 - M March 25) We will have longer DEVOS and deeper study than our regular ones.  During this time we will also concentrate on encouraging others and keeping up with them in a more personal way.  Each person will send one card a day during this time. Send out cards   is so awesome for this and yet we still miss birthdays and big events STILL. https://www.sendoutcards.com/locke/ (Locke has an account if you are interested in finding out more....we are distributers though "pushing it has never been our goal")    No excuses!!!  We also will encourage the kids to call or get together with friends they do not talk to often. We will do the same!  Make a list of gatherings each person would like to have and make tentative goals to have them in the next 6 months.

     8.  MAINTENANCE:  (T March 26 - S March) (Home, self and our commitments.  We will find the main areas we are lacking and make goals to improve them now.  We will also put a plan in place to keep up with them better in the future.  Home....yard, repairs and other areas that get out of control, etc.  Self.  What do we need to improve on?  Weight loss, exercise, practice...either sports or instruments or bible study.  Commitments.  What needs work?  Are we on time?  Are we doing our best?  Do we need to be doing this?  Again, keep a personal list for these areas. Make goals.

Whew!  We have our work cut out for us.

There are some areas that we will be doing the ENTIRE time for 40 days, or at least we are giving it our best!

Writing down spending
Devos (we are following a devo book right now as well as reading through 7)
Daily 15 minute tidy (we try to do this, but aren't consistent enough)
Chores follow through (scheduled regular chores, some chores not done cost $ to be paid to the
     vacation fund
$ for arguing or whining for our vacation fund.  They must pay $1 or $2 each time.
Up and doing chores by 7:00 am.  ALL!  You would think this one would be easy.  You would be
      wrong!

Bonus:  We will memorize a verse a day (well, okay it can be more than ONE verse, but you get the point.  If anyone can say ALL 40 on Easter they will get a $100 bill!  I am choosing verses right now.  I am deciding if a verse is actually 3 then does that count as one for the day or 3?  Right now the longest is 3 and I am saying it counts for one day.  None are over 3 verses.  Honestly I think we may just memorize Philippians 4.  I will post verses later.  Then you can comment and see if I have a good solid balanced list.  Then again, can scripture be unbalanced, really?