I've been thinking a lot about Lent. About what I might do this year to mark this period, about ways in which I could use the time to grow. See, I've always rolled my eyes and grumbled every year during conversations about what people are giving up. Chocolate, soda - to me these are more tools for teaching children about sacrifice than they are things that adults should struggle with for forty days.

I don't mean to disparage the act. I just think about what Jesus went through in that time and wonder what it is we can be called to do that in any way could come close to touching that experience.

That said, I came to some conclusions about how we will be observing Lent in our household. I want to be more purposeful about the choices we make, what we consume and how we consume it. From the food we eat to the lifestyle we lead, we will look for ways to live more simply, and to think more deeply about the type of people we are called to be.

That means making time for more prayer, and more focused prayer at that. Reorienting our priorities around those things that really and truly are the most important. Letting go of those indulgences that ultimately do more harm than good.

I'm not exactly sure how that will look, on the other side of this season, but as I enter into this time of quiet and think about what waits at its conclusion, I can't help but think that whatever sacrifices are made, whatever penance paid, the rewards will be plenty.

Thanks be to God.