Giving Up on Giving Up: Insta-Lent

As we kick off the season of Lent, have you decided if you will give anything up?

Many people will give up things like social media, chocolate, texting, smoking, TV, soda, junk food, swearing, gossiping, or drinking. And while all of those things are noble things (and in several cases, healthy things) to give up, I think an even greater challenge during Lent is to take something on.

Taking something on during Lent is a powerful way to intentionally add something to your life that can help you in your spiritual journey. Maybe it’s committing to spending regular time in prayer, or fasting for a day or a meal. Perhaps you commit to volunteering your time at a local charity, or supporting our weekly meal ministry at COTV for the homeless and hungry.

This year, in addition to taking on responsibilities for Lent blogging, I’m going to add a daily Lenten photo reflection practice which I have decided to call “Insta-Lent.” The practice is simple, but I think it will make me take time to both reflect on what God is doing in my life. Each day has a word or phrase associated with it that acts as the theme for the photo of the day. I’ll be following a program devised by our good friends at Rethink Church, a campaign of the UMC that is committed to faith in action.

Some days I will write a reflection along with my picture, but some days I might just let the picture speak the thousand words that it needs to. Might you, dear reader, be inspired to join me on my journey? Whether you snap your own photos or comment on mine, I’d love to make this Lent an interactive one. And it’s never too late to start!