Wednesday 10 February 2016

What are you giving up?

For Lent I mean!
Now I wouldn't say we're particularly religious, we go to our Coffee Church now and then where the children do readings and Eden sings and plays guitar.
We only started to go to church, other than the Christmas Carol service when Eden was christened.
We thought as we'd entered her into the church then we should hold up our part of the bargain and actually attend now and then.
Personally I find most of the Bible hard to believe, I do wish that I had a blind faith maybe my life would be easier if I could hand over my future so completely to somebody else but I think that I'm too much of a control freak and far too cynical!
I like to think that we have " Christian like tendencies " I try to teach the children to be helpful, respectful and kind to others, to be honest to themselves and each other and to work to the best of their ability no matter what the task at hand.
We don't give up things for Lent, I (and this is just my personal opinion) think it's quite negative. I know a lot of people disagree and that's fine, each to their own.
What we do in this house is try to do something positive and helpful each day for 40 days, whether it be a kind word or deed without being asked like a chore or praising somebody,  anything that would come under the heading "kind and thoughtful"
Now I don't want people to think we're perfect, we're far from it! I also don't want to come across as being pious! I swear too much to ever be!
I also certainly don't want to offend anybody, this is just what we do and how I can adapt this to fit in with the kind of faith I have.



It makes me happy to help others and I often tell people that I'm helping them for me, not them!
On that note let's see how long I can uphold being positive and encouraging to children, forty days is a mighty long time!

6 comments:

  1. I've not thought about giving anything up this year. What I am going to do is give more of my time up, to work with some needy children at school.

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    1. That sounds like a very worthwhile thing to do Rachel x

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  2. I kept checking out your blog to see if you'd updated but I hadn't done so for a while and what do I find today..lots of posts to catch up on. Glad to see all is okay with you and yours. Belated congrats for birthdays and on Eden passing her driving test first time. The assault course looked like fun. It's my 60th birthday next year in 2017 and I've told everyone who'll listen that I want to go on one of those long zip-wires. I just want to do something a bit daring before everything seizes up and my occasional ache or pain turns more permanent. We'll see whether it happens and if so whether I'll freeze up on the platform and abort the flight. Great to have you back. Love Helen xx

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    1. Thanks Helen. You are far more daring than me! A nice family meal would do me!

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  3. Lent is an important time in our Christian calendar but this year I am not really giving up anything as such. This year we are giving up busy-ness and giving to others, feels so much better to be doing something nice and God-honoring, than to be depriving ourselves for the sake of it.
    You guys always strike me as very Christian like people and your guys are lovely so you are clearly doing a fab job. xxx

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    1. That was a lovely thong to say Carol, thank you x
      I think what you're doing for Lent sounds perfect x

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