I remember the first time my wife and I observed Lent. We were serving at a small, rural church in California and my youth leaders and even the teenagers thought we were crazy. ”Isn’t that a Catholic thing?” they would ask. To many people, that is what Lent is – a Catholic thing. Whether you observe Lent or not, 40 days is a significant number in Scripture, and the 40 days leading up to Easter are a good a time as any to give up something in order to make time for something else.
Andrew and I had a conversation yesterday and too often when we or others think of giving up something for Lent, it is about us – giving up sugar, caffeine, Facebook. But the idea of fasting or giving up something should make time for something else – time for prayer, Scripture reading, serving the poor – not just to give something up.
This is one of the reasons I love Made to Crave. (And yes, while I am a guy, and this is soundly a book/group study for women, I did enjoy it). In Made to Crave, Lysa TerKeurst isn’t just talking about giving up cupcakes for carrots. Yes, there is the idea of healthy eating and exercise and such, but the end goal is not weight loss – it’s a deeper relationship with your Maker.
You can watch the full first session of Made to Crave on YouTube here, and be sure to come back tomorrow to enter to win a Made to Crave Ministry Kit.
