Morning Announcement

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Today, Ash Wednesday, marks the first day of Lent. For those of you who don’t celebrate or are not familiar with Lent:

Lent is a 40-day, Christian liturgical season that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes at the Great Vigil of Easter. Sundays are not included in the 40-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus’ resurrection. Though not biblical, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Lent is considered a time of penance and discipline.

During Lent, it is tradition to give something up — mostly things that we do a lot of or find pleasure in. We do this:

In the past I’ve given up dessert, Snapple iced tea, etc. I’ve also had years where I’ve DONE something Christ-like — i.e. doing a random act of kindness once a day, keeping a gratitude/prayer journal, etc.

This year the Mister and I are giving up… get ready…

Spending money on take out, going out to dinner, etc.

This means, no fancy dinners, no take-out, no starbucks, no ice cream, no pizza, NADA. For 40 days…

What have I gotten myself into?

We both consider this an enormous undertaking, but that’s the whole point of Lent, isn’t it? It SHOULD be hard. As tough as it’s going to be, I’m kind of excited!

There is a slight LOOPHOLE — while WE cannot spend money on dinner/lunch/snacks out we CAN be taken out to dinner. So my next question to all of you is…who wants to take us to dinner? Just kidding! Or am I? ;)

Do you practice Lent? What are you giving up this year?

*No matter what your religion or affiliation, the practice of giving something up and freeing ourselves from material things is a good thing to do every once in awhile. I encourage all of you to evaluate your lives and see if there might be a bit of room to “clean house” and give something up for awhile — you’ll soon realize how appreciate or thankful you are! I think it’s a great “centering” exercise that we can all benefit from!

35 Responses to “Morning Announcement”

  1. Marion said:

    That’s an ambitious thing to give up! It’s great that you and your mister are giving it up together. It’s so much easier with a partner.

    Lent has snuck up on me this year and I hadn’t given much thought to what I’ll be giving up, so thanks for the reminder. :) Last year I gave up a handful of unhealthy indulgences: french fries, doughnuts, greasy grocery store muffins, coffee drinks, and any soda sweetened with artificial sweetener or high fructose corn syrup. Any one of those alone wouldn’t have been much, but the combination required me to be more aware of what I chose to eat.

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  2. Yasmin said:

    Oh my! You’re going to have to have all sorts of willpower during these next 40 days. Good luck! I haven’t decided what to give up for Lent yet.

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  3. legalstyle said:

    Good luck with this!!!! Rather than giving up something this year, I’m doing something extra – reading novels, rather than my law textbooks – before bed. I did the same last year and got through 5 novels in 40 days.

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  4. Anna @ Newlywed, Newly Veg said:

    That’s a great thing to give up…you can do it!

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  5. Alicia said:

    I’ll take you out for dinner :) When deciding on what I was giving up for Lent, I almost went with this, but decided that I’m going to focus on elimating night time eating. Closing the kitchen after 10PM is going to be hard in my house, but the hubby and I are going to do it!

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  6. Heather (Where's the Beach) said:

    I think I could handle giving up the going out to eat. We don’t ever do take out, ice cream or Starbucks. Making your own pizza can be so much healthier too. For my husband and I, the eating out is a once-a-week treat that just gives me a night off from cooking and him cleaning up after my mess!!!

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  7. Katie O. @ Fit to Wed said:

    Thanks for the reminder- I need to think of something! You picked a difficult challenge, which I suppose is the whole point ;)

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  8. Brittany said:

    Best of luck with your goal Shannon. I think giving up coffee shop visits would be the hardest part for me! Just keep your kitchen well-stocked and you’ll be fine!! :)

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  9. allison said:

    Wow – that is great and think of how much money you will save from it. The BF and I have limited our going out and started cooking more at home. It’s something I’d like to continue.

    In college, my friends would give up all sorts of things and would have a “cheat” day on Friday or Sunday and I never got that. We we were always taught it was the whole 40 days.

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  10. Heather (Heather's Dish) said:

    i do, and I’m giving up meat. I posted about it yesterday, but basically it’s to learn to live without something i really enjoy and rely on God to fulfill the desires in me with his spirit. Good luck with giving up “going out”…that’s a hard one when you’re a busy couple!

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  11. Diana @ frontyardfoodie said:

    I rarely do lent but I really appreciate you mentioning it’s not biblical. While it isn’t biblical I completely agree with you on how important it can be to separate yourself from material things. I really need to work on the same thing you’re doing….soooo, guess what? I’m going to do this. We need to save money anyway since we’re doing home improvement projects and what a better way to do it!?

    Thanks for the inspiration.

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  12. La said:

    Wow, that’s a pretty big one. I’m Jewish, so I don’t practice Lent, but I have been trying to prune personal practices I find unhelpful to my waistline/wallet. Clean up my eating, stop being a slave to the SBux, etcetera. It’s a slow but steady process, I guess. I’m fascinated by Lent and how everyone makes these choices and how well they stick to them! Thanks for sharing!

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  13. Diana said:

    You’ll do great!
    I don’t practice lent anymore (I did when I was a kid). But I always cheated. Terrible.

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  14. Katie G said:

    I’m giving up pizza for Lent. And as an alternate to the greasy cheesy stuff, planning to try some new things that I haven’t had before or wouldn’t normally order/make, etc. I think it will be both challenging and fun! Hopefully I find some new healthy things I end up loving!

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  15. Sagan said:

    I’m not a Lent-practitioner (not religious) but it’s a good timeframe to set up a new goal!

    Okay, here’s my goal for the next 40 days: no binging. Keeping calories under 2,000 every day. I definitely need to do this- I’ve been overeating WAY too much lately.

    Thanks for kicking my butt in gear :)

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  16. Lele said:

    I’m Orthodox Christian, so I don’t get to pick what I give up! It’s no meat for us :( (You’re also supposed to give up dairy products, but as a woman I worry about calcium. I do, however, avoid fun things like ice cream). I totally agree about the value of Lent- you remember that the material world around you is the world you inhabit but it’s also not the most important thing. And as an added bonus, you save spending money on the stuff you give up and then maybe have more to give to charity, etc.

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  17. vegantickles said:

    I think the trick to not eating out is to make the things that you usually eat out. Get it? For example, I love these SOY CHORIZO tacos from a taco stand in Studio CIty (Los Angeles), so now I make them at home. I also make pizza, vegan big macs, etc. My husband says that I cook better than any restaurant. But, I wish you luck!

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  18. Gabriela @ Une Vie Saine said:

    I’m giving up sweets! I love sugar, and I need to learn some self-control. Plus, I know it’s important to give up something that’s difficult, and not something that you barely eat anyway. I’m up for the challenge! You’re brave to start yours! Good luck!

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  19. Andrea @ CanYouStayForDinner.com said:

    Shannon this sounds like a really great idea! I’m always trying to be better at saving money and take-out/ dinners out are a big expense. Yes they are fun and they are a great part of life, but this undertaking seems do-able. I know you two are more than capable of making delicious meals at home, so you’ll be great! Maybe cooking together more will be a great way to get in extra quality time?

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  20. RhodeyGirl said:

    Loophole! If I sacrifice something I always give myself some sort of loophole haha. I know someone who gave up her blog for Lent. CRAZY!

    I am trying to do something nice for a stranger every single day.

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  21. alexa - cleveland's a plum said:

    having just gone through this, for only a week and it was hard i’m wishing you and the mister luck!!

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  22. Jen said:

    I’m not giving anything up. Instead I have decided to try and make it to church every week during Lent. I’ve been really slacking, so I am going to do my best. First step is making it to Ash Wed service tonight…

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  23. Diana said:

    Your lent idea sounds like my Eat in Month Challenge! It’s a good one but pretty tough! I know you guys will rock it out, though. :)

    Hubby and I are giving up MEAT! I’m thinking of also adding something good into my life, too.

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  24. Just a Day Just an Oridinary Day : The Chic Life said:

    [...] is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. Shannon of The Daily Balance has nice explanation of lent, so I’ll just direct you there (click) if you want to learn more [...]

    Posted on | Reply
  25. Kristilyn (My 29th Year) said:

    I’ve never practiced Lent before, but I am limiting myself with my evening snacking for the next 40 days. I’m so bad at oversnacking in the evening, so I’m going to try to stick to something that’s 100-150 calories and have it only if needed. This isn’t dessert, but any snack in the evening.

    Giving up fast food, eating out, etc. is going to be hard! My husband and I just had a finance talk last night and we decided that we can only eat out 2-3 times a month TOPS. And this is for fast food and fancy restaurants. We usually end up going to Subway way too often! We’ll see how much money we save. Of course, my birthday is next month, so we have to go somewhere. :-)

    K

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  26. Paige @ Running Around Normal said:

    That’s such a great one! Maybe I’ll see if the husband wants to try this. We kinda try it now, but don’t have a zero tolerance for it.

    BTW – I’m ashamed to say that my mind was totally in the gutter with what you guys were giving up LOL

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  27. Daily Delish – Comfort food – simplified! | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] I roasted up some turkey cutlets and topped with a jar of gravy (so sue me!). This was served alongside frozen sweet corn (heated up, of course!). As you can see, I really went all out today! But we all have these days, don’t we? When even a 20 minute meal sounds overwhelming? Well we all know that I can’t order TAKE OUT! [...]

    Posted on | Reply
  28. Kelli said:

    I don’t know whether to call you crazy or my hero! What a great choice for Lent! I think once I graduate and this is actually possible (sometimes dorm food is really not an option which means I pretty much have to order out/dine out) this will be my Lent goal!

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  29. Daily Delish – HOLY GUACAMOLE! | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] oh my! This kinda meal makes my whole Lent situationnot so bad! And you KNOW that I used the other half of the avocado to smear on top of my sweet [...]

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  30. Make it – How to make SUSHI (just 5 steps!) | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] been pretty intimidated to attempt making it myself. Well ever since the Mister and I made our Lent commitment, my sushi-tooth has been in full-force! But instead of throwing in the towel, I figured this would [...]

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  31. Daily Delish: What’s the BEST breakfast joint in your city? | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] I went out to breakfast with my family a few weeks ago (don’t worry it was before lent!). [...]

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  32. Daily Delish – when cheating feels too good | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] my lenten commitment? Well, I tried not to think about it as I was stuffing my face with [...]

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  33. missy said:

    I must say I love you for posting this. I am an Irish Catholic, married to an Italian Catholic, much older than you (50), and am so happy to see you posting this. I have given up fat, candy, and shopping. I have been failing on the shopping. Thank you, thank you, thank you. This is important. More than you or I know. You are so darling. I wish I had a daughter like you!

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  34. Daily Delish – A safe, guilt-free restaurant choice! | The Daily Balance said:

    [...] menu designated to the “get fit” program. Don’t worry, I’m not cheating on my Lent — I was taken out by my [...]

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