Preparing for Easter

I usually listen to K-LOVE on the radio. I have to say K Love does tend to play songs over and over and I don't always agree with everything they say theologically, but I do appreciate hearing the Word and Christian music on the radio. I am often, as they like to "advertise", encouraged. While on my way to work this past Monday I heard the morning show people talking about preparing your heart for Easter. They were encouraging people to give up something for the month of March in preparation of Easter...kind of like lent, but starting later.
Growing up in a church that didn't pratice lent I've always kind of wondered why others do. I tried to research some why certain churches don't practice lent, but all I could really find was that after the Protestant Reformation many Protestant churches chose not to observe lent. I guess they felt it best to not identify with the Catholic church due to theological differences and then of course now lent is tied to many pagan things such as Mardi Gras or people just giving up sweets in order to lose weight. While I don't necessarily think all Christians need to observe lent, I do think the evangelical church in America should make a bigger deal about preparing for Easter. I know I often feel like Easter comes and goes and I didn't really even stop to think about it.

So I've decided, with God's help, to give up some use of the internet (as I sit here blogging this :)). The Internet and espeically Facebook is the biggest time waster for me. I find myself picking up the computer when I should be reading my Bible or praying. From now until Easter I am not going to use Facebook (except for emailing people if need be) and I am going to try to limit my "fun" internet usage to around 30 minutes a day. By fun I mean reading blogs, researching things related to babies or parenting, looking up recipes, and emailing. I am not counting my personal blogging in that 30 minutes because uploading pictures can take longer and I often do this while doing other things around the house. I feel it's important to continue to blog some as we have family who keep up with Naomi through reading the blog.

To take the place of this time I plan to read John Piper's Fify Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die. This is a great short book with each "reason" consisting of only a couple pages. I want to try to read 1-2 reasons every day until Easter. You can download this book for free at Desiring God. I also want to try to spend more consistent time in prayer not only in general but also for our future calling to serve overseas. At the end of March Spencer and I will be attending a sort of "job conference" as we continue the application process to hopefully serve overseas next year. I'm not blogging about my 'giving up' in order to receive praise, but rather to help keep me accountable. I know I am much more likely to follow through if I actually make my conviction known to others. Lord willing, I will try to blog about what the Lord teaches me through this experience.