I’m not Catholic. I’m not a fan of the Catholic Church. I’m not saying all Catholics are going to hell or anything. If you’re Catholic, good for you. I pray you figure out grace and faith based salvation. Many Catholics have.

That said, Catholics have a lot of traditions that are pretty good ideas. Lent is one of those. In the Bible, 40 seems to be a good number for fasting (giving something up). So Catholics, for Lent, give up something for the 40 days before Easter. This has also spawned a not-so-great tradition of “Fat Tuesday” (a.k.a. Marti Gras) which is basically a day to abuse all your vices as much as you can before you have to give them up for Lent. It’s kind of like eating a bathtub full of ice cream the night before you start your diet. Yeah. Whatever.

I think it’s a good idea to fast especially for something that you should probably give up anyway. And I’m a firm believer in the idea that if you can do something (or not do something) for a month, you can make a good habit (or break a bad habit) that will last. New Year’s resolutions are great, but they don’t have a short term goal like Lent does.

I’ve got to be more productive, both at home and at work. So for Lent (which started yesterday… Yeah, I’m late. Sue me.) I’m going to give up personal surfing at work and I’m going to get up a little bit earlier in the morning to do my blog surfing before work. That way I’m not cutting into my productivity time at home either.

I’m predicting the unfortunate side effect that my own blogging output will take a hit. Maybe not, but it seems likely.

That’s my committment. What are you giving up for Lent?

I saw this on DangerDave’s blog and had to steal it. It would be friggin’ hilarious… if it weren’t true.

Have you ever tried to run through deep, soft sand? Or even worse, running through water along the coast that’s just about knee deep. It’s nearly impossible. You spend a lot of energy without going much faster than a walk. And if you do it long enough, you’ll end up falling down.

That’s how my life has felt the last few weeks. Crazy stuff going on at work has had me in meetings more than in my office. As interim youth minister (along with Tammy and another part-time staffer), we’ve been barely keeping our heads above water with event after event (staring with our Halloween night to this weekends Disciple Now), keeping the Sunday school classes upright and moving forward, and evaluating minister candidates. Tammy’s facing some health issues. And all of my various sports and hobbies have been stagnant.

With that said, let me assure you I am richly blessed. God has smiled on our home in ways I can’t explain, express, nor ever deserve. I just needed to vent a little and that’s what blogs are for, right?

Thanks to you, my humble readers, for your comments, cross-links, etc., and the smiles you’ve brought me. Don’t worry about me. God is my strength. It just feels good to whine about life once in a while. Just don’t let it become a habit! (That’s a note-to-self, by the way. Nothing more.)

Thanks to TinDogCoffee for tweeting me this!

Check out this case-by-case analysis that an interesting companion to my own trilogy theory (here and here). I don’t agree with all of his findings, but I love the notation.

Clicky clicky.

Early 60’s equivalent of today’s slutty Britney/Christina/Beyonce music video. Priceless.

“You’ve come a long way, baby… sadly.”