Oh the Lenten season is upon us...

Now that I'm a little older, Lent starts to take on a different meaning. I also find it tends to sneak up on me more than it did when I lived at home and had my dad working on his Lent sermons weeks ahead of time...I always knew it was coming.

This year, I was reminded it was Lent when my Catholic friends at school were walking around with ash crossed on Ash Wednesday. At that point I thought, "whoops, didn't see that one coming..."

Sad to say, I'm still struggling pretty significantly to come up with something pretty significant to do for Lent. My newest philosophy is while my high school days of no more chocolate, soda, secular music, more consistent tithing, more consistent devotions...were great ideas, they just became something I was giving up and holding out until Easter so I could once again gorge myself with unhealthy things and never really think about it until the next Lent.

And so...here I am, wishing giving up studying was an option for Lent. I started going to a Methodist church recently because the Nazarene church in town wasn't doing it for me. The sermon today was about making lists for Lent. It was a lot about the blessings God has for us. He closed by saying "God has handed you a blank check". I thought that was interesting. What would I do with a blank check from God?

I figure God's blank check is probably cashable for those treasures you store up in heaven (Lay up your treasures in heaven, oh people, lay up your treasures in glory where nothing in this world can take them away, oh listen children hear the master say come and lay up = choir throwback). Treasures you store in heaven are what, exactly? Showing mercy, compassion, grace? Building relationships? I'm working with this as my definition, but I'm curious what other people are storing up in heaven.

Maybe for Lent I'll write a blank check out of God's account for the people around me. I think maybe this Lent it shouldn't be about me...because Lent's not really about what I can do to better myself. Lent's about the road Christ took to Calvary...the sacrifice He made for me. Maybe that's what Lent should be for us, the sacrifice we can make for other people. I bet it will make Lent more bearable too, rather than holding out for something I've given up for the season, maybe by consciously letting God use me to bless others, it's something I'll actually do outside of Lent...since it's less of a chore for me.

I was trying to make this shorter than usual, but I've failed again :) Sorry. It all just came to me so I shared as it fell into my brain. Maybe it would be good for all of us to share a little of the blank check blessings God has given to us this Lent.