I converted to Catholicism back in college, but I admit that I'm a really bad (aka laxed) Catholic. In fact, I attend a Christian church regularly. There are aspects of the faith that I think are dead-on (no other faith educates and trains believers more thoroughly, and these are some of the most charitable people I've ever seen) but some parts of the faith I have never bought into (Purgatory??? Don't think so! Confession? questionable at best).
Most Protestants don't observe Lent but I think it is a wonderful time that everyone can benefit from. Taking 6 weeks to focus and prepare on the importance of the upcoming holiday and making a small sacrifice as a means of recognizing the huge sacrifice Christ made makes perfect sense to me. That's why I'm looking forward to tomorrow and the weeks to follow.
A recent Spark article suggested several "sacrifices" as well as positive changes we can make in honor of Lent. I'm going to follow a suggestion of theirs and sacrifice my snooze button as well as my late night TV and gaming. For the next 6 weeks, every night I WILL be in bed by 11pm, and when the alarm goes of at 6:15a, my feet are going to hit the floor! I may forgo weigh-ins for the 6 weeks too, but that's more for my sanity than anything else.
I plan to start the day off right with Ash Wednesday Mass at 8:00 a.m. but that isn't "normal" for me so I can only give it my best! Praying I can use the next 6 weeks to grow closer to the Lord and move forward in this journey called life and health. Wishing you all the same!