What I'm Giving Up/Doing for Lent 2017

Happy Monday y'all! Today, I'm starting the week off with a post that's a bit different that what I typically share here on Chic in Carolina: a faith-related post. Even though my faith is a large part of my day-to-day life and I do share glimpses of that in my posts, faith is something that I have previously kept off of the blog as it is a very personal subject for me and many other people as well.

As many of y'all know Lent started last week and I figured that I would share a little on what I am doing for Lent and why as well. Just to give y'all a little background for this post, I am Catholic and am thankful to have grown up in a family where faith is an important aspect of our lives. I also have attended Catholic school for most of my life, which has definitely played a role in the development of my faith.

Lent is always such an exciting season of the year as it is such a wonderful opportunity to focus on your relationship with the Lord and remove distractions that may take away from that focus. This year, I am giving up one thing and then doing one thing for Lent:

1. Giving up Sweets- I've done this one for as long as I can remember as it is definitely a tough one for me to do as I have such a sweet tooth. Every year, I reach the point halfway through Lent where I think, "ok, I'm definitely not doing this again next year" but finding a challenging thing for Lent is really important and definitely draws you closer to God through that challenge. Even though sweets aren't a bad thing in moderation, they are something I enjoy and like having in my day-to-day life, which makes them a great thing to give up for Lent! A lot of people I know fall into the trap of turning what you're doing for Lent into eating healthier for superficial reasons (spring break is around the corner haha) and even though giving up sweets does allow me to get in better shape, I do enjoy giving it up for the difficulty and the growth that comes from it, which is important to keep in mind!

2. Reading the Bible- I did this two years ago and decided that I wanted to do it again this year as it was really beneficial to me. I will be reading a chapter of the Bible every day during Lent and at the recommendation of my advisor at school who is also my Theology teacher, I will be starting with Psalms in the Old Testament. Reading the Bible is definitely an area in my faith I lack in so hopefully reading the Bible will become a part of my routine even after Lent ends this year.

What are you giving up/doing for Lent? Would you like to see more faith posts here on Chic in Carolina? Let me know in the comments!