1. Oddly this year, the second day of Lent was Valentine’s Day. How was this for you? Was Valentine’s Day any different being in Lent? It didn’t really make a difference for me.

2. Did you celebrate Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday this year? Any memories of memorable celebrations past? Nope!

3. How about Ash Wednesday, past and/or present? Ash Wednesday is one of my favorite holy days. I remember three years ago after the Haiti earthquake marking the signs of the cross on members of my community of faith. It really hit home for me as I thought of my friend Renee, her husband Ben, and Ben’s cousin Jonathan. Hard not to think of Ben as I said the words, “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

This year was a great Ash Wednesday. I bought 105 Take 5 Candy Bars and only had 5 left after worship. Each candy bar had a note taped to it saying, “Take 5 for the Faith Five (The Faith 5 is from Faith Inkubators and Rich Melheim). Our Lenten theme is “Faith MAKES a difference!” So it just fit!

4. Do you have a personal plan of give-ups, take-ons, special ministries, and/or a special focus for your own spiritual growth between now and Easter? This year I am doing a Lent Photo A Day. I saw it on Facebook and thought it looked fun. I’m sharing the photos on my Instagram, Twitter, and FB. The hashtags are #rethinkchurch and #lentphotoaday.

5. Do you have a book or a website you are reading often during Lent? Not really. However I always appreciate and love what Nadia Bolz-Weber has to say. So Ill probably be more intentional about reading her blog during Lent.

Bonus: Song, prayer, picture, etc. that sums up your feelings about this liturgical springtime. I couldnt decide between these two pictures so I posted both. Both of these pictures show that life does come from death…RESURRECTION–EASTER! 🙂