Ash Wednesday

If you are anything like me, you probably have wondered why some people walk around with black smears on the foreheads once a year. I wondered this for years - In high school I finally figured out that it had something to do with Catholicism (I only figured this out because I dated a guy who was Catholic and I ashamedly remember trying to wipe the "smear" off of his forehead in the hallway at school.) Thankfully I made a wonderful friend my freshman year at Baylor that was from a Catholic background and she explained everything to me. Since then I have been enamored with the several Catholic traditions and especially the Holy Season of Lent.

I love the idea of spiritually preparing for the death and resurrection of our Lord. I think its a shame that Protestant churches have not adopted this mentality because I have found it to be a wonderful way to inwardly realign my focus. All to often, I get caught up in things of this world and need a time to refocus. Of course, I don't need an official Lenten time for this but I am a huge fan of community. I'm one of those type of people that draw strength and encouragement from my church family. Plus, I want to share the joys of Lent with everyone!

As far as I know, I've never been a part of a church that practices Lent. Aaron and I both participate in Lent, but as baptists it is kind of taboo to bring Catholic practices into the church (what a shame, huh?).