Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday

Did you know that today is Ash Wednesday?  It is the start of Lent, a season of the church in which we prepare ourselves for Easter.  Yesterday you may have eaten pancakes...but why?  Well, Lent is a time of 40 days in observance of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert where he faced temptation.  So, often we spend Lent in practices of fasting and self-denial.  Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras is the Tuesday before Lent where many will feast and celebrate with the things they will deny themselves for the next 40 days.  Pancakes, then, often make for a good option since they contain rich ingredients of butter, flour, eggs, milk and sugar.  Shrove actually means to confess and repent.  So what we should really be doing the Tuesday before Lent begins is laying everything out before God to prepare ourselves for Lent.  But, to uphold cultural traditions, we did spend some time playing games in celebration of Mardi Gras.  Then we spent time thinking about and committing to something we are going to give up this Lent and something we are going to commit to doing this Lent.  What practices will you commit to this Lenten season?  Are there things you will deny yourself this year?  Comment on this post with your responses.