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The Reverse Lent Challenge {Don’t give something up ~ Take something on!}

Take The Reverse Lent Challenge! Don't give something up, take something on! Visit KarenEhman.com to find out more.

This year for Lent, don’t give something up. Take something on.

For the last two years during the Lenten season leading up to Easter, I have tried a new spiritual practice. While I did not grow up in a church that observed Lent by giving something up for forty days, the practice always intrigued me, and so I did it anyway.

One year it was chocolate. One year it was soda. And one year I tried making it meat. But I loved me a good quarter pounder with cheese, so that pledge didn’t last very long!

For several years, I have observed the forty days of Lent in a different way. I decided that rather than give up something, I would take on something. And so I trekked off to the local department store and purchased forty cute note cards (on the clearance rack—whoo-hoo!). Then I stopped by the post office and purchased forty cute stamps. (I mean, I love and respect the American flag and all, but nothing cute-i-fies a letter quite like an adorable, whimsical stamp.)

I placed the note cards and stamps, along with my address book, in a rustic wicker basket and nestled it between the two chairs in our living room. Then, each morning upon rising, or each evening before bed, I took about three minutes to write an encouraging note to someone in my life.

One day I wrote to an old friend whom I hadn’t seen in ages. I recalled happy memories and explained to her just how thankful I was that our paths had crossed all those years ago.

The next day I felt prompted to jot a few lines to the teenager who had appeared on stage in a performance that weekend. I knew she had been very nervous trying out and even more afraid of her first appearance on the platform. I declared what a bang-up job she did and how proud I was of her.

Still another time I decided to send a message to our neighbors down the street, letting them know how much our family enjoyed their elaborate Christmas decorations each year, complete with a gorgeous antique-looking nativity. Their entire house, as well as a long line of pine trees at the edge of their property, made a beautiful display, especially when the snow was falling. We enjoyed its breathtaking and nostalgic appearance every year, but I had never told them just how much we did.

My little note-writing marathon was a wonderful experience. So many of the people to whom I sent a letter contacted me to say just how much it meant to them.

All day long we see words and are inundated with language. Most often this comes in the form of electronic words. We read tweets. We scroll through Facebook statuses. We read memos and answer emails. We work our way through our favorite blogs. But very seldom do we get an old-fashioned, handwritten sentiment delivered to our mailbox.

This year will you celebrate Lent backwards? It doesn’t have to be through letter writing. Just try out the concept. Instead of giving something up, take something on. In a way, you will still be giving up something: a little chunk of your time each day. Here are five simple ideas to try:

1. Jot a note.

Jot a quick note each day to one person in your life. To make it easy, purchase some simple note cards and stamps. Go ahead and place the stamps on the envelopes along with your return address. Place the pile of notecards on your nightstand or next to your favorite chair in the living room. Have your addresses handy. Each morning upon arising or every night just before bed, write a special message to someone. Or if you are a television watcher, do it during the commercials. At the end of Lent you will have made 40 souls smile.

2. Grab your phone.

Once a day during Lent, call someone in your life for no other reason than to tell them how glad you are that they are in your life. Set an alarm on your phone for each evening to remind you it is time to call someone!

3. Lighten a load.

Be on the lookout for ways you can lighten the load of someone in your family or at work. Was your son running late for school today and didn’t have time to make his bed? Make it for him, leaving a sticky note that says, “Love you!” Or do a child’s chore for them that day. Empty the dishwasher or sweep the floor and let them have some extra time to do what they would like. Pack your spouse’s favorite lunch. Take out the trash even though you might not be the one who normally does it. Think of what might help out a coworker. Or pick up their favorite coffee drink as a surprise to help them pick up the pace as they work. Be on the lookout for ways to lighten the load of one person each day.

4. Help a stranger.

While out and about, make it your aim to help a stranger. Open doors. Carry packages into the post office. Help load grocery bags into their vehicle. Grab change out of your purse when they are fumbling to find some in theirs. Pay for their drink or meal. Let them go in front of you in the line at the bank or DMV. {Now THAT is sacrifice!!!} Simply do one kind gesture each day for a stranger.

5. Serve a servant.

Who serves you in life? The mail carrier, garbage collector, your child’s teacher or principal, the pastor? What about the grocery store clerk or gas station attendant? The team mom who schedules all the snacks for your child’s sports team? Treat them to a little something as a way to serve them and show your gratitude.

Below is a favorite treat to make. They freeze well so you can bake up several batches and grab a few out each day to give. For a clever packaging idea, place these in cellophane corsage bags from the florist and tie shut with a pastel curly ribbon. Attach a hand written tag that says, “I’m grateful for you!”

Enjoy your reverse Lenten season!

Join #DoingLentTogether in 2020 on Facebook here or follow us on Instagram here.

Pecan Sandie Balls {my mother-in-law’s famous recipe!)

1 cup butter, softened

2 teaspoons real vanilla

1/4  teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (divided)

2 cups unbleached or all-purpose flour

2 cups finely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium-size mixing bowl, beat butter until fluffy. Add in vanilla, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.

Blend in 1/2 cup of the powdered sugar. Stir in the flour and pecans, mixing lightly. Roll into 1-inch balls and place 1 inch apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes being careful not to over bake. Immediately roll the hot cookie balls in the remaining powdered sugar and place on wire racks to cool. Once cooled, roll in powdered sugar again. Package as desired for giving. Makes four dozen cookies.

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Zip It, the 40-day Keep It Shut challenge by Karen Ehman.Karen Ehman’s 40-day devotional challenge Zip It—based on her New York Times best-seller Keep It Shut: What to Say, How to Say It, and When to Say Nothing at All—offers practical ways to use our words to build, not to break; to bless, not to badger; to encourage, not to embitter; to praise, not to pounce.

Zip It covers eight major topics including temper, gossip, forgiveness, and how God’s word can alter our words. Each topic includes five daily interactive entries, so the 40-day challenge may be used over an 8-week period, Monday through Friday. Each day includes a scripture focus for the day, an anchor story with a teaching point, reflection questions to ponder, a challenge for the day based on the verse, and a prayer prompt.

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313 Comments

  1. My sister sent me this….and I just now had some time to read it. I love the idea and hope to implement some of your ideas. Thank you.

  2. I love this! I gave up sweets for lent, but I wasn’t getting anything out of it. I wanted to my Lenten experience to have more meaning than a way for me to shed a few pounds. I’m currently reading and somehow wanted to incorporated it into Lent. I love your ideas. I might be a week late, but I’m switching to the note idea. It puts into practice what I’m studying. Thank you!

  3. Karen,

    I quit “giving up” something for Lent several years ago, and instead would take on something positive. I love your ideas and the ideas from reader’s comments. I have already started what I call my Lenten “mission” this year, with my choice is to do an act of kindness for a different coworker each work day, and a random act of kindness for a stranger on the other days of Lent. But I will keep these ideas for future years.

    A few years back I had 4 dozen palm-sized stones with flat surfaces, that were cleaned, buffed. On one side was painted a single word, ( 7 different words)like “Forgiveness”, “Peace”, “Hope”, etc., and on the other side, an appropriate Bible references, such as Joshua 1:9 for “Courage”. I carried 7 stones with me, and each day would reach in and pull out one stone and give to someone I encountered.

    You new book would be a great resource for me. I work at a Franciscan Retreat Center and Conventual Church, and almost daily encounter someone who is struggling or hurting. Know what and when to respond, or if I should just listen is very important.

    Blessings to you and your readers!

  4. This is the second year that I invite the widows of my parish to a Friday night fish fry during Lent. Last year we filled one table. This year just from my daily Mass group 5 more have lost their spouses and we will have another table. What a beautiful way to let these people know that “they matter” and are loved by God and our community church.

  5. I just love this idea and gong to do it. I have always gave something up for Lent but have mostly failed. And feeling I failed my Lord Jesus. Thank you so much.

  6. Love this idea!! I just lost my job on Tuesday, and this is the best idea to get me away from thinking about me. I am also going to make those cookies and drop them off at various workplaces to all my friends that I haven’t been able to see as much because I was always working such long hours. A yummy way to reconnect!

    I’m having a pay-it-forward give-away on my blog, one of my very favorite things goes to one lucky commenter. Check it out!
    http://www.tracyes.blogspot.com/2015/02/hydration-and-free-stuff.html

  7. A GREAT thought, things I try to achieve every day but without CONSCIOUS effort! During this Lent season , I will make a CONSCIOUS decision to compliment AT LEAST one person every day! Hopefully, it will last 365 days!

  8. Good ideas! The priest at my church said when he is asked what he is giving up for Lent, he says “Sin”. I guess your suggestion is another way to do that, i.e. to lessen the abundance of negative in the world. I planned on giving up chocolate and wine, but now I am thinking that the frustration might lead me to all kinds of negativity, so maybe I should do some note-writing instead!! ;-)

  9. This inspires me! I would like to make sure I compliment someone everyday. Too many people have insecurities and I hope to help.
    Thank you for a wonderful idea

  10. This year our pastor suggested an additional Lenten idea. If you choose to give something up (especially time-wise) fill that time with something spiritual.

  11. I love this idea!! I grew up in a church that doesn’t really do anything for lent either, but I’ve recently become intrigued by the idea. I just started reading a new book yesterday (the first day of lent) by my favorite author, Max Lucado. It’s called “On Calvary’s Hill: 40 Readings For The Easter Season.” I was trying to come up with something else that I could do for lent that would be meaningful to me. My first thought was that I was going to “give up” my favorite chocolate covered cherries that I just got for Valentine’s Day (that’s a huuuuuge sacrifice, lol) but now that I’ve seen your blog……I know exactly what I am going to do now!!! I’m so excited about the idea of “taking something on” to bless someone instead of just “depriving myself” of something that really doesn’t have a whole lot of meaning. Thank you so much for the idea!!! :)

  12. Hi Karen! This is a fantastic idea! I love it!! Thank you for sharing.
    I do have 1 question, that some may find silly, but I have not practiced Lent since I was a teen (I am no longer of a faith that practices Lent) so I do not know when it officially begins & ends. Can you give me those dates? Thank you!
    And again, thank you for this wonderful idea…I really look forward to putting it into action with my husband & children! :)

  13. I did the stranger thing! I did it! I really did! :) I know that may seem odd,but in the past 6 or so years of my life I’ve preferred to sit back and stay to myself. Me…the girl who was once described as being able to walk into a room and immediately make others feel comfortable. The girl who my pastor father in law said could talk to anybody. (it was true) I don’t know why or what changed in me, but I just didn’t want to be like that anymore. So today we were out eating (with my father in law.. Ha! ), and I intentionally conversed with the family seated across from us. I smiled and made the choice to be kind when I typically would have just reverted to processing deep within the little wrinkles of my brain everything that was happening around me and probably half of what happened last week. Kind of felt nice to talk. :) I just wanted to share that with someone… I hope that’s okay.

  14. This is great advice and I’m going to put your book on my must read list for 2014. I guess just being mindful of my needs and my familis needs is one thing I’m focusing on this lent season and to do a good deed each day. Along with a few other things but mostly to be healthy are those other things. Happy lent to all.

  15. I love the idea of reversed lent, have done that in the past and just had this discussion with my husband of things we could add on in addition to giving up something. I loved your list of ideas. My plan is to set a specific time to read my bible daily, this way I won’t let distractions get in the way of my quiet time. I also love to bake, so I will definatly be trying the cookie recipe. Thank you so much for sharing your ideas…inspirational!

  16. Thank you for this, I know I am a day late, but I am going to send 40 personal notes out!! What an encouraging post.

  17. I used to observe lent and always looked at it as what can I give up and it always ended in failure and was always tied to something that did not grow my spiritual relationship with God. So after reading this, I want to focus on doing something positive. I like the note idea, but do not have many peoples addresses, so I want to make it a point to give words of affirmation to 1 person every day, whether it is in a text, phone call, private message or even a card.

    Sometimes we forget what a blessing kind words can be in a very busy stressful world. So if I can make someone smile and make their heart a little happier I know I am showing and spreading love.

  18. My Lenten challenge is to only see the positive. No negative remarks. It is sometimes hard to see the positive in all situations. That is what I will striving to do!

  19. You have inspired me yet again, Karen! I’m going to start the note card practice today. Thank you for sharing your “outside the box” thinking. :o)

  20. I love this idea. I think I will do a thank you note to my clients. I don’t know if they realize how important they are to me. So this idea works perfectly. Especially since I’m not so good and the sending of Christmas cards. However I’m also doing the 40 bags in 40 days!! Trash be gone!! It’s a spiritual cleansing as well!!

  21. This is such a great idea! I will be sending 40 note cards to family, friends, and acquaintances this year. I am so thankful that my friend, Marti Crosley Jensen shared this post with me.

  22. Love this plan of doing something for someone else, have been trying to be a better person and this will help keep me on track.

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