Hulu and the Ultimate Sacrifice

The season of waiting is over. Now is the season of remembrance and sacrifice. Lent is another huge part of my Catholic faith. This lent, I gave up Hulu. I was falling in love with the ease of seeing my favorite shows whenever I wanted a little too deeply. I found it interfered with my every day life - the longing to sit on the couch after a long day of work to catch up on my favorite dramas.

Not that that is an inherently bad thing. We are all entitled to shutting our brains off after a long day and drowning in make believe television. The problem is, it was getting in the way of things I should have been doing i.e. cleaning, cooking, praying, exercising, etc.

The first few days of Lent, I felt like this:

After a few more days of finding other things to do, I started to feel like this:

Finally, around last week, I started to feel like this:

So, yeah. It started to get really good. I would get up early to work out, get home from my new job (yep, a GREAT new job- Praise be to Jesus in his flowing robes) take Benny out, make dinner and clean the kitchen, and try to delve into different things that weren't Hulu.

Recently, however, I decided to take this whole sacrificing thing up a notch. I'm still allowed to watch Netflix, so I know I'm cheating the system somehow.

Yesterday I started my mom's "Mama G's 14 Day Boot Camp". It's a detoxifying, soul-sucking diet of sorts that rids your body of sugar cravings and unnecessary water weight. The last two times I did it not only did I feel like my body was internally jumping for joy, I felt like I was truly treating it like a temple.

When we stuff our bodies with unnecessary things - television, social media, those brownies that have zucchini in them but aren't really as healthy as you think they are* - we stop treating ourselves like we are the image and likeness of God.

Ben gave up beer. Not because he has a problem with it, but because he really really didn't want too. He loves a good IPA or craft beer. He decided to sacrifice something he loves in order to remember something he loves a lot more.

In these next two weeks of fueling my body with only the good stuff, I'll continue to offer up my cravings and my binge-watching for all those people who don't have any food. For people who would kill to be able to have their own house to clean. Hopefully, it will be a good reset for when Easter has come and gone. I hope to carry on what I learn into the rest of my life.

What are you looking to accomplish through the rest of Lent? What is holding you back from loving God and remembering his sacrifice for us?

Ben and I are praying for all of you!

Tay

*Here is that zucchini brownie recipe. Seriously guys they are amazing!!