Lent, 2007 - The Theology of the Void

This is the first year our family has done anything for Lent, but we thought it would be a great exercise in discipline and reflection.

My oldest son, Jonathan, and I are choosing to drink only water and milk, which has already been tough. I had a caffeine headache all day yesterday and this morning and kept thinking "You know, a large glass of sweet tea would be mighty fine right now". My daughter, Autumn, and wife, Nancy, have given up sweets and desserts. Autumn has already told me that it has been really hard because the teacher at school hands out little treats as rewards.

We had our kids do research on fasting a couple of nights ago, and Nancy and I told our kids the night before it started that whenever we think of these material things that we are giving up that we are instead supposed to think of Christ and how he is even more important.

It has been a great topic of discussion in our family, and you know what? I need to be weaned from these material things as much as anyone else in our family. I love that I have this constant "Christ is all I need" running through the back of my painful head. I hate that I had a headache, but the pain strangely makes it all the more real.

Anyone else giving anything up for Lent? What kind of reflection has the void caused?