"Religion is to do right. It is to love, it is to serve, it is to think, it is to be humble."

"Today, some people give up a vice of theirs, add something that will bring them closer to God, and often give the time or money spent doing that to charitable purposes or organizations."

I grew up in a very faith and religion based family. I went to church every Sunday, went to Sunday school, I was an altar server, a reader, a song leader and I was given the Christian living award in high school. However, I have always struggled with the idea of religion v.s. faith. What is more important and whether one could exist without the other. My father always used to say that people would pick and choose what they wanted from religion-like a buffet. As much as I find that idea a tad disgusting I must admit that there are beliefs and practices that linger from the days when I was a 'practising' Catholic (and by practicing I mean one that went to church every Sunday, in my heart I still consider myself a Catholic).

I still believe in the concept of forgiveness. I believe that no matter what you do, if you repent the Lord will forgive you. I still consider and reference scripture during my everyday life (the first shall be last, do unto others as you would have them do unto you, the story of the fish and the loaves etc.). I believe in sex only when you are in a loving, committed relationship. I believe in the 10 commandments and try my best to follow them (using the Lords name in vain is my biggest challenge). And every year, during Lent, I still feel obligated to give something up.

I am not sure what it was today that made me so aware that Lent was beginning...maybe it was all the people from Louisiana and all the Mardi Gras beads. However, regardless of what it was, I decided to really give it a go and give up something that would really, really challenge me.

I am giving up McDonalds.

For some people that is not a big deal...for me, it's huge. Now, over the past few months I have reduced my McDonalds intake to once a week (I know, it's still disgusting but it's a big deal for me) and I am hoping that will help get me through the next 40 days. However, every now and then I may need support or a place to vent and if I do you can bet I'm coming here! Wish me luck!

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." ~Martin Luther King Jr.