Spinach and Pancakes,But Not Together

Okay, I began this post just to shamelessly use my blog to keep track of this post by Molly Piper asking how to use spinach. Her readers left a vast list of yummy recipes and ideas and I don't want to lose it. My kids love spinach. Really. In fact, Ethan really isn't in to salads anymore - unless it's spinach. (I think he's just sick of romaine and my kids have never liked iceberg lettuce.)

In other news, we celebrated Fat Tuesday with Dunkin' Donuts breakfast that we shared with our neighbors, then for supper, a pancake extravaganza - peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes, cherry vanilla pancakes, cranberry walnut pancakes, Oreo pancakes, then lemon blueberry pancakes - one of each for each person and all gluten free - it was a hit! The peanut butter chocolate chip pancakes won hands down. We talked about Pancake Day traditions and about fasting. That's on the agenda for tomorrow.

Ethan has given up video games for Lent. I had him go without them for a week a few weeks ago and he realized that a lot of his anger and frustration was linked to playing a particular game that was frustrating. He decided that he wanted to give up all video games completely on his own, hoping to develop a better attitude and self-control as a result. Incidentally, I'm giving up video games too. Doesn't that sound lame?? But I've spent a ridiculous number of hours lately trying to keep ahead of my sister and mother on Mahjohng and Bejewelled Blitz on Facebook. Indeed, Rachel, I worked very hard the last half hour before midnight to best your high score, but now it's time to lose that imbalance of time versus return of investment. So that I can invest it elsewhere - like in my sorely neglected blog, for instance. :^)

Tomorrow we are going to take a exploratory trip into the world of fasting. Carnation instant breakfast and a piece of fruit at lunch, then a regular dinner. The children want to fast. I know that this isn't 'really' fasting, but it is a good way, I think, to begin to learn this spiritual discipline. We recently read about Jesus' forty day fast in our daily Scripture readings, and Rose really has latched on to this correlation with Lent. Imagine not eating at all until Easter? Being "one meal hungry" is enough to put most of us in a bad enough mood to sin without any additional temptation. I know that most Protestants don't observe Lent very much, or at all, but I am so grateful for something on the calendar that I can build traditions upon that focus us on the sacrifice of Jesus. If we can spend weeks anticipating the celebration of His birth, why not the celebration of His resurrection? We will light the candles, take a break from Philippians to work again on Isaiah 53, relearn our passion and Easter hymns, and remember all that Jesus has done for us.