Wanna learn more about this crazy Tuesday of indulgence: batter, beads, beer? It only makes sense in the context of the Lent season. Kerry, at A Ten O’Clock Scholar will be hosting a Lenten Carnival on her blog this week. I’m looking forward to learning more about the tradition and implementing some meaningful practices in our home. I’ll keep you posted…

There are several explanations for why we precede a season of repentance with an indulgent day. Today, we eat donuts and pancakes and wear flashy costumes to symbolize the pleasures of the flesh. In our home, we’ll happily celebrate the countless physical pleasures that are gifts from God. Tomorrow then, we’ll begin 40 days of repentance and fasting, symbolizing the pleasures of the spirit. Yes, pleasures. As I posted yesterday, repentance is one of the most glorious and fulfilling human experiences, for it is accompanied by the Spirit’s fullness. Pleasure. A Mardi Gras party holds no candle to Peace that passes understanding. I explained to Vivienne this morning that the things that satisfy our bodies – good or evil – don’t compare to the One who satisfies our spirits.

I wonder if I annually stumbled through February and March (every winter seemed so loooong) because I never practiced these traditions. Maybe it wasn’t the barren and dark outdoors, but the barren and dark indoors that put me in a funk. Perhaps one of the most gracious cures for the winter blues is this season of releasing all of the dead junk in our own lives so that new life can flourish.

For today, we eat Dunkin’ Donuts; tomorrow, we eat the Bread of Life.