Today we are letting go of any trace of bitterness we may harbor within so as to remain wide open the the Graces God has in store for us this day. Let’s allow God to be our influence and not the circumstances of our everyday life that create negative and bitter feelings.

We are looking to give up and let go of our personal pursuit of happiness! We don’t want to be miserable for Lent but exactly opposite: we want to embrace the lasting and enduring joy that comes with staying close to Christ and keeping our focus on Him. Ultimately in these days where we are warned about the dangers of contagion, our joy needs to be “infectious” so that it will attract and draw others to Christ! This is the Lenten joy we seek to grow in this day.

What attitude or spirit do we all possess that will certainly drag us down and keep us stuck? It’s the critical spirit, one that focuses on the negatives and ultimately steals our joy. We want today to let go of complaining to free us up and see clearly what is best and most hopeful in the persons and circumstances that surround us!

Today we endeavor to let go of and eliminate fear, worrying and anxious living! We are living in stressful times yet we believe in a Heavenly Father who cares for our every need. Reflecting on Matthew’s 6th Chapter we learn from Jesus how to give up worrying and embrace His love in every part of our lives!

It’s so easy to remain in protective mode when it comes to sharing our money, our time, and other resources. This is due to our fear that we will end up not having enough and putting ourselves at risk of serious risk. Jesus models for us a spirit of lavish generosity as He gives even His own life for us. Today we seek to avoid a scarcity mentality and embrace a spirit of generosity based on our trust that God always exceeds our expectations and gives us all we could ever need.

All of us struggle with negativity from time to time, but when our perceptions and feelings become driven by negative thoughts life becomes grim and seemingly hopeless. Today we are giving up all forms of negativity in our thoughts and words and replacing them with God’s words spoken to us in Scripture and in our prayer times.

Most people believe they are pretty deserving and place high demands and expectations on life and others to get their needs met. Thus this day of the Challenge is examining and rooting out any hint of entitlement that may reside within me. We want to build an impenetrable trust and enduring hope in what Christ brings me. Then we want to welcome those gifts from God as our enough!

So often when we run into difficulties and find ourselves to be unsure of the direction in which we should be headed we forget or outright refute to ask for help! Day 10 of our Lenten Challenge asks us to give up going it alone! To seek out the advice and help from those God has placed in my life to help, guide, and assist me along the way of life. Let’s not even try to get to Easter under our own steam!

All of us have very high demands placed on our daily lives from our job, our family, and many other commitments we have entered into. While all of these comments are important we can easily forget to set aside time for God. Today we are giving up our over-commitment and building Sabbath into our living.

Have you ever been plagued by a nagging and enduring sense of guilt? Guilt is a feeling that is easy to get confused so how do you know the difference between a healthy guilt that puts your life back on track and an unhealthy guilt that is an obstacle to experience the fullness of God’s gifts? Today our Lenten Challenge asks us to give up the unhealthy guilt and bask in the goodness, mercy and unconditional love of our Heavenly Father!