Don't give up..... give out!

Today is Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras, Pancake Tuesday... or perhaps it goes under some other name in your part of the world. Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent, a time when religious people traditionally give up certain things, usually certain kinds of food, for the 40 days leading up to Easter. Even non-religious people sometimes find that Lent is a good excuse for starting a diet: giving up chocolate, chips, or whatever their particular stumbling block happens to be. The truth, however, is that the true message of Easter is the story of God's amazing generosity. What He gave up was His own Son, allowing Him to die on the cross so that you and I could have a real friendship with God again.
Stewardship, a UK charity whose mission is to transform generosity and help Christians be more effective in their giving, has launched an initiative called 40 Acts - a celebration and a challenge which they hope will transform the way we think about Lent and will help us to live out the generosity of the Easter message over the next forty days. Instead of giving something up, why not give something out instead? From now until Easter, they are challenging Christians to live a lifestyle of generosity and to engage in daily acts of kindness that will make an impact in their world and be a blessing to those around them.
Pancake day isn't a tradition here in Spain - you can't just go out and buy them in a shop - so Gabriela and I planned to make pancakes for our first act of kindness at home. I showed her how to make the batter and we made some pancakes as a surprise for her Mum when she got home from work. If you'd like to get involved in "giving something out" for Lent, why not check out the  40 Acts website or sign up for their emails with suggestions for different acts of kindness and generosity over the coming six weeks?