40 days of water: day 1

(I hope the folks at blood:water mission don't mind that I lifted this image off their site.)  A few days ago I  posted that they had issued a challenge for anyone to give up all beverages except water for 40 days.  I thought about it.  Thought I couldn't do it. (I think that about a lot of challenges.)  Prayed about it a little.

Interestingly, I've been thinking of giving up something for Lent in preparation for Easter for a while now.  Had a been raised Catholic, Orthodox, or in a Reformed  Evangelical denomination,  this might not be a big step.  However, for much of my life I equated any tradition other than Baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the celebrations of Christmas and Easter as somehow being tied into the law, the law from which Christ came to save us, and therefore completely unnecessary.  Honestly, I'm not sure where that came from.  I certainly don't have any scripture to support it.

Anyway, over the past several years, our family had the privilege of worshiping with a body of Believers who introduced us to more dates on the Christian calendar.  Not out of duty, but as an encouragement to help us focus our hearts on Christ in preparation for our annual celebrations. 

So, when it just so happened that the challenge issued by blood:water mission coincided with Lent, well, I had no excuse not to.  Other than, "I can't do that."  And that's the point.  I can't do it on my own.  After all, I've been sucked into my in-laws' coffee drinking habits.  Thanks to my parents' influence, I revel in my evening cup of tea, especially with my recent discovery of a great loose-leaf brand online.  And being the suburban housewife that I am, I frequent our local McD's, even after going to the grocery store located across the parking lot.  Their McCafe drinks have captured my taste buds (caramel frappe- yum!), and of course if I resist that temptation, there's always the Coke or  even a Hi-C Orange when I don't want all that fizz or buzz.

It's going to be an interesting 40 days, to say the least.  My cousin is getting married within this time period... can I have a day of grace at the wedding?  I'll cross that bridge when I get there.  

I woke up this morning and of course, the folks at b:wm had posted a reminder to their Facebook group.  I read it before even grinding my morning coffee.  Plus, I had been backing off the caffeine intake and upping the H2O the last 3-4 days.  Why back down now?

I am not a complete coffee addict.  I usually have 1-2 cups in the morning 1-4 days per week.  So this morning wasn't too hard.  I do love juices, which brings a whole different dimension to the challenge.  And milk.  Lately I've been craving chocolate milk, thanks to a picky 4 year old who needs her calcium somehow.

Well, I made it through the morning, lunch and afternoon.  The real test would be dinner.  Chik-fil-a has the best lemonade. Ever.  And guess where we were headed for dinner?  The breakfast buffet at the Chik-fil-a Dwarf House.  It's practically become a tradition since we moved here.

I did not even take a sip of my daughter's lemonade. 

Day One: $1.79 saved, plus tax

$1.79 that I did not spend on a Coke, Lemonade, or a coffee-ish beverage.  Even if I only save $50 to donate, I am confident that it will be enough to make a small difference for someone.  The fact that there are people around the world who would (and do) die due to lack of the clean water I "had" to have in place of my preferred beverage is very sobering.  

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Ok, technically It's 46 days since I will be following the Lenten calendar.  But only 40 of those days are water-only, as Sundays are celebration days.... 1 day down, 45 to go.