It's Mardi Gras, today! That means tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. Lent has always been a tough one for me. Yes, we can "give up" things and that can deepen our spirituality, but I have always tried to find something positive TO DO during Lent. This year it's been difficult. I find myself needed to lose weight again and thought I might give up Diet Coke or join Weight Watchers and use the discomfort that I feel to ponder on my life and how I want to be comfortable all of the time. Then I read about March Forth for Justice. Yes, it's on Mardi Gras, but it's a day to actively do something for a justice cause. I chose the renewal of the Voting Rights Act as my cause and wrote my congresspeople, tweeted and blogged about it so others can do the same. Why did I chose this particular cause? Because when we start to make laws that determine who can and can't vote, we have taken a step towards a fascist society. It may sound like a good idea; to make people show ID to vote, but these laws are designed to keep the elderly, women and minorities from voting. And many of them vote Democrat so it's really just a way for Republicans to win an election by cheating. Many members of today's Republican Party identify as "Christian" conservative, white men and their wives. Since I happen to believe Jesus didn't exclude people or judge people or cheat, I have an issue with calling these people Christians, or perhaps "followers of Christ", which is what I consider myself. I am a Taoist at heart, I believe the divine is in us all, in every thing in this world. This does not conflict with my belief that Jesus came to teach people about kindness and love and acceptance and forgiveness. So this Lent I am going to find a way every day to encourage these values. I need to be more kind, more loving, more accepting and more forgiving,especially when it involves people that I think are trying to take over my nation and mold it to their narrow and hateful ways. See, there I go again. We lead by example. So I'm inviting all those Republicans to also be more kind, more loving, more accepting and yes, more forgiving. Let's spend Lent walking in Christ's path.

It's WIP Wednesday! Here is my work in progress. I'm working on a window treatment for a friend. What do you think?