Now I can still have Splenda

Welcome to my Lent blog.

For those of you who don't know Hebrew, the title means "vanity of vanities," from Ecclesiastes. I named my blog that because that's probably what it's going to be.

When I got certified by my DCOM this January, the issue inevitably came up that I have no devotional life to speak of. Someone on the committee asked me a question about Wesleyan spiritual discipline and I kind of sat there awkwardly for a few minutes, hearing "Bueller? Bueller?" in my head. Then I gave a theological rockstar answer along the lines of "I don't really have any spiritual disciplines, but I really want to start." Another committe member said I sounded like the married couples he counsels who really mean to start going on dates sometime. Oh, snap.

So as much as doing something of the devotional variety shouldn't actually be an exclusively Lenten practice, it's a start. Here's my goal: have one theological thought a day, and write it down. That's all.

I was going to give up Splenda for Lent. Seriously, that was my plan for a long time. It was going to be like the opposite of giving up sweets in hope of being really, really skinny by Easter. (I've done that one a bunch, too...turns out it doesn't work if you just eat tortilla chips instead.) See, I use Splenda (and related brands of fake sugar) like it's my job. Soda, coffee, yogurt...I love Splenda because it's like cheap grace. Eat all you want, don't worry about the consequences.

The thought was, giving up Splenda would make me think harder about what I actually put in my body. Especially since I got back from India this summer I've been more and more convinced that there's just no reason to eat all the crap we eat here when people have so little in other places. Except then I realized that training for this marathon means I'm already thinking about my body pretty much all the time anyway. Adding a Lenten practice to make me do that more is probably just bordering on having issues.

Also, I didn't want Splenda to go out of business in These Troubled Economic Times.

Anyway, my lack of a devotional life is probably a bigger peril to my immortal soul right now than my consumption of sugar derivatives.

So if anyone is actually reading this, enjoy my attempt at a combination of spiritual discipline and public theology. And if not, well...hakkol hebel.