**PSST – hi friend! thank you for your interest in 40 days of joy in the ordinary! one of my favorite things is hosting a Lent challenge each year. THIS post is about the 2018 Lent challenge BUT we do a new challenge each year and i’d love to have you join! you can find the details and SIGN UP for this year’s Grow in Gratitude Lent Challenge right HERE!

is there something you used to do when you were first married, first started a friendship, or first welcomed your sweet baby into the world that you just don’t do anymore? picture this. me. sitting cross legged for hours, cutting out hearts from pink, purple, and red construction paper. covering a shoebox with white paper. and writing 100 valentines to slip through the top slot of said box. 100! all for my fiancé, or maybe he wasn’t even my fiancé yet. it was that long ago that i cannot remember. THAT long ago.

my husband and i have been dating for sixteen years and married for almost ten. goodness that sounds long. in all that time, i have grown very used to our relationship. very comfortable in our love for each other. our days and years have gotten fuller, filled with more responsibilities and more people {especially LITTLE people}. at the end of the day {literally}, it is most often this person i rely on more than all the others who is the first to take a back seat. maybe you are nodding your head because you can think of a relationship like this too? one that could use some of the attention you used to give it back in the good old days?

so i got to thinking. actually. i was complaining. complaining that lent starts on valentine’s day this year. fasting on the most chocolatey of all chocolate days? sacrifice instead of indulgence? after a quick pity party i starting praying about how i might change my attitude. maybe it is no coincidence that this year, lent does start on valentine’s day. maybe God wants me to work on my relationships this lent, beginning on valentine’s day, and particularly my relationship with my husband.

maybe He wants YOU to do the same?

if you’ve been to the blog before, you know that the LITTLE things actually started sixteen years ago during lent. last year, a group of readers participated in the 40 days of gratitude challenge. side note: it was awesome. and also, i spelled the word challenge WRONG in the promos and only just realized it. insert eye roll emoji.

in the continued spirit of notice the LITTLE things’ anniversary, i’d love for you to join me for this year’s LITTLE lent list challenge. do you have to be religious to participate in this challenge? no. 40 days to a healthier and more consistent expression of love towards someone close to you can only lead to good things!

if you are religious, you might be asking how this challenge might lead you to a closer relationship with God this lent. i asked myself the same question as ideas for this year’s challenge swirled through my head. so i did just a LITTLE research. i called my mom, as i do with many things pertaining to faith, and she was able to better articulate why my heart felt so compelled to make love this year’s challenge topic. she directed me to galatians 5:22-23. the fruits of the spirit.

“but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…”

love is always mentioned first when the fruits of the Spirit are listed in the Bible. there is a reason for this, as LOVE is the one fruit that leads to all the others. without love, there can’t be joy. there can’t be peace. there can’t be forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, or self-control.

but the greatest of these is love.

as i sit and reflect, i can see this in my own relationships. in love, peace is possible even when you disagree. in love, patience {forbearance} is possible even when you are picking up someone’s shoes. again. in love, gentleness is possible even when you are sure you’ve already given that direction 16 times this afternoon. LOVE is the catalyst for all the other fruits. on the other hand, if love is lacking, all the others will suffer.

how can we better demonstrate love this lent? perhaps by telling someone again and again, how and why we love him/her. by building up the love between ourselves and someone else. by modeling, as best as we can, the love God has for us toward others. for me, this will be done by way of the LITTLE things. i am going to let my husband know all the LITTLE things i love about him, everyday of lent. the reasons i respect him. the reasons i appreciate him. the reasons he is important to me. though i am choosing my husband as the recipient of my extra love, this challenge is not specific to significant others. you can choose your daughter. your son. your neighbor. your mom. your best friend. or any combination of these people. want to join me??

i hope you do. here’s how:

40 days of love

{ LITTLE lent list challenge }

{1} sign up

*the info below and in this post is from our 2018 challenge. to get information on this year’s Grow in Gratitude and join hundreds of families uncovering and celebrating everyday blessings…click HERE.

to sign up, simply subscribe to the blog here. when you press submit, you will be redirected to a link to the LITTLE FREE printable library, including the ones to guide you through the next 40 days of love.
like notice the LITTLE things on facebook and message me so i know you’ve joined the challenge. i will add you to our separate closed facebook group for the next 40 days. giving up facebook for lent? no problem. just email me at [email protected].
already a subscriber? message me through facebook and i will send you a personal link to the printables.
if you’d like, invite a friend to join you and share the challenge on social media. accountability is always a good thing!

{2} participate

for this fun LITTLE lent challenge, the 40 days of lent will be divided into ten groups of four days {we will take sundays off}.

february 14, 15, 16, 17
february 19, 20, 21, 22
february 23, 24, 26, 27
february 28, march 1, 2, 3
march 5, 6, 7, 8
march 9, 10, 12, 13
march 14, 15, 16, 17
march 19, 20, 21, 22
march 23, 24, 26, 27
march 28, 29, 30, 31

for the first set of four days – february 14, 15, 16, 17 – you will write one LITTLE thing you love about your person on each day. use your printables to guide you.

for the second set of four days – february 19, 20, 21, 22 – you will write two LITTLE things you love about your person on each day. use your printables to guide you.

for the third set of four days – february 23, 24, 26, 27 – you will write three LITTLE things you love about your person on each day. use your printables to guide you.

are you catching on to the pattern? on the last set of four days, you will write ten LITTLE things you love about your person on each day. yes ten! by this time, it will be easy because you will be in the habit and it might even be hard to stick to ten. your printables will guide you throughout the whole challenge and keep you organized. plus, they’re cute! i’ve written the dates on them for you, along with correctly numbered spots for your LITTLE things.

there are really no rules for how you actually write your LITTLE things to your person. the goal each day is to focus on LOVE towards that person, modeling God’s love, and being open to the occurrences of joy, peace, gentleness and other feelings that might flow naturally from that.

i plan to give the list to my husband each day. i might string them in his office {too girlie?}, or put them in an envelope each evening on his side of the bed, or hide them somewhere to find during the day. you can be creative too!

using one of the printables you will receive when you sign up, here is an example of what my LITTLE things will probably look/sound like:

{3} questions

remember that shoebox wrapped in construction paper?! well here’s to giving some of our most treasured relationships the attention they deserve. in doing so, let’s grow closer to God this lent as we practice the greatest of His commands.

feel free to message me on facebook or email me with any questions. i’m excited for you to join and look forward to hearing from you! click here to get started!

happy noticing!

if you’re like me, accountability is always a good thing. want to share this challenge with others on pinterest? click on the red save icon on the image below and add this to your boards.