Are you observing?

I have prayerfully decided that I am going to "participate" in sacrificing some things for Lent.
I have never observed Lent. I am a bit ashamed of this.

A little background on me...
I grew up knowing Christ and His ultimate sacrifice from my mother. Even though we never attended church more than 5-10 times per year, I knew all the Bible stories and said my prayers every night. My grandparents are Catholic and I attended mass with them many times, and I also went to Baptist church with my parents. However, I did not read the Bible or attend church regularly until I met Chad when I was 18.

Pretty quickly in our relationship he told me that if we wanted to continue dating, I must attend church with him every Sunday. I will admit, at first I went to church with him because I simply wanted to spend every moment with him. After several months, I realized I liked being part of a church family. I found myself becoming more conscious of my words and actions and striving to be more Christ-like. Chad and I committed to reading the entire new testament the second year we were dating. Every night, I would call him from my dorm room and we would take turns reading 1-2 chapters of the Bible each night.  I thank Chad for helping me grow into the Christian that I am.
We are fortunate to have found 2 churches that are perfect for our family. Harpeth Hills church is where we spend our Sunday mornings and Sunday evenings with our wonderful life group. And Granny White is our Wednesday night church. If you are looking for a place to call home, both of these are wonderful church families.

Back to lent....
The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection. 
I am observing lent this year for these reasons. Jesus Christ gave up so much for me. I should be able to give up some things for Him, in honor of Him.

I choose to give up two things that will be extremely difficult for me. Yet are nothing compared to His sacrifice........
Sugar
Non-essential purchases.

My plan is to pray or read scripture when I feel the urge to eat a cookie or buy a lip gloss, clothes for my boys, etc.

What will you give up in observance of lent?