What are you going to do for Lent?

Lent is nearly here.

It's time to prayerfully consider what we should do during those 40 days to open our hearts to Jesus.

I looked around for suggestions for Lenten practices and found some of the most uplifting at Lifeteen.com, an online site for young Catholics. The site asked people to share what they've done during Lent, and they provided some creative and unusual suggestions. Sometimes I included the person's comments because they, too, were inspiring.

"Don't eat the last bite of your food."

"Park at the very back of the parking lot."

"Put a popcorn kernel in your shoe every day."

"Don't use your apps."

 "Get to know your neighbors."

 "Stop complaining."

 "Give up texting and call whoever you need to talk to."

 "Give away 10 shirts, two pairs of pants and a pair of shoes."

 "When you wake up, jump out of bed, kiss the floor and learn humility."

 "Wear the same four outfits for all of Lent."

 "Leave a Post-It with a positive message on it wherever you go."

 "Cut out all screen time (phone, TV, computer) after dinner."

 "Use your weekends to babysit for free."

 "Don't straighten or curl your hair."

 "Give up all drinks but water.

 "Don't give up anything. Just pray more.

"I gave up spoons and forks. I learned to use chopsticks. It was funny for my friends and made it easy to talk about Lent in a way that people were cool with. We laughed a lot."

"Give up your bed and sleep on the floor or couch."

"I fasted for all of Lent one year. One meal a day really brings souls to Jesus, especially your own!"

"I'm going to treat my body as a temple of God during Lent . . . everything I read, watch, listen to, eat, drink, do, say, etc. . . . focusing on being a temple of God."

"Each day of Lent, I wrote a person . . . a letter of thanks for how they touched my life, and I prayed for that person on that day. . . . It was a WONDERFUL experience!!!"

"This year, I'm giving up the radio in my car in order to focus more on the things that are around me that God created! I can't wait, so I've already started doing it."

"I slept outside in a tent. And I live in Canada! So it was well below freezing!"

"I have an issue with vanity, especially when I get ready in the morning. So I decided a couple years ago to just wear the first outfit I put on every morning. What I learned from that was how to get a source of self esteem beyond my outfits."

"Last year two of my friends gave up warm water for their showers."

Leave your phone behind if you always have to check it. "My hope is that having moderation I can be more present to the people around me."

Listen more.

Give up makeup.

"Usually during Lent, on top of giving up something we love but don't need, we say that any money that is found in the laundry, couches, and anywhere else was God's money, and we gave it to the poor. I remember one of the first years we did this, I found a $20 bill in a parking lot."

"Two years ago I went to adoration every day during Lent. I'm not gonna lie, I didn't make it every day but I made it most of the time and it changed my life to . . . be with Jesus that much. It was an awesome experience."

"Getting to the third floor using stairs."

"I've adopted a priest in Chile . . .  I offer daily prayers and sacrifices for Father."

Give up the alarm clock's snooze button.

"For Holy Week last year I gave up my pillow. . . . It made me realize how blessed I am to even have a bed."

I hope these suggestions got you thinking. Please submit other ideas as well.

Whether you choose to be creative or conventional, have a holy and blessed Lent!

Inspired by the Year of Faith, Susan Szalewski began writing weekly columns for us. Although that year is over, we liked them so well that we asked her to keep writing. Thankfully, she said yes. So watch for these on Thursdays and see the Year of Faith Blog here.