lent related resolution

My current roommate is Catholic. We have been talking about lent. I thought it was a nice idea to give up something for a period of time as a constant reminder of the sacrifice God made for us. I wanted to do something too.

So I talked to another friend about it. He was for the idea, but he warned me of the possibility of setting myself up for sinning if I do not think it through. It would be a covenant between me and God. If I put myself in a situation where I only have a slim chance not to fail, I would be doing something consciously and stupidly to sin against God.

It made sense, but I was somehow discouraged.

Then during our lifegroup last night, we happened to be talking about giving up something so that we could give something to others for the month of March. I guess this is probably more realistic for me. I will not make a covenant with God. Instead, it will be something we do as a group to practice our characters. So if I fail, which does not mean I won't try my very best, I won't be sinning against God directly and I could ask for grace.

This still sounds a little bit tricky to me. But right now I am settling for this idea. For example, I could give up spending time on internet and use the time to pray for other people.

To be precise, my resolution for this March will be:
1. no Chinese websites except my chinese blog;
2. no blog reading except my own;
3. no gchatting.

My main focus would be on reading the Bible or the "prayer" book by Philip Yancey, praying for people I know or I don't know, and being a good worker.