what we’re planning for Lent

My family had such a wonderful and full Advent season mixing in bible reading, storybooks, crafts, and gatherings, and I wanted to make sure I planned adequately for the Lenten season as well. Besides, Easter is why we’re Christians, right?! (You can read about our December and Advent plans here).

In case you’re also trying to really embrace this season of Lent with your family, I wanted to share some things we are doing in our household to focus our minds and hearts on the scriptures and what this season really is about.

I grew up Catholic, so to me, Lent is a season full of giving up things (oreos, french fries, eating out, you get the idea), avoiding meat on Fridays, and attending different services at church including the Stations of the Cross and reenactments of the Last Supper.

Today, my family and I are members of another church, but I still always like to sacrifice something for Lent each year as a reminder (and very pale comparison) to the sacrifice Christ did for me on the cross. Most of the time it is social media that I give up, and this year, instead of giving it up, I think I’m going to set some really strong parameters for when using it instead. The reason why is because whenever I take a sabbatical or a time off of social media, I feel like I “binge” information when it’s time to return, trying to catch up on what I had missed. How silly, I know!

But more importantly, instead of focusing on what I’m giving up, I channeling my energy into what I want to DO with my family. This year, we will be reading from this book each day. I’m really excited to share this with my children, and I hope it can become a yearly tradition each Easter season. I want them to understand Who Christ is and what He has done for us. Yes, it can be read at any point in the year, but it is our main resource for our family this year during Lent: Who is Jesus. This book has daily scripture readings, summaries/commentaries on the topic for the day, and reflection questions. The authors detail how to use this book as a Lenten study (following the six-week timetable of Lent) in the introduction and how to use it throughout the year as well if you chose that route.

Two other books that I love to read with my children are The Berenstain Bears Easter Story and The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Hunt. I actually discovered The Tale of Three Trees during Advent, and it brought me to tears. It is a wonderful story for positioning ourselves in a posture reflecting God’s glory. Both are these are great to have in your at-home library!

I will also continue with a Lenten Good Deeds chart with my daughter this year (age 5). We did this last year, and it was really great to discuss what a good deed actually is (it is not a chore, comes from the heart, expects nothing in return for it, etc.). Each time my daughter does a good deed, she gets to color in a piece from the stained glass window. Come Easter Sunday, she will have a beautiful and colorful stained glass window full of good deeds she has completed this season.

This free printable is from Kinder Craze, so definitely make sure you grab it and stick it on your fridge for your Littles. I think it is a great activity to prepare their hearts for Easter Sunday.

Another activity I’m really excited about this year, is to make Lenten pretzels with my children. We love hot pretzels in the Sloop Household, so I thought this would be a great activity and yummy snack to tie into our Lenten focus. The pretzel is supposed to remind us of early Christians and how they would pray by crossing their arms over their chest (hands to opposite shoulders). Here’s the recipe link, so you can check it out too.

The last thing I want to share are these beautiful Easter Cards we will be using during Holy Week. Holy Week is the week leading up to Easter, and it starts on Palm Sunday. Each card has a focus on scripture for the day and a summary of why that day of Holy week is important. Collectively, they tell the Easter story.

I’m not sure how I want to display these cards just yet, but I am thinking we will hang them along our fireplace mantle, so we can see the entire Easter Story laid out for us.

Of course, I will be sharing other Easter-themed activities soon, but here is our plan for Lent which begins this week!

Wishing all of you a Lenten season with renewed faith and awe of what Christ did one the cross for us! Because of His sacrificial giving, there is victory and hope of eternal life with our Creator. Happy Easter!

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