A few years ago, I spent some time learning about the church calendar and how its seasons are in place to follow the life and death of Christ. Very simply, Christ is born (Advent), he is acknowledged as divine (Epiphany), he is tempted in the desert and dies for our sins (Lent), he is resurrected (Easter), and then the Spirit comes upon believers (Pentecost).
Following the calendar isn't meant to be "religious" or another thing on a to-do list. Instead, it's meant to stir up our hearts and challenge us to pause and reflect in particular ways throughout the year.
For Lent, the idea is that we deny ourselves something for 40 days to represent Jesus fasting 40 days and then being tempted by Satan in the desert. During this time, we stop filling ourselves with all the pleasures of the world and instead empty ourselves long enough to see our sin and brokenness. This may look like fasting from certain foods, social media, Netflix, shopping, nightly baths, etc.
In A Hunger for God (which I highly recommend!), John Piper says, "If you don't feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great."
Lent provides us an opportunity to set aside our normal go-tos and instead think on our fallen nature + Christ's beautiful sacrifice. It is meant to be a more sober, heavy season that ends as we welcome in the glory of Easter.
This year, Lent starts on February 26th and goes until April 9th, with Sundays being "off" days. I plan on giving up something different the six weeks of Lent. For example, a fast from Instagram one week and certain foods the next.
In addition, I will use this season to focus what I teach and talk about with my boys. In this post I talk about some of our daily habits. During Lent, I'll use our meal times to focus in on discussing passages on our sin, repentance, and why Jesus had to come.
I plan on reading the daily readings from this book aloud (mostly for myself) and perhaps doing some of the family activities it mentions.
I'll also leave these books out on the shelves for us to grab and read all season long!
1. A beautiful book! My boys are captivated by the pictures and story.
2. Great for the week before Easter. Simple, perfect for the littlest ones!
3. We love this book; read it with these eggs (we start them twelve days before Easter). A favorite around here!
4. We love this one, too.
5. And of course, this Bible. There are lots of "lent" reading plans to follow with your little ones if you'd like!
