Intro to Lent

Lent. I did not grow up practicing Lent. In fact, up until recently, I thought that only Catholics practiced Lent. However, I have found in my culture here in the south that many people in many denominations, including Protestant and very Reformed ones, are practicing Lent.

So what is Lent exactly? To summarize, Lent is a season of preparation for Easter. It begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes before Resurrection Sunday. I'm not going to take the time to go into that here, but you are welcome to do some research of your own. Here is a link that will give you some basic facts and another one to talk about some underlying questions.

The more I researched, read, and studied my Bible, the more I became convinced that I wanted to go a different direction than most do for Lent. This should be a season full of devotion and joy: a season of grace. After all, we are preparing to celebrate the most important event in all of Christianity - the most important event in history! We want the story of salvation to enter the minds of our children and change their hearts and lives. So, rather than my focus being more on the physical appetites of my family and giving up something for Lent, as many/most people who observe it will do, I thought we would focus on the spiritual needs of my family instead. We will be practicing putting spiritual disciplines ON this season.


Below are several different resources and ideas to help you if you want to join me. I will post readings based on what fits each resource best for the time we have. I wanted to post a few days early so you can get that two-day shipping in time for Wednesday (our first day). What did we do before Amazon? I am dividing the resources for you a bit differently than the typical Lent calendar, because I WILL include Sundays and I will do something different for the week leading up to Resurrection Sunday. I will have 40 days - or roughly 6 weeks. Pick which one interests you or fits the ages of your family.

Big Truths for Young Hearts by Bruce A. Ware
     This is a great resource for families or adults. Focused for children probably 5 and older, but parents could definitely read the short sections and the verses to younger children. My children are 4, 2, and 8 months, and we read this to them. They are never too young to learn big truths about God!
               
The Ology by Marty Machowski
    Here is also some music that corresponds with this resource. I really don't have enough good things to say about this book. We have already been through this with our little children. They aren't catching everything the first time, but it gives me as a parent a great place to start. The illustrations are beautiful and there are verses that are paired with each lesson. You can start with the youngest of children.

Exploring Grace Together (40 devotionals for the family) by Jessica Thompson
    This is another excellent resource and fits perfectly in our 40 day theme. If you are looking for something to simply help you establish a pattern for family worship that is short and simple, then this is great!

The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges
     I highly recommend this for teens and above. This would be a great resource for understanding grace and our sanctification (kind of plays into my thoughts on Lent).

Spiritual Discipline for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney
     An old one but a good one. This is one of my all time favorite books. I return to read it over and over again. If you haven't read it, please do. This is most suited for older teens and adults. That being said, I don't think children are too young to learn about spiritual disciplines - more on that later.

Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing - Sally Lloyd-Jones and Jago
     This is a simple way to get started with your family (from the young ones up). The devotionals are short and poetic and are very good.

Hosanna Loud Hosannas - hymnal for students
    Pricey, but worth it. I think you may be able to download it too. This is a wonderful resource if you have no idea where to start in teaching doctrine to your children through song. This is a great foundation to build on. My family takes at least one new hymn a week to focus on. My children are young, so don't let the young ages of your children prevent you from singing with them.

Children's Bible or Bible (Jesus StoryBook, The Big Picture Story Bible, Egermeier's Bible )
    I use the ESV with my children. I do read to them from a children's Bible every day, but I also read to them straight out of the Bible and have them touch the pages so that they know where these living words come from. Even my little two year old and 8 month old can sit while I read a short section from the Bible each day.
There are also many rhyming Bibles for little ones out there if you just need something to get you started. These are all tools to help us get our children in the Word Itself.

I post all these resources with a word of caution. I am very thankful for all these new resources for young families. These books make teaching our children the truths of Scripture much easier in some ways. However, do not let these resources be a substitute for the Word of God. Do not become lazy and merely let the books teach your children without seeking out God's Word for yourself. These are good books, but they are only tools to help lead us to Christ. Only God's Word is living and active and powerful enough to teach and train us for godliness through the Holy Spirit. Please use these resources, but do not neglect their Source. Know the Bible - know God - then teach your children.

 I am going to go through the Gospel of John verse by verse with my children. My goal for this year is that my children would clearly come away with knowing who Jesus is and what He has done for them. I want them to know that there is nothing they can DO to make God love them more than He already does - nothing they can DO for their own salvation. I can think of no better place to start than John. I will post my readings, activities, songs, and memorization.

Let me state clearly that I am not trying to start any kind of debate. This is just plain old me organizing my thoughts about what I want to teach my children and this season of Lent has presented me with another opportunity to do just that. I firmly believe that my purpose is to teach my children diligently about the Gospel. My good intentions are not enough if I don't purpose and discipline myself to make the most of teaching moments (yes, it is work folks!). So, this year, I am going to focus on using the church calendar (Lent) as my spring board for the Gospel. I want to make the most of every moment to teach my children - and Lent is full of teaching moments. So ... be faithful. It is not always easy, and it certainly is not always fun, but the benefits are eternal.