Tuesdays Tips: Family Devotions for Lent

| |

I‘m so glad you stopped by today for Tuesday’s Tips. I hope that as you peruse this weekly IDEA SWAP, you’ll find a gold-mine of encouragement and treasure trove of creative ideas excavated straight from the sticky trenches of parenthood.

Of course a SWAP wouldn’t be a true exchange without many voices. So, please consider chiming in the discussion and sharing your own great ideas. If you’ve discovered a tried and true trip that has made motherhood a little easier, a little more exciting, or a bit more meaningful, please let me know.


Just leave a comment after this post or send me an email @rbruxvoort.iowatelecom.net so I can share your idea in the next swap! I’d love to feature you on an upcoming Tuesday. Let the digging begin!

 
Family Devotions for Lent


I should have posted this tip weeks ago, but I’m just finally getting into the Lenten groove myself. Hope it reminds you that it’s never too late to start a few special family Easter traditions. 

For years, I’ve wanted to be more deliberate about preparing my children for the miracle of Easter. We spend a month anticipating baby Jesus’ birth. We decorate the Christmas tree, light Advent candles, read special family devotions and hang paper-chain count-downs. 

But for some reason when Lent approaches, I typically fail to take note. We may decorate a few Easter eggs and cram in a family activity or two during Holy Week, but that’s about it. This year, I was so grateful to stumble upon a beautiful blog-Whispers in the Silence– that provided a little help.

 
Inspired by the fruit she has seen growing in her children’s lives as a result of her family’s Jesse Tree tradition during Advent, Andrea Anderson dreamed and prayed about what God might want her to teach her children during Lent. 


The result?  This beautiful walk through the Scriptures tracing God’s saving grace from the Old Testament to the new. Andrea’s resource- The Saving and The Sacrifice- focuses on the ways that God has reached down and saved His children all through history, beginning with the Garden of Eden and ending with Christ’s trek to the cross and His glorious resurrection. 


It’s organized into a simple daily devotion format that is easy to modify according to your family’s needs and time. Andrea gives great ideas for digging deeper as well as ideas for something your children can do each day to drive the scripture home. If you’d like a copy of this beautiful resource, just pop on over to Andrea’s blog and let her know. She’ll email you a copy for free. 


I know we’re nearly two weeks into Lent, but you can easily pick and choose some of the stories sketched out in the devotional to give your kids a glimpse of our Savior’s redeeming work throughout time. Like the old adage says, Better late than never! 


And just think, if you grab this resource today then, next year, you’ll already have it on hand when Lent begins in 2013:)
 

We are using The Saving and the Sacrifice during family mealtimes in conjunction with lighting our Lenten candles and I’m enjoying the opportunity to “walk” with Jesus toward the cross. 


If you’re interested in this beautiful cradle to the cross candle wreath check out the details here. This amazing centerpiece works for both Advent and Lent. All proceeds go to the work that Compassion International is doing to save children across the globe from poverty.

 
Blessings to you and yours as you prepare your hearts for the GRAND CELEBRATION of Easter morning. 
 
Praise be to the One whose sacrifice has saved us.
 
 
 
 

 

Alicia

2 Comments

  1. That’s why we work so well together. Except for when we’re carpooling. Remember pre-k? How did our girls get there with us at the wheel? Praying that your baby #6 will not believe in better late.. SOON would be great!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.