Stations of the Cross

Thanks to my dear friend, Leslie, we've done the Stations of the Cross with the kids for the last 2 years, but since she moved far, far away to a land called Connecticut (sniff, sniff), I just couldn't bring myself to organizing it in her absence. Fortunately, another MOTHer (Mom on The Hill) named Angela who came last year organized it after her daughter kept begging her to do it. This time we did it during a gorgeous Good Friday at Lincoln Park.

She set up the 14 stations under trees and each kid had a chance to hold the picture...

and open a little gift bag with an object that symbolized the particular station. (Leah unwrapped a band-aid during one of the ones where Jesus falls. There was also a wooden cross, a black material for when they wrapped his body, and a big rock for when they laid him in the tomb.)

At the end of each station we repeated the prayer, "We adore You, O Christ, and we praise You. Because by the holy cross, You have redeemed the world."

Leah also got to catch up with a couple old friends.

It was a sweet time had by all and I am thankful to Angela for organizing and for the opportunity to meet a couple new Christian families on the Hill.

Lent Activities

I got the idea somewhere on the internet to make a mosaic cross, so they used "bitter boo" (John's version of "glitter glue") and spring colored foam pieces on cardboard crosses.  

We also traced our hands on black construction paper, turned them upside down and glued cotton balls to make lambs.  They didn't quite turn out as cute as I expected, but the kids love anything that involves glue.  Then we read the Storybook Bible's version of Holy Week.  Leah and I also got into a long discussion about the Old Testament sacrifice of lambs for atonement and how John the Baptist declared Jesus the Lamb of God.  It was pretty amazing.  

Then my personal favorite Lenten activity morphed from the jelly bean jar idea.  First of all, I'm annoyed that somehow the only way to communicate spiritual ideas to young kids seems to always involve junk food full of sugar and artificial colors.  I wonder how people taught their kids about Jesus before jello and marshmellows were invented?  (Moving on...)

So my healthier and simpler version involves dark chocolate almonds to represent good choices that the kids make.  They can't suggest one for themselves or I'd hear "Look what I did, mom.  Can I have an almond?" for the next forty days.  And they can also lose one if they've made a not-so-good choice.  The yogurt covered almonds symbolize God's grace and they can't be earned.  We throw them in when we think of things we are blessed with that we don't deserve (like a new day, His new mercies every morning, etc.).  The goal is to fill the center jar by Easter in order to eat them all, but it's supposed to be impossible so that they wake up and the rest of the jar has been filled to the top with God's grace.  I'm surprised how much we're enjoying it and again hope that something of the truth and grace of God is settling into their little hearts.  

Winter trees

Luke took this picture at the National Arboretum recently and it fits beautifully with the Lenten Day of Prayer that I went to last weekend.  

The theme of the retreat was stripping ourselves bare like winter trees that we would be fully present to God and receive new life.  The church had woodcut and installation artwork displayed by Margaret Adams Parker and our facilitator/yoga instructor read through this beautiful poem by Maggie Lindgren.  

February Trees

I find

yearly cause for

wonder as I watch them

stretching upward, etching on the 

empty

dismal

winter sky their

delicate detail.  What

sap is it that warms them as they

stand there

naked yet resolved?  I

catch my breath to think what

such an annual dismantling

might do

to me.

Personally, I sensed God directing me to John the Baptist's words in John 3:30, "He must become greater, I must become less."  It also gave me renewed appreciation for the purposes of winter so that I have a better attitude going into the "spring tease" that is the month of March. 

It was a really rich and peaceful time and I'm thankful to Luke for hanging with the kids all day so that I could do it.