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I have been convicted lately considering how much thought and intentionality I love to put into preparing our hearts for the birth of Christ during the Advent season and then how little thought I take to preparing for the ultimate accumulation of Christ’s life in his death and resurrection that is the focus of our Easter celebrations. It usually just comes upon me with little to no thought or preparation. In light of this, I felt like this was the year to begin cultivating more intentionality in celebrating this glorious occasion which is the foundation for our faith. I am beginning early by preparing a list of activities that our family could complete during the lent season of preparation. There are 40 days of Lent, which starts on Wednesday, February 22, this year. I have decided to compile these activities on cards that could be completed throughout this 40 day period. These activities are primarily for young children but could be adapted as necessary. Pick and chose any of these ideas for your own use as desired. I hope to do 2-3 of them each week during Lent.

1. Make a Jesus Tree.
During the Advent season, we like to make a Jesse tree with symbols representing stories throughout the Old Testament that led up to the birth of Christ Jesus. For Easter/Lent celebration, why not make a Jesus Tree with images or symbols from the life and death of Christ. Find ideas to make your own Jesus tree here or buy a complete kit here.

2. Start a Garden.
Start a garden indoors to help your children understand the death and rebirth of Christ. Plant little lettuce seeds or whatever seeds you desire. Explain how the planting symbolizes the death of Jesus and how the sprouting seed symbolizes His rebirth. When Easter arrives, transplant your seedlings to your yard.

3. Make pretzels.
Pretzels were a common fasting food among early Christians, and they were traditionally made of flour, water and salt. The shape of the simple food signifies the arms crossed in prayer. Share your pretzels with a neighbor or family you are seeking to reach out to.

4. Make hot cross buns.
Hot cross buns are also a traditional Lenten bread. Make some with your children while explaining how they are important in the celebration of Lent. The buns may have originated in the 12th century, and the frosting is applied as a cross. Younger children can make simple, bread-shaped crosses to give to grandparents, friends and other family members.

5. Make Easter Story Cookies.

6. Make a Salt Dough Crown of Thorns. An alternative idea: make a crown out of playdough and toothpicks.

7. Make a “Stained Glass” Cross.

8. Encourage a Heart for World Prayer.
Lent is a season of focused preparation and a great opportunity to focus on praying for the world around us. Traditionally, the first Friday in Lent is celebrated as a World Day of Prayer. Chose a continent to focus on during each week leading up to Easter.

9. Take a Nature Scavenger hunt and collect items that remind you of the life of Jesus.
Two sticks could be used to form a cross, a stone could represent the stone across the tomb, a thorn could represent the crown on Jesus’ head, an acorn shell to represent the cup at the Last Supper, long branch to represent a whip, something black (for sin), something red (blood), something white (a clean heart), something green (growing in Christ). Older children can go on a digital scavenger hunt, taking photographs of items that remind them of Easter.

10. Have a foot washing for your family.
Fill a bucket with water. Grab a few towels, and discuss how Jesus washed the feet of His disciples and commanded them to love one another (John 13:34-35). Pray for one another.

11. Read an Easter related book. (See recommendations below)

12. Paint your doorpost for Passover.
Allow your kids to paint red paint on the (paper covered) doorpost to a particular room or the front door of your home to represent the Passover. Read Exodus 12:1-42. Explain Christ’s death as the ultimate sacrifice for sin and discuss the significance of God giving up His firstborn son.

13. Help your child understand that Jesus was called “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29; 1 Cor. 5:7-8). Make a lamb craft project with your kids by gluing cotton balls to a paper plate, then add pink and black construction paper eyes, ears, muzzle, nose and hooves.

14. Discuss as a family something that you could give up and give to another or use the money saved on that regular purchase to give to a charity ministry.

15. Listen to Handel’s Messiah.

16. Make a “He Is Risen” or “Our Redeemer Lives” poster and hang in a prominent place in your home on Easter morning.

17. Bake something for a shut-in or needy family.

18. Make palm leaf crosses.

19. Act out the “parade” of Palm Sunday as a family.
Take turns being the donkey, Jesus, and the part of the crowd. Discuss that “Hosanna” means “Save us, we beseech thee.” Read John 12:12-13. Make palm branches out of green construction paper and decorate the dinner table with your creations.

20. Dye Easter eggs and discuss the new life that has been a symbol of spring since ancient times. Discuss the “new life” that we experience in Christ.

21. Make a sand craft.
Sand is a Lent symbol of how God led the Israelites in their journey in the desert and how Jesus faced temptations for 40 days in the dessert.

22. Collect purple things from around your home.
Discuss how purple is the color of Lent. Purple symbolizes the pain and suffering leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus. It is also the color of royalty and symbolizes the kingship of Jesus in our lives. Wear something purple for the day.

23. Make a Jesus is Risen Tomb Craft. Discuss the significance of Christ’s resurrection.

24. Watch The Passion or Animated Passion as appropriate for your family.

25. Get Buried in Grave-clothes.
Read Matthew 27:57-61. Wrap up one of your children in toilet paper, or “grave clothes”. Allow the child to break free from the toilet paper and talk about how sad the disciples must have felt and how happy they must have been when they saw that Jesus had conquered death.

26. Find your own grave stone.
Go to a park, search for an oversized boulder and try to move it. Read Matthew 27:62-66; 28:1-4. Discuss how a large stone couldn’t keep Jesus in the tomb and how surprised the soldiers must have been when it was rolled away.

Sources:

Christian Lent Activities for Children

Great Books/Resources for Easter:

The Animated Passion Film
The Passion Film
The Gospel of John film (this is our favorite adaption of the life of Jesus)
From Trail to the Tree: A Family Devotional for Lent from Ann Voskamp (with printables for your own Easter/Jesus tree)
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter - deep thoughtful articles from many classic authors (C.S. Lewis, Bonhoeffer, Chesterton, etc.). A great choice for a couple to read together or for families with older children.
Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross by Nancy Guthrie – another wonderful compilation of short articles by various authors that will help draw your heart to the Cross during this season.
A Season of Lent - devotional guide for the seven weeks leading up to Easter with a focused thing to fast from each week
The Very First Easter
The Tale of Three Trees – a fun children’s story
Benjamin’s Box (best used with the Resurrection Egg symbols)
The Legend of the Easter Egg – a fun children’s story
Resurrection Eggs – we have used these cute visual and select Scripture passages for meaningful discussion on Easter. Hide them and have kids find them and open one by one as you retell the story.
Felt Easter Banner – check our the Heart Felt Truths etsy shop for this fun homemade easter banner that provides you with meaningful visuals for Holy Week with felt icons and Scriptures passages for discussion. Very cute! Make your own instructions here.

(Some of the resources recommended here are affiliate links. We always seek to recommend products that we have used and love! If you purchase through our affiliates, you are helping to support our orphan home in India. Thanks!)

One of my goals for this year was to establish a monthly service night where we could work together with our children to serve others around us. I passionately desire to be participating in the Great Comission in simple and practical ways. I desire that our children can have real life tangible activities to be the hands and feet of Christ to those around us and to the nations. But at the same time I knew it is easy to get consumed in ministry and leave our families behind.

My goal this year was to establish a night in which we could serve others in a doable manner. I don’t want to add a huge project to my plate, but still practically encourage a heart for service to others in our hearts, both my husband and I, and our children. I am so thankful for the inspiration of Kristen at We Are that Family who recently compiled an excellent resource called 100+ Ways Your Family Can Make A Difference. This list has so many wonderful ideas for your family!

This year our family is setting aside the 4th Friday of every month to be our family service night. These are the ideas we will be doing throughout the year, Lord willing. For February we are doing our service project for Valentine’s Day (today)! Some months we will likely do more than one activity at a time (as in December we will complete #13 & 14). I found it helpful to plan out our activities and get them on the calendar now!

1. Make Valentine’s Gifts for the elderly at our local care center.
2. Send a care package to our military.
3. Collect shoes for Shoes for Kids (visit our local consignment stores, Goodwill, etc. to collect shoes).
4. Buy restaurant gift cards and distribute to the homeless on street corners.
5. Collect items for restoration bags for girls coming out of trafficking.
6. Donate school supplies to a classroom in need (contact local school for specific needs here in our community).
7. Prepare New Mommy Blessings bags for our local Pregnancy Resource Center (newborn baby supplies (diapers, rash cream, toy, gender neutral outfit, burp cloth), new mom care items (nipple cream, lotions, etc), wrapped in a cute baby blanket or receiving blanket)k
8. Decorate our local Elder care center with homemade art work.
9. Bake cookies for our local Fire Department.
10. Pick up trash at local park as a family field trip.
11. Fill Action Packs for the persecuted church (via Voice of the Martyrs).
12. Make a baby care kit for a baby in need.
13. Fill Operation Christmas Child boxes.
14. Adopt an foster child for Christmas through Angel Tree.

Want to join us in establishing a fun family service night at your home? I will be sharing our adventures with you all as the year continues!

One of my greatest struggles in life is my terrible memory. I am sure I am lacking some sort of brain cells because my memory serves me so poorly. I hardly recall incidents from my past that my siblings could describe in detail for you. The reality of it is that we all have a tendency to forget. We forget how God has demonstrated His persevering grace over our lives. This being said, I want to be very deliberate to record our family history so I can have reminders of God’s faithfulness to us throughout the years. Recording your family history is such a beautiful treasure. It is a gift that can be passed on to the next generation. It is a reminder of the goodness of God in our lives. Here are a few ideas we have started over the years to begin treasuring these memories more deliberately.

Birthday Letter Journal

As a child, my parents would write a special birthday letter to me every year. These letters have been treasured and re-read numerous times over the years. They have been a source of encouragement as well as treasured memories. I was the determined mother to record all the fun growth chart and progress reports of my little ones from their birth, but as more children have been added it has been very difficult to maintain. Over this last year I decided I needed to adapt this plan in order to make it more maintainable. So I now keep a simple journal for each of my children in which I record a special letter to them on the occasion of their birthday each year. Each birthday I write a letter highlighting all the progress from the previous year and how the Lord is growing and shaping them. I want it to be a letter that can encourage and bless them as the years go by. I want to be able to give each journal to my child to take with them when they leave our home.

Daily Family Journal

Recording fun sayings and daily developments has been a desire of mine for some time. I loved keeping a daily journal as a child but that is not so practical now with three little ones. I came across the idea of a One Line a Day Memory Journal. I love this concept of recording a simple one line highlight from each day of our lives and being able to track what takes places on that same day in years to come. Now that is doable. Another variety along these lines is the Postcard Calendar Journal.

Annual Memory Ornament

I stumbled across this idea on Pinterest of recording highlights from the year on an annual white/clear ornament. I love it! A simple way to look back over the years and remember special highlights of different events, vacations, progress report, etc. I used a permanent marker to record the events. You could do a family oriented version or a different ornament for each child highlighting the child’s accomplishments, milestones, silly things they said, and personal favorite’s from the year (book, food, movie).

Annual Photo Books

Scrapbooking has never been my thing. I’m just not that creative gal. But I do want to store our family photos in a easy viewable format. So I began making an annual photobook (pictured above). I’m a bit behind and have 2010 and 2011 to finish this year, but it is a fun way to treasure the photos in a book style attractive format without having to print individual pictures at all. I have used Blurb, Costco, or Shutterfly for these photobooks and have had great success with all of them. At the end of each photo book, we write a family report from the year answering the end of a year questionare.

I am so thankful for all the simple ways that we have for treasuring our family memories. I do not want to forget His unending love and faithfulness to us. I want to pass it on to the next generation so that God might be glorified through our testimony.

For further inspiration, check out Trina’s post on 24 Ways to Keep A Family Journal.

“Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassion’s never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness”. Lamentations 3:21-23

Guest post written by Rachel Garlinghouse.

Gift wrapping is one of those activities that just gets tacked on at the end of all the little jobs we have to do in preparation for the holidays. Often times it is hurriedly done without a lot of thought. Usually I plow through gift wrapping marathons, occasionally letting my toddler hold the tape dispenser or plop a bow on top of a package. This year, I realized that treating Christmas like a task to be completed rather than a special time of year full of teachable moments and joy was doing a disservice to my children. Christmas is an opportunity to embrace peace, create memories, and reflect on blessings. Jesus’ birth is far too incredible and important to one’s understanding of God’s greatness to be rushed through.

I have purposed to make this year unique when it comes to gift wrapping. I want to make it more mindful, joyous, and reflective of the God we serve. How will we do it?

Set the stage. 

Turn on Christmas music, grab some snacks (milk and Christmas cookies, anyone?), and place wrapping supplies near the Christmas tree, the fireplace, or at the kitchen table—wherever you feel festive. Avoid distractions like the television, cell phones, and the computer by shutting them off or setting them aside.

Share and pray.  

As a family, take turns praying for the gift’s receiver and sharing a memory about the person. For little ones, a simple, “This tea pot is for Grandma. Grandma collects tea pots.  Remember when Grandma played tea party with you?” For older children, allow them to share a special moment they had with the receiver. Prayers can be as simple or as elaborate as your children’s understanding and attention span allows.

Get creative.

Wrapping gifts in brown packaging paper gives your kids a blank slate to get creative (plus the paper is heavy duty—hopefully avoiding tears). Give children age-appropriate crafting materials (stickers, glue, ribbon, buttons,  stamps, markers, etc.) and encourage them to decorate packages. Older children can cut out pictures from magazines and create a collage on the package.     Gift tags can be a photo of the receiver glued onto cardstock and tied with a ribbon (which helps little children identify gifts when distributing) or a homemade card with a handwritten message from an older child.

Read and discuss the Christmas story.  

Read to children (or have an older child read) as they decorate gifts, and remind them that the Wise Men brought gifts to Jesus in celebration of His birth. Talk about how giving can be a joyful experience for the giver and the receiver. Christmas is also a great opportunity to memorize a Bible verse pertaining to giving, joy, or peace. Choose a verse and commit to reciting it as a family a few times a day.

Quality, not quantity.   

Allow the family to set the pace of the gift-wrapping session. When little ones begin to get agitated and distracted, put away the supplies and gift wrap more presents another day. A great way to create short and meaningful wrapping sessions is to spread them throughout the month of December by incorporating them into your custom Advent calendar.

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  ~James 1:17

What creative ideas do you have to make gift wrapping more meaningful?

Rachel Garlinghouse is a Christian, wife, mother of two, freelance writer, and college writing teacher. She blogs about adoptive family life (and so much more!) at White Sugar, Brown Sugar. 

Photo Credit

Written by contributing writer, Trina Holden.

Chances are this week you’re in the thick of making a list and checking it twice and I’m sure you don’t think you need one more thing to think about. But even while encouraging simplicity this Christmas, I’m gonna throw out a unique challenge.

I’m gonna suggest you add one more thing to your list.

Your husband.

Yes, I know you have him on your list already, and maybe you’ve already found just the right gift to bless him on Christmas Day. But what about today? What about the busy weeks counting down to Christmas, when your time and energy are stretched to fulfill all that this season requires of you as a wife and mother and homemaker? Is there a way you can keep this most important relationship – this man God has given you, in the forefront of your thoughts, maintaining your friendship even in this hectic season?

There is a way you can add a little holiday spice to your marriage. It’s so simple, it’s almost corny. But I’ve been keeping this little tradition with my husband for 6 years and every year he says it’s his favorite part of the whole season.

We call it “Twelve Days” but it has nothing to do with Partridges and Pear Trees. The idea is that I give him a little gift on each of the twelve days leading up to Christmas. The gifts are not big, often just a favorite cookie or candy, but the value of the gift lies in that I’ve thought of him. When he finds 3 envelopes on the ‘Third Day of Christmas’ or a half a dozen of his favorite cookies on Day Six, his eyes light up like a kid at Christmas, and I fall in love with the tradition (and him!) all over again.

If you’d like to start this tradition in your house, it’s not too late! I usually call Dec. 13^th our ‘first day’, so you still have time to gather some things from around the house or on your next trip to town. Here’s a list of items to get you started…

Day 1: Any single object – this is where I usually spend a little money and give him something I’d otherwise have tucked under the tree. A hat, tool, piece of masculine jewelry, etc.

Day 2: Think pairs! Socks, gloves, matching mugs for him and her, sunglasses, pants, long underwear, tickets to a concert or a game.

Days 3, 4, 5, and 6: What comes in packs? Golf balls, socks, briefs, favorite candy, guitar picks, favorite beverage, refills for his razor.

Days 7, 8, 9, 10, 11: Higher numbers get a little trickier – just think ‘small’ and you can do it! Cookies, packaged and delivered to work. A CD with 11 songs. Post-it-note love notes hidden through the house.

Day 12: Think ‘by the dozen’ or ’12 months in a year’. A magazine subscription, coupons for a monthly date night or a dozen chicken wings for lunch.

More ideas…

• A book or film with a number in the title
• A series of emails or texts sent to him throughout the day
• A gift certificate or coupons for his favorite meal
• A collection of poems (Haiku is a quick and easy!)
• One year I publicly praised my husband by posting 10 things I loved about him on my blog

Get Romantic!

• Decorate your bedroom with a number of lit candles
• Love letters — New or old
• A custom CD of your favorite love songs
• Coupons to redeem for a massage — given by you!

Once you’ve collected your little gifts, wrap the items up and stash them away where he won’t find them. I jot down which gift I’m giving him on which day in my day planner so I don’t forget. I also like to plan when and how to present each gift — under his pillow, on his vehicle seat, in his work boots — so I have everything thought out in advance, and I can pull off our little tradition with ease despite the rush of those final days leading up to Christmas.

It takes just a little extra effort on my part to fit this in with everything else, but it is totally worth it for the sparkle it brings to our relationship at a time where it might otherwise suffer. It helps me keep my man my priority even when so many other things call. I look forward to Dec. 13^th and eagerly anticipate to the look on his face when he realizes his favorite tradition has begun again.

By monthly contributor, Ann Dunagan of Harvest Ministry

‘Tis the season to be jolly . . . yet often overly busy.

Writing Christmas cards. Decorating the house. Buying and wrapping presents. Cooking. Baking. Preparing for parties and hospitality. Getting ready for church events. Just thinking about all these things we “need” to do can be exhausting, but it doesn’t need to be.

As we’re heading into the Christmas season, a time to celebrate God’s PEACE and joy, let’s remember to simply seek God for what should be done (and what activities could be eliminated to bring more of God’s presence into our homes and family).

To stay in God’s divine daily balance, let’s make PRAYER a priority!

Jon and I just returned home from a thrilling two-week mission outreach to East Africa, so in addition to all of our upcoming Christmas activities, I’m catching up with kiddos and homeschooling, doing weeks of past ministry correspondence (and laundry!!!), helping my husband with oversight for 500+ remote village pastors from nine different nations who are joining with our ministry, seeking God’s provision for 750+ orphan children, preparing for big-kids coming home from college (including a just-engaged son — making two upcoming summer weddings), plus thinking about what to do for upcoming holiday meals with lots of company and for three immediate-family-member December birthdays . . . Whew!!!

Is it possible to have peace in the midst of busyness?

YES!!! The key is casting our cares on the Lord, and spending special time in the presence of God, one-on-one with Jesus, our Almighty Prince of Peace.

The will of God —
nothing less, nothing more, nothing else.”
— F. E. Marsh

Think of everything Jesus needed to do!!!

I just love the example our Lord Jesus demonstrated to us during His time here on earth. Instead of being directed by the overwhelming needs of the moment, Jesus took time to pray and to seek the Heavenly Father’s perfect direction for each day, and did exactly (and only) what needed to be done . . .

Jesus only lived 33 years on earth and spent just 3 short years in ministry.

In this short time period, Jesus had more on His “to-do” list than any of of could ever comprehend.

• He was responsible for providing God’s only way of salvation for all humanity.

• He had to establish a brand-new worldwide training program (through scriptural teaching and personal example) to explain God’s eternal kingdom.

• He had to equip His ground-level leaders (in deep theology and practical life skills) for future global impact.

• And on top of all that, He couldn’t sin or make a mistake . . . not even once!

Even with such a limited time allotment, an eternally important job, and such spiritual “pressure” (from our point of view), Jesus was never rushed or stressed-out. In spite of all He needed to do (and because of all He needed to do), Jesus always took time to pray.

God’s perspective is so much different than ours.

During his 33 years on earth, Jesus took 30 years to live as a simple carpenter and to simply “be” with His Heavenly Father. Jesus was totally perfect and totally God-in-the-Flesh, yet throughout His life He took time to seek God’s direction and guidance. Even when everyone else was busy and multitudes had pressing needs, Jesus took time to be quiet and to get away, and to pray.

Mark 1:35-38 says,

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He [Jesus] went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. And Simon and those who were with Him searched for Him. When they found Him, they said to Him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

But He said to them, “Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also, because for this purpose I have come forth.”

Instead of being directed by the overwhelming needs of the moment, Jesus took time to pray in a solitary place (and He didn’t even tell His disciples where He was going). After this personal prayer time, Jesus knew the heavenly Father’s perfect direction for that day, and He did exactly what needed to be done.

If prayer was that important to Jesus, it should be important to us!

Finding PEACE . . . through PRAYER!

If you haven’t been praying regularly, it’s a good idea to begin by setting aside a particular new “MEETING TIME” with God:

• perhaps set your morning alarm a bit earlier

• perhaps establish a habit of reading the Bible as you’re sipping your morning coffee

• perhaps take time for the Lord during your children’s quiet time in the afternoon

• perhaps pray in the evening, after you put your kids to bed

May God bless you with PEACE this Christmas season . . . as you take time to seek Him in the quiet place, in a time of prayer.

This year we are beginning to use an Advent Calendar for creating fun, meaningful, creative, and gift giving activities through the Advent season. I have seen a ton of amazing Advent Calendars across the web, but knew I had to put together something very simple in order for this to be manageable. I purchased this set of muslin stamped bags to fill with our daily activities, and hung then on a simple branch from our backyard with a ribbon to hang it on our wall. Each day we will add a piece to our children’s Nativity Set as well as we await the arrival of Baby Jesus. I also have purchased a few new Christmas books to be opened throughout the month to add to our collection.

Here is our list of activities for this year:

Buy a new Christmas album and listen to it
Open and read a Christmas story book
Go to the mountain and find a Christmas tree
Make pumpkin bread and give to the neighbors
Sing Christmas carols around the tree
Make a fun Christmas ornament
Open and read a Christmas story book (Legend of the Christmas Stocking, Legend of the Christmas Tree, etc)
Wrap Christmas Gifts for our stockings
Make a popcorn/cranberry garland
Make Candy Cane Playdough – give some to neighbor friends
Make reindeer candy canes
Dance to Christmas music
Make a memory Christmas ornament – record memories from the year
Color a Christmas picture
Make coconut hot chocolate and stir with candy canes
Watch a Christmas movie and eat white chocolate peppermint popcorn
Build a Gingerbread house
Drive around and look for Christmas lights
Go visit Santa Claus
Make a Jesus Gift basket and deliver to a family in need
Have a camp out in front of the Christmas tree
Call grandma and grandpa and sing a Christmas song
Sing Christmas carols at senior citizens home
Watch The Nativity Story about the birth of Baby Jesus
Make a birthday cake for Jesus.

Merry Christmas!!!

Another idea we’d like to do throughout the month as we receive various Christmas cards from family and friends is to read/look at the cards together and pray for the families in turn.