on speaker (or Skype with them).
5. Serve at a community meal, work in a food pantry or find another food- related cause to work at as a family. Your kids will remember it after Lent is over and ask to do this at other times of the year.
6. Begin planting fruits and vegeta- bles indoors with seeds, planning the harvests to coincide with food pantry needs.
Addition,
s the liturgical season of Lent approaches, it’s possible some of us aren’t anticipating the tradi-
tions of prayer, fasting and almsgiv- ing for 40 days. Perhaps you’ve even wondered if it’s really necessary or helpful to “do without.” But what if we instead add spiritual practices that enhance our preparation for Easter? An already busy family can add to the season of preparation without adding unnecessary stress. Try at least one of these practices, or think of your own:
1. Pray together as a family. If you’ve never done this, start each day with a breakfast prayer or pray as the kids go out the door to school. Focus morning prayers on “Where will we see God today?”
2. Designate a consistent time for “family night” each week. Take turns
16 The Lutheran •
www.thelutheran.org DESIGN PICS
10 things your family can add this Lent By Lynne M. Morrow
not subtraction A
picking an activity and selecting the meal. Keep this time sacred (also technology-free) and focus on the sensory parts of the meal. Create spe- cial place mats, light candles, change the location (outdoors, basement, garage) to awaken the senses to the presence of God.
3. Collect coins during Lent. Last year, our church preschool collected $759.52 for a food pantry. Just drop all loose change in a container at the end of each day. As a family, decide where to send the money.
4. Rediscover the art of writing letters. Choose someone the family hasn’t been in touch with (if it’s a relation- ship that needs mending, take the first step). Write a letter or card that everyone signs. And if you end up being short on paper, envelope or stamp, call them and put the family
7. Visit those who are homebound or in the hospital (your pastor may pro- vide a name). Take time to listen and ask questions about their faith, fam- ily and life. With their permission, record these experiences with photos, audio or written journals.
8. Read something as a family, taking turns reading aloud each evening. Or together drink from the spiritual readings of the Psalms, Exodus, Ecclesiastes or others, poetry or The Chronicles of Narnia.
9. Make time to share the arts with your family. Discover a new art gal- lery, begin guitar lessons, experiment with oil painting or attend a concert.
10. Keep a family Lenten journal with an entry each day for contributions from all members. Entries can be drawn, created (crafts), written, or audibly or visually recorded (dig out that video camera you haven’t used in awhile).
The possibilities for adding spiri- tual practices to your family’s life together are endless. Involving every- one in choosing what to do is key to keeping the practices sacred. And some practices may stick around long after Lent and Easter.
Morrow is a mother and pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Park Ridge, Ill., where she spends considerable time with preschoolers.
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