Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday A.K.A. Lent
What does Lent mean to you? Do you celebrate it?
I’ve listed some links that briefly (and not-so-briefly) describe Lent.
The acts during lent can be summed up into one word: sacrifice. And regardless of what faith you are, or where you are at in your spiritual journey, we can all relate to sacrifice and the need for it.
Without sacrifice we would never be able to fully appreciate what we have or what has been sacrificed for us.
This About.com article describes what Lent is and who is most likely to celebrate it (the link has Christianity in its title, but lists several different faiths.
http://christianity.about.com/od/holidaytips/qt/whatisashwednes.htm
Another site of interest regarding descriptions of Lent:
http://www.crivoice.org/cylent.html

This site below helps families teach Lent to younger children:
http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Feb2002/Family.asp
This next link is an exceptional visual of the symbols used or that can be used during Lent to signify certain things:
http://onlineministries.creighton.edu/CollaborativeMinistry/Lent/symbols.html
Most of our family is giving up something that they enjoy for Lent. (My teen is not interested in doing this; I applaud her for her honesty and will not push her. And my other daughter shared with us that her school mate is giving up some of her favorite toys, and while she is willing to sacrifice, that will not be one of her sacrifices; again, I am not one to push them if they maturely voice their feelings and have mature reasons for their decisions.) They are their own person, I admire their individualism and I will not force them.
Newly Baptized last year, we will be incorporating the symbol of water for Lent by placing a bowl of it on the table to signify our baptism. (I just need to make sure the cats don’t drink it…OH the joys of family life.)
 
Truly,
Amber


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