Easter for me has always held greater significance than Christmas. And by always, I mean when I began believing Jesus was more than just some guy who did something that people seemed to like. I love the Easter season because it's not filled with the hoopla which accompanies our remembrance of His birth. I love the quietness and contemplation and the wild joy of again celebrating the day when life conquered death.
I began by thinking what I loved about our Jesse Tree tradition - the daily readings, candies from a tree, eating by candlelight, the kids looking forward to this event each year - and I re-imagined what it might look like for Easter.
And what took shape was this:
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A devotion for each day of Lent and a special section for Holy Week. One which looks at God's saving stories and His stories of establishing in the "old" what would and will be shadows of the "new." It's a devotion meant for all ages - one meaty enough for an adult but with the ability to be scaled back for young children without losing meaning and significance.
And instead of daily candies, there are seeds or coins. The seeds idea planted by Ann Voskamp's Advent tradition and the coins imparted by the rector of our church.
If you would like a copy of "The Saving & the Sacrifice," please email me and I will gladly send you a PDF file of it. Lent begins February 22...
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6 comments:
It always bothered me that we don't do anything for Lent. Thanks for the little nudge. It's important.
love this idea! love your heart :)
What a great idea! Our family definitely needs to come up with something. We can start here. Thank you for the inspiration! May your Lenten season and Easter be filled with great joy and a deeper knowledge of Him we love. :)
I've already emailed you, but I wanted you to know how much I appreciate you doing this post so early. It gives me time to figure out how to use this before Lent arrives. I'm really excited about doing this with my family. Thank you!!!!!
Oh, and I'm sharing this on FB on my s(He) Listens page. Hope that is okay!
Oh, YES, YES! Thank you for the early nudge. I, too, have wrestled with our poor marking of Lent. I finally got the Voskamp's cool cradle to the cross candle this year and have been praying about how to use those little lights well. I'd LOVE to try your devotional. And by the way, your choice of words- "pray dreaming" captivated me today. That's the perfect description. So fun to meet you here.
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