Ash Wednesday

For the first time, we took our kids to our church's Ash Wednesday service on March 5.  Growing up, the only times that I really heard of Lent was when my Catholic friends would talk about it.  I just always associated it with Catholicism.  My understanding of it has certainly changed, and in the past few years, Lent has become a special time of reflection for me, a time for being intentional.  I know many people who try to refrain from doing something during the entire time, but for me, I "add" something to be mindful of, to have a specific purpose.  I was so glad that we shared Ash Wednesday as a family because the service was full of symbols that my kids could actually relate to.  Each symbol was set up at a station that we could freely rotate to.  There were Bible passages/stories that we read with our kids to help them understand what each symbol was supposed to help us remember.  Here are some of them:

 Clay

 Oil

Salt and Light

 Water

 Repentance (kids writing something they're sorry for to lay down at the foot of the cross)