Lent, the time in the church calendar that leads up to Easter, is a great time to help our kids discover the many ways we can grow in our faith. It’s a time when we consider our need for Christ’s sacrifice. In some church traditions, kids will reflect on that sacrifice by giving up something they love for Lent.

If giving up chocolate or video games or ice cream isn’t working too well for your family (it never did in mine), maybe this year you can help your children turn, or re-orient, a part of their lives to Christ. More of a giving in than a giving up.

You might want to have a family meeting. Can everyone identify at least one area of their life that they haven’t turned completely over to Jesus? Perhaps they can focus on one area during Lent. Do they need to replace negative thinking with gratitude? Have they picked up foul language someplace? Do sports events supersede worship? Do they need to show more compassion to a struggling sibling? If they can’t think of anything, reading through the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) might give them some ideas—it always helps me!

To make it a truly powerful experience, make sure to include everyone in the family—Mom and Dad, too! We all have work to do before we’re truly like our Savior.

As Easter draws closer, you may worry that you’ve been as unsuccessful at reorienting your lives toward Christ as I was as a kid who tried to give up chocolate for Lent. Reading a book about Easter, such Easter Love Letters from God by Glenys Nellist (one of our CCA bloggers!) can help us remember that no matter what we have done or failed to do, God loved us enough to die for us!

As the blurb on Amazon says, Jesus came to teach people how to love. He came to heal us from everything that hurts us, and to fill our lives with joy, hope, forgiveness, and peace. And the more you get to know Jesus, the more you’ll discover that this can be your life too.

This Lenten season, may you and your family be filled with the hope and love and encouragement that are increasingly ours as we turn our whole lives toward Jesus.