Hi, Practicing Families!

Lent begins in a week and a half (really! Ash Wednesday is February 10!) and the editors of Practicing Families want to issue an invitation to all our writers and readers and friends to journey through this season together. We’ve set up a Facebook group – separate from our page, because a group allows for conversation – and we’d love for you to join it. It’s called Practicing Families Community: Lent 2016. In that space, we’ll be sharing articles, resources, ideas, experiences, and questions, in hopes of generating conversation about what it’s like (or what it could be like!) to practice Lent with children.

We know that Lent is often considered a somber season, and we know that kids sometimes giggle or scream or cry or roll their eyes all through our best attempts to be serious and reflective. But we know that they also can turn a light-hearted conversation into something profound in a moment, with no warning (“Why are the flowers all dead now? Does everything die?”). And we know that the questions of Lent are the biggest of all: How are we both together and alone? What do we give up to live faithfully? How do we support one another through difficulty? When can we trust God’s presence? What do our questions about who Jesus is tell us about who we are? Why does evil win, sometimes? How does love win, always?

So, let’s talk about all of this together. Let’s share what we’re thinking, what our children are wondering, what has helped us to engage our families in the ideas and promises of the season. Join us!