Here are some traditions we have acquired over the years
which help make our Lenten journey more meaningful,
especially for the girls.
#1
Jesus' Crown of Thorns
Our Table Centerpiece during the Lenten Season
This crown is made from a simple recipe of flour, salt & water.
Julia used whole wheat flour this year which gave an earthy color to the crown.
The dough is braided and then formed into a crown shape.
Mary & Caroline cut thorny branches from our rose bushes.
40 small thorns are inserted into the crown before it is baked.
Each evening during the 40 days of Lent,
we remove one thorn from the crown to represent
the small sacrifices we try to make in imitation of Christ's great sacrifice at Calvary.
#2
Lenten Sacrifices Box & 40-Day Paper Chain
Caroline & Julia made a purple paper chain with 40 links.
On each link, they wrote down a sacrifice that they would do together for that day. The little girls pick more simple sacrifices out of the 'sacrifice box' each morning.
Everyone tries to do their personal best for that day.
Mom tends not to utilize any of this variety when it comes to
selecting different sacrifices as her daily struggle and mantra seem to remain the same...
"Today I will be calm. I will not yell or parent out of my own emotion.
I will embrace all small sufferings and setbacks out of love for Christ."
Sigh!!
#3
Alms Giving
Mary Katharine made this simple wooden collection box in her
Rose Buds Club last year.
The girls are collecting coins and dollars in this box
and will make a donation to Haiti through MWTS.org
This is Ania's favorite activity by far.
Emptying and refilling the box is a daily activity.
#4
Ash Wednesday Prayer Pretzels
These pretzels are a great snack...delicious and easy to make.
The significance of the pretzel is in its shape.
The criss-cross pattern represents our crossed arms
in a spirit of penitential prayer.
Caroline cuts the dough into long strips with a pizza cutter.
The girls have fun shaping, dipping, twisting and baking.
They even made a little bitty one for the unborn baby!
3 comments:
Only the Christie girls with mama Christie could do such great, meaningful projects. Sharon, where do you get the strength?
Can you give me an example of what you put on the little purple strips? I saw a wonderful tree up at Stacy's house, and I think it's similar in nature, but I didn't get to read the sorts of sacrifices that one could include for the children.
Heather (Dalton, i'm assuming :-)
Anyway, um....some ideas might be:
I will make my sister's bed today.
I will say a decade for the Haitian children.
I will do my schoolwork cheerfully.
I will not have any snacks today.
I will sacrifice my 5:30 video! (ouch)
I will send a card to an elderly or sick friend today.
etc....
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