Lent

As most of you know, I've been having serious trouble finding a good church for us. If I like the service they don't have good options for the kids. If the kids like it, I don't (usually because of the contemporary rock band-type music). Some of them are too legalistic and others I just don't agree with. I'm pretty sure I've checked out almost every religion since we moved here. What I have learned though is that I do like the liturgical style of worship. Non-denominationally speaking there is a focus on Christmas and on Easter, but I like the idea of everything having a season, like Advent and Lent. I like the predicatable organization of it all and the preparation it involves. However, explaining it to the kids is difficult for me because I don't know a whole lot about it.

As luck would have it, my blog friend, Meredith, posted a great blog on her site about Lenten ideas. I liked her crown of thorns idea a lot and attempted to make it with the kids this week. First the kids had to get on their "chef clothes," and then we made some salt dough, and rolled it out into ropes.


Then I was supposed to braid it and place it in a circle on a cookie sheet. That proved to be more difficult than expected and resulted in lots of re-rolling and re-braiding. But after figuring out the best way I finally got it on there. Then I had to put in the toothpicks. We baked it, then brushed it with a mixture of Worcestershire sauce and water and baked it a bit longer so it was a little more brown.

The idea is that the "thorns" represent sins. Each day the kids get an opportunity to get caught being good and they'll be allowed to remove a thorn. By the time we reach the eve of Easter the crown will be empty and they can paint it and decorate it for Easter day, transforming it from a crown of thorns to a crown fit for a king. I'm not sure if they understand it, but they've been getting awfully helpful around here.