Lent

I've been trying to explain Lent to Gabbi. Her class is doing a very cool project during Lent with jelly beans. This is the letter they sent about it.

During the season of Lent (Ash Wednesday, February 22nd thru Holy Saturday, April 7th) we will encourage each child to concentrate on making Good Choices for Jesus. We will share that each good choice is represented by a Jelly Bean Color and that we as a class have the opportunity to fill up our class jar with Jelly Beans.

Every morning each child will share the good choices they made the day/evening before and then the corresponding color Jelly Bean will be placed in our class jar. On the last day of school, prior to Spring Break, we will divide and place the Jelly Beans in plastic eggs for each student.

This is a wonderful way to help the children focus on Jesus’ presence deep in their hearts and show them how they can grow closer to him by making good choices.

***********Good Choices to go along with each Jelly Bean Color:

• Red is for the blood Christ gave (each morning we chose something to sacrifice that day to earn the red jelly bean. It has to be something they would have had the opportunity to have or do on that day)
  
• Green is for the palm's cool shade (green jelly beans are earned for good deeds. It was a good deed to provide shade for Jesus with the palm)
  
• Yellow is for God's light so bright (yellow jelly beans are earned for sharing God's light through kindness to others)
  
• Orange is for prayers at twilight (orange jelly beans are earned for attentive behavior during church, prayer time or bible stories )
  
• Black is for sweet rest at night (black jelly beans are earned for going to bed without a fuss)
  
• White is for the Grace of Christ (these we cannot earn).
  
• Purple is for His days of sorrow (we earn these through apologizing to anyone we hurt with our words or deeds that day)
  
• Pink is for each new tomorrow (pink jellybeans are earned when we forgive those who apologize to us for hurtful behavior)

We've been talking about Ash Wednesday for a while. Gabbi's very into reading Bible stories right now and one of her favorites is Adam and Eve (she keeps calling it Steve and Eve...) This morning in the car, I explained we'd be going to mass to get crosses on our foreheads from the priest to remind us what God said to Adam in the garden of Eden ("Remember, from ashes you came and from ashes you will return.") Well that didn't go over well. She burst into tears and cried, "I don't want a cross on my head!" Awesome....

Then at bedtime last night I was explaining that during Lent we should give up something we love to remember the sacrifice Jesus made for us. She asked me what give up meant. So I told her, "You know how you really love gum? Maybe you could give up gum for Lent, and then every time you wanted gum, you would say a prayer instead and think about Jesus." I was feeling pretty pleased with myself and my simple example when she said, "Like this? 'Dear Jesus, please give me some gum. Amen!'" Oh sweet child :) You always make me smile.

We made it to Ash Wednesday mass (35 minutes late...) and long story short, Gabbi cried when she received a blessing during communion because the lady traced a cross on her forhead and she thought she was getting ashes. We had to receive ashes after mass and Gabbi bawled when Brent and I got ours and flipped out when it was time to receive hers. This picture pretty much sums up our Ash Wednesday :) -note NO ashes on her forehead...