What is Lent anyway?​
Millions of people all over the world are going to take part in Lent and are choosing to give certain 'things' up for 40 days.  These 'things' might include certain foods, beverages, bad habits, negative behavior, etc... but there is a lot more to the religious celebration than ditching sweets, physical possessions or indulgences before Easter.

Lent is a season of 40 days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday, March 1, 2017, and ends on the Saturday before Easter.  The 40 days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.  If you recall, Jesus was tempted three times by Satan.  These temptations are familiar to us because we face the same kinds of temptations.  Read Matthew 4:1-11 for the full story.

Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter.  It is a time of self-examination and reflection.  In the early church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism.  Today, Christians follow Jesus' example by focusing on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something, give of themselves to others, or to start a new healthy habit.  Over the next 40 days, be intentional about letting go of something - maybe it's negativity or a bad attitude.  Don't expect it to happen quickly, but practice with the hope that change will come and that it will last.  Go for it!  Forty days could easily turn into a lifetime.

​Ask your child...
What are you willing to give up for Lent?

Challenge your child...
To start a new habit - maybe it's reading the Bible every day or praying for someone who mistreats them or someone they dislike. 

Prayer...
​God, during this season of Lent, help me to focus on what you would have me change in my life.  Help me to examine my life and to put off my old ways and to put on a new way of living.  Amen.

Prayer is an intimate, powerful way of communicating with God.  Through prayer, we speak to God and God speaks to us.  It's a divine conversation that strengthens our faith.  Sometimes in prayer, words flow effortlessly; we have so much to say, so much to ask, so much for which to thank God.  At other times, however, we can't find the exact words to say, so we decide not to pray at all, or we wait until we feel like praying.  Still other times, life becomes so tough that we don't have the strength to pray.

​When prayer seems difficult, we can be encouraged because God hears even our unspoken prayers.  Our tears have a voice.  Our sighs, groans, whispers, and desires all become prayers.  Unspoken prayers express thanks, cry out for help, and ask for wisdom.  God hears them and answers them.  God knows us inside out and can interpret what we're trying to say, no matter how we say it. 

Ask your teen...
Praying for the people around you definitely changes your perspective.  It allows you to love them with the love of Christ.  Whom do you have trouble loving?  Will you pray for them today?

Challenge your teen...
​Start a payer journal - each day write out your prayers and be sure to note when they were answered.
​Every day is filled with reasons to pray and to offer praise for all that God has done in our lives.  If you are not into journaling, write on slips of paper, the things you are grateful for and drop them into a jar.  When you are having a rough day or season, read these papers and be reminded that God is at work to bring good out of every situation.

​Prayer...
​Lord may nothing separate me from You today.  Teach me how to choose only Your way today so each step will lead me closer to You.

Hi Parents,
​Do you ever feel like we live in a culture that doesn't always know the meaning of enough? We always seem to want more.  The American dream is built on hard work and everyone wants to be a success story.  So we keep working, reaching, straining to get what we want.  The big surprise I've discovered is that once I get it, I'll see something else newer/nicer/more expensive and I want that too.  It's a vicious cycle!
I'm not saying it's not wrong to be ambitious or to want more out of life. It's just at some point we need to ask ourselves "when is enough, enough?"  Philippians 4:11 says "I have learned to be content with whatever I have."

The second question we need to ask ourselves is when we see someone with something new, are we green with envy? Jealousy can suck the life out of us if we are more focused on what we don't have than on what we do.  Envy destroys our relationships if we are more concerned about what others have than about who they are.  Jealousy really doesn't help anyone - it puts distance between us, which in turn keeps our relationships from growing.  There will always be people that have the latest styles, the newest vehicle, the most advanced phone or electronic gadget, and let's face it, some people will always have more money, possessions or success than we do.  It's all in how we see our life.  Living the life God has given me is healthier and far more rewarding than being jealous of others.

Ask your teen...
​To whom do you compare yourself?
​Do you experience jealousy or envy easily?
​Is it more important for you to live up to the world's ideal or to be like Christ?
​How can you begin seeking God's approval instead of the world's?

​Challenge your teen...
​Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.  Prayer prayers of gratitude.
​Take off the coat of envy and jealousy and put on the cloak of compassion and kindness.
​
​Prayer...
​Lord, thank you for your blessings.  Help us always to recognize these gifts, to find joy in them and to share what we have with others.  Amen.

Dear Parents,
​I must start out by asking you to forgive me!  It has been a month since I wrote a blog and I am sincerely sorry! This week's devotions are on forgiving others and forgiving ourselves, so it is appropriate that I begin by asking for your forgiveness:)  Matthew 6:14-15 says "If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." 

We've all had practice forgiving people.  We've wrestled with what others have done to us.  We turn the situation over and over in our head trying to figure out how someone could do such a horrible thing.  The hurt makes us clench our jaw (yes, I do that), cry out to God in anger, and drive us to our knees in prayer.  Eventually, we realize we can't hold on to the hurt any longer and give it over to the God who can heal us deep inside.

What about when we have hurt someone?  The angst and pain is still there, just in a different way.  We beat ourselves up over and over, again, replaying the whole scenario over and over in our mind wondering how God (or the one we harmed) could possibly forgive us. God says when we ask for forgiveness, we are made clean - He remembers our wrongs no more (Jeremiah 31:34).  Thank you Jesus!

So the question becomes, how do we help our children learn to forgive others or themselves?

1. Forgiveness is at the core of who we are as Christians.  Ask your child if they are ready to lay "IT" at the feet of Jesus and release it.  It's not an easy thing to do, but the choice to hang on to it will eventually make them bitter and hard.​
2. Pray with your teen to release the hurt or guilt.
   
3. Post Scripture on forgiveness on the bathroom mirror, the fridge or computer screen as a constant reminder of God's forgiveness.  (Matthew 6:14-15; Jeremiah 31:34; Matthew 18:22; Psalm 38:4; Isaiah 43:25)
   
4. Remind your teen that each time we offer ourselves or others forgiveness, we have a chance to learn from the mistakes we've made.  It is one more chance to see God's love for us, and for us to show God's love to others.
   
5. Be an example of compassion and grace to your family.
   

​Prayer... Thank you Father for the forgiveness you so graciously pour out on us.  Teach us how to extend forgiveness to those who have hurt us.  Amen.