Enough For All
One major concept in the season of Lent is cleaning out our lives - making space so that there is room for God. During Lent, we think about Jesus spending 40 days fasting in the wilderness. We find the things in our lives that make it hard for God to get in, and we clear them away. Modeling this for children and engaging them in it is powerful. The words of this month’s song - “There’s enough for all if we can learn to share it” - ring so true in a world where many have more than enough while others are in need. While very young children have a hard time understanding the ways others in the world live, living simply in the season of Lent (and even beyond) can give them a foundation for understanding the concept of enough. For more ideas on cleaning out and making space, see Lent: Cleaning Out and Making Space. If you want to dig deeper into the themes of Lent, see Ash Wednesday.
Read It
2 Corinthians 9:7-9
7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
Do It
1. Choose a way to simplify your living (and spending) for the season of Lent. Some ideas are:
Simplify Food: Plan out your meals for each week to use inexpensive but healthy ingredients, and to use up all the food in your fridge each week (in other words, use your leftovers!). For some families, this may mean eating less meat, or doing more with dry foods such as rice and beans. Your children may not always like the change - which gives opportunity to remember the concept of enough. Here’s an example of a sample week’s menu, for one meal a day:
Sunday: Popcorn, cheese, apples, carrots
Monday: Rice bowls (rice, black beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream or plain yogurt, salsa)
Tuesday: Vegetable soup (use frozen vegetables to save time, add some meat or beans for protein), bread
Wednesday: Curried lentils and rice, cooked broccoli
Thursday: Pasta, pasta sauce, peas
Friday: Pancakes, eggs, cooked carrots, baked apples
Saturday: Fried rice (using leftover rice from the week and whatever vegetables are left in your fridge, then adding eggs for protein)
For more ideas, check out the More With Less cookbook!
Simplify Shopping: Make a commitment as a family to buy only things that are absolutely necessary during the season of Lent (groceries, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc).
2. Put a centerpiece on your table - you can make it as symbolic or simple as you want. We will just use a pottery bowl on a piece of cloth. On a regular basis (once a week or every day, whatever works best for your family), put the money in it that you’re saving with your simplified life.
3. Choose a way to share that money with someone in need. Some ideas are:
*MCC project (mcc.org)
*MEDA project (www.meda.org)
*Local organization that provides resources, whether material (like a soup kitchen) or service (like a childcare center).
*Extra: If your children are old enough, consider simplifying time for this season. This might mean taking the 8 weeks off from a lesson or other regular activity. As a family, give that time to something that serves others (such as volunteering time at a local agency).
Simplify Food: Plan out your meals for each week to use inexpensive but healthy ingredients, and to use up all the food in your fridge each week (in other words, use your leftovers!). For some families, this may mean eating less meat, or doing more with dry foods such as rice and beans. Your children may not always like the change - which gives opportunity to remember the concept of enough. Here’s an example of a sample week’s menu, for one meal a day:
Sunday: Popcorn, cheese, apples, carrots
Monday: Rice bowls (rice, black beans, shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, sour cream or plain yogurt, salsa)
Tuesday: Vegetable soup (use frozen vegetables to save time, add some meat or beans for protein), bread
Wednesday: Curried lentils and rice, cooked broccoli
Thursday: Pasta, pasta sauce, peas
Friday: Pancakes, eggs, cooked carrots, baked apples
Saturday: Fried rice (using leftover rice from the week and whatever vegetables are left in your fridge, then adding eggs for protein)
For more ideas, check out the More With Less cookbook!
Simplify Shopping: Make a commitment as a family to buy only things that are absolutely necessary during the season of Lent (groceries, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc).
2. Put a centerpiece on your table - you can make it as symbolic or simple as you want. We will just use a pottery bowl on a piece of cloth. On a regular basis (once a week or every day, whatever works best for your family), put the money in it that you’re saving with your simplified life.
3. Choose a way to share that money with someone in need. Some ideas are:
*MCC project (mcc.org)
*MEDA project (www.meda.org)
*Local organization that provides resources, whether material (like a soup kitchen) or service (like a childcare center).
*Extra: If your children are old enough, consider simplifying time for this season. This might mean taking the 8 weeks off from a lesson or other regular activity. As a family, give that time to something that serves others (such as volunteering time at a local agency).
Pray It
God, we know that you provide. Sometimes things that we want get in the way of us having space for you. Help us to clean out our lives so we can live with enough for all. In your name, Amen.
Sing It
Explore It
Ideas to come.
