thinplace

Lent: Jumping in with Kids

 

so my friend Jennifer Ruggles asked for a few lenten ideas to do with children and families. so i thought i would share them here too.
 Originally Lent was only the week before easter..  Holy week.
Now its 40 days, So you have lots of time don"t feel like you have to hurry....you can baby step into the season.

1.Today, clean out the fridge together. You can make leftovers and/or pancakes for shrove tuesday.
Shrove tuesday was the day for cleaning out the pantry before the fast.
If you have stuff in pantry that you can give to a food bank , do that as A part of this week's lenten prep. 

2. Get Kids to Help you clean out the lint trap in your dryer.
As you/ they clean it out, talk about God cleaning out the lent, the junk, that gets stuck on us,  and ask jesus to clean out your heart as u clean the Lint trap!  a Linten confessional

3. Have kids write down or draw their sins... What they are sorry about,
Stuff they know they do wrong(age appropriate) and parents do this too.
We used small pieces of paper and burned them in a glass dish at dinner!
Then we used the ashes from this to make crosses on our foreheads symbolic of ash wednesday.
And since im not a literalist, we did this during
The first week of lent not on the actual day .

4. We used a piece of purple cloth on the table ( create a centerpiece or you can create an altar space) and keep the dish of ashes on the table during lent as a reminder.

5. We also had a lint brush on the table..
Pass around the lint brush as a tool for confession. As You roll the lint Brush on your clothes ask god to remove the junk/lint of the day and Ask his forgiveness.
 ( they might want to do this to each other : ))

6. Another center piece idea is to buy planted bulbs that are ready to grow, or plant seeds in a pot and watch them grow during lent. New life coming from the earth, the death of a seed brings life.

7. Along with this idea, get a garden hoe and put it in the corner of The room, by the door or fireplace, somewhere you will see it everyday.
Use it as a visual reminder of God tilling the soil of your hearts and getting
Ready to plant  and grow new things in your life. 
I also used seed
Packets in the centerpiece for a visual reminder.

8. As a family save change for an organization. As a church,
Our kids saved change and at easter we bought baby chicks and ducks through the
Heifer project international ( world vision has a similar thing) .

Hope these help get you started! and thanks jen for getting me started on my blogging practice for Lent!

and BTW pancakes at IHOP are always a good idea if you don't have time or space to cook!!!!

preparing for the baby king

this year, i've thought a lot about the fact that God chose to come to earth as a baby...an infant who needed care, comfort and lots of attention. jesus came as a baby...not as a self-sufficient adult, not as an angel with supernatural powers, but he arrived as a helpless baby born in a small town to a young mom and an adoptive dad who were still being surprised by the wonder of it all.

at the time of his birth, they didn't even have the gift of family around for support, they were on a pilgrimage in a strange city needing the aid and assistance of people they'd just met. needing the gift of hospitality in a big way.

what if we take time to consider jesus as a baby...

when you prepare for a baby, you have to get lots of stuff ready. the room, all the diapers. the car seat, all the special gear necessary.

Your house changes, you have less space because the baby stuff takes up lots of room. Your focus changes..,whether you are adopting or hatching a baby, you begin to focus your life around this little person. 

And once that person arrives on the scene you no longer need a TV because all you want to do is watch what he or she does.
when a baby enters the world, your time is no longer your own. now you have to think about the needs of someone else. you have to consider how what you do will affect the 

baby...even before a baby is born, the mom must consider what she eats, drinks, or smokes.

What if we see the coming of baby Jesus into our lives like this?

How do you and i make space for baby Jesus in our lives?

How do we get ready for his birth in our real world?

What stuff do you and i have to get rid of?

Do you and i need to add special gear?…

What does bringing baby Jesus into your life and my life really look like?

And consider Jesus as a baby who needs our time and attention, ..

What are you willing to do to care for him ?

How are you willing to change your life in order to give baby jesus the attention and care he needs?

am i willing to prepare him room in this way?

am i willing ? are you willing to receive the gift of jesus as a baby?

 

Talk to God about this….

How can I help you or your church....

1.    Creative Consulting by the Hour….I can help you integrate experiential learning into your teaching as a part of  your regular worship, or  I might help you design an entirely new worship service to engage emerging generations and others who learn beyond the traditional preaching and singing.  Maybe you just need some new ideas to go with what you are already doing….I would be excited to help you brain storm. we'll chat first and then determine when the "clock starts"

2.    Designing/Creating a Prayer Experience: I can Design and/or help you host a prayer experience at your church or event.
I can design a prayer room, a prayer experience, or worship experience for you church, youth group, retreat, or conference.  Ask me about the various levels of creation….It’s a great outreach opportunity for folks to bring friends and family to  engage God.

3.  Workshop or Retreat. Invite your team to learn how to create Experiential worship on your own.  I'll lead gatherings that include hands on practical experience and times of worship and refreshment for those who participate. 

4.  Prayer/Sabbath Retreats….Need a breather? some time away with God?  I'l lead a time of refreshment for you and your team.

5.    Talks on  Labyrinths, Celtic Christianity, Experiential worship, Creative Prayer, Outside the Box Youth Ministry, Spiritual practices for Everyday “real” life,  Bible Studies etc.

Thinplace is...

A PILGRIMAGE OF DISCOVERY AND CREATIVITY
INTEGRATING ANCIENT AND FUTURE FORMS OF WORSHIP TO BRING LITURGY NEW LIFE.

Thinplace is...
Engaging the visual culture; enhancing our symbols, utilizing all our senses; activating gifts in free range worship. Telling God’s story to emerging generations through prayer stations, prayer rooms, prayer experiences, art worship, lectio divina and labyrinths, etc.

.........

Curator Lilly Lewin is...
• ENTHUSIASTIC FOLLOWER OF JESUS • MISSIONAL• EXPERIENTIAL • WORSHIP • SACRED SPACE • WORSHIP LEADER WITHOUT A GUITAR • ENCOURAGER • TEACHER • STORYTELLER• SACRED RITUALIST• CREATIVE• ATMOSPHERE ARCHITECT• ART CURATOR• SPIRITUAL FORMATION COACH• WORKSHOP LEADER• YOUTH PASTOR

Lilly would love to help you: 

• Engage a visual, post-Christian, creative culture.

• Design multi-sensory, experiential worship; incorporating teaching, art, music, drama, interactive prayer, history, tradition, and 21st century technology.
  

• Empower creative teams and individual gifts.

• Train leaders to integrate creativity and interaction into worship and teaching.    

• Host seminars, workshops and retreats on Experiential Worship, and Creative Interaction with  Scripture.

• Help you and your group Experience God’s Story again for                                                             the first time.

In the last fifteen years, Lilly has worked with churches that run the gamut from seeker to mainline, from mega-church to small traditional, everything from Foursquare Gospel to American Baptist, Presbyterian to Vineyard. These sacred spaces she creates use multi-sensory prayer, silence, art, discussion and multi media, integrating ancient and future forms of worship to bring liturgy new life.

COMMENTS FROM OTHERS

“Worshiping God does include preaching and singing – but Lilly knows how to go beyond that and create worship experiences that remain very strong in Scripture, yet also incorporate other senses and ways of learning and expressing worship to God. I know of no other person who can create worship experiences that involve the senses in a holistic way as well as stay strong in the Scriptures as Lilly.”
–Dan Kimball, pastor Vintage Faith Santa Cruz CA,
Author of Emerging Worship & Emerging Church.

“Lilly Lewin is what I would affectionately describe as a sacred ritualist. With unstoppable energy, enthusiasm and imagination she creates experiences that invite participants to integrate spiritual truths with the stuff of life. Her winsomeness, combined with a background in both liturgical and charismatic traditions, enable her to connect across a broad audience of faith seekers.”
–Mark Scandrette, ReImagine, www.reimagine.org

“Experiencing this rather than just hearing about it, was super; everything was helpful and useful; resources were great; liked discovering that what I like to do has a name; covered what I expected and much more; practical ways to enhance spirituality opportunities; Lilly was excellent!!! Great experience.“  
–Brenda Hembury, Christian Educators Fellowship,
United Methodist Church