When I think about Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent, I reflect on Lenten activities that would make this season life-changing. Lent isn’t just a 40-day period where we give something up, like fast food or chocolate. It’s a great way to delve deeper into our spiritual lives, fostering growth, reflection, and self-improvement.
After many years of Lenten participation, I’ve discovered Lent is about embracing practices that bring me closer to my savior, Jesus Christ. It’s about living out the pillars of Lent meaningfully: prayer, fasting, and benevolence.
This year, I invite you to join me in exploring fresh, creative Lent ideas that can elevate our Lenten journey.
I’d also like to suggest we make it more than just a repeat of last year’s traditional sacrifices. Instead, let’s discover new habits, engage more profoundly in spiritual practices, and find ways to strengthen our connection with the Holy Spirit.
Together, we can start something that prepares us for life after Easter Sunday. One that enriches our daily lives, making this season a truly transformative time.
Creative Lent Ideas
This Lenten season, exploring new Lent ideas can be a good way to begin to examine ourselves. It’s not just about giving up our favorite foods or activities but also about finding meaningful ways to enhance our spiritual growth and development.
Reducing media time is an excellent place to start.
This sacrifice allows us to reclaim time and redirect it towards more fruitful spiritual practices like:
- Daily prayer
- Family Bible study
- Spending quality time with our whole family or loved ones
It can also be the start of improving our physical health. What a great way to better care for our body, a temple for the Lord.
We can utilize this newly discovered free time for self-care activities like meal planning, meal preparation, or going to bed at a more reasonable hour to be more rested.
The health benefits from these self-care activities may eventually allow us to serve the Lord in ways we’ve never imagined.
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By choosing to fast from the digital distractions that often consume our daily lives, we make room to find more creative ideas for deeper connections.
Not just with those around us, but with Christ Himself.
Understanding Lent: More Than Sacrifice
Lent is more than a time for self-sacrifice, like giving up energy drinks, video games, or social media.
The start of Lent can take us on a profound journey of spiritual evolvement and growth.
During the 40 days leading up to Easter Sunday, we can embrace the pillars of Lent:
- Prayer
- Fasting
- Benevolence
These Lenten practices are not merely acts of self-denial but pathways to deepen our relationship with God and better understand our faith.
- Prayer during Lent offers a chance to communicate more intimately with the Holy Spirit, reflecting on the life of Jesus and how to be and live more like Him.
- Beyond giving up favorite foods or fast food, fasting helps control our desires and focus on more meaningful things.
- In benevolence, we’re encouraged to step out of our comfort zone, extending kindness and support to those in need, echoing the generous spirit of God.
These practices prepare us for Easter Sunday’s joy and enrich our spiritual lives. Lent is a perfect time for spiritual formation.
Amplifying Prayer During Lent
When I think about amplifying prayer during the Lenten season, I see it is a great time to dive deeper into our spiritual activities.
One of the most practical and accessible ways to enhance our prayer life is sometimes one of the hardest things.
Take more time or set aside specific times for more profound prayer.
Whether early in the morning or just before bed, dedicating a particular daily period to commune with God (and writing in my prayer journal) has helped me maintain a solid spiritual foundation.
It reminds me that our relationship isn’t just reserved for Sundays or special occasions or just ourselves. It’s a daily commitment to a lifetime of spiritual transformation and growth of the Lord’s Kingdom.
Matthew 18:20 reads, “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.” (NLT).
Beyond the digital realm, attending church services during Holy Week, including Good Friday and Holy Saturday, can profoundly enrich our souls.
There’s something incredibly moving about joining the community in prayer, reflecting on the Stations of the Cross (in Catholic churches), and receiving Communion.
It is a tangible way to connect with Jesus and His sacrifice for us on the Cross.
Fasting
In Pope Francis’s gentle yet profound teachings, fasting during Lent emerges as a powerful call to transformation. Something far beyond just abstention from food or vices.
He invites us to see this sacred period as the time of year to adjust our inner compass, urging us to shift our focus toward a more compassionate perspective on our relationships with those around us and our planet.
This practice isn’t just a check on our spiritual disciplines. It’s an invitation to start a journey of renewal.
Pope Francis challenges us to consider our consumption habits and how they affect our spiritual lives, global family, and the Earth.
By embracing this expanded view of fasting, we open the door to a season of Lent ideas filled with deeper insights and meaningful connections, aligning our actions with the heart of the Gospel.
Benevolence: Beyond the Donation
When we think about benevolence, our minds may jump to donating money.
Yet, it’s more thoughtful than that; benevolence can be a life-changing practice beyond monetary contributions. It’s about making a difference in others’ lives through kindness and dedicating our time to help those in need.
I encourage you to see your generosity or almsgiving as a chance to deepen your connection with those around you, turning away from the temptations of excessive consumption and toward acts that help build God’s kingdom on earth.
One of the best things about benevolence is that it doesn’t require much money. It only needs your heart, time, and willingness to see Christ in everyone you meet.
Family and Lent Ideas
As we navigate through the season of Lent, we can come together as a family and deepen our spiritual lives.
Whether starting our day with a family Bible story, dedicating time after dinner for daily prayer, or even engaging in charitable acts together, there are countless ways to make this period meaningful for everyone in the household.
For instance, one year, my family chose a day of Lent for a digital detox as a family.
It was a beautiful way to foster stronger connections among family members.
Also, although my church denomination doesn’t require it, preparing meatless meals on Fridays becomes a fun family cooking activity, teaching our older and younger children the values of sacrifice and mindfulness.
We also spent extra time volunteering in our local community, embodying the true spirit of benevolence. Our whole family participated in a church-hosted yard clean-up event for homebound seniors.
Embracing these opportunities to grow in faith as a family can make it a truly transformative time for everyone in your family.
Digital Detox: The Lenten Challenge
It’s surprisingly easy to let screen time take up a massive chunk of our day. This Lent, I’m challenging you, and yes, challenging myself too, to embrace a digital detox as a profound way to reconnect with our spiritual life and improve our mental health.
I’m excited for the peacefulness of unplugging from the constant buzz of social media notifications and the plethora of online shopping temptations.
It’s not just about giving up the electronic devices that have become almost appendages but about reclaiming that precious time.
Dedicating moments lost to scrolling through endless feeds to more meaningful activities like prayer, reading spiritual books, or simply spending undistracted quality time with family members can transform this season of Lent into significant spiritual progress and a tighter family unit.
How about starting small? Perhaps begin by substituting that half-hour video game time or doomscrolling with a daily prayer or Bible study session?
Or, if you’re feeling particularly bold, we could brave the entire Holy Week without streaming services.
Hopefully, you’ll use these or other unique Lent ideas to foster a deeper connection with the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ.
This is a reminder that sometimes, the most straightforward or minor changes can lead to the most profound spiritual awakenings.
Lent Ideas: Connecting With Your Community
During the Lenten season, we can strengthen our community bonds.
We often overlook the powerful impact of coming together, especially when on a faith journey.
Volunteering is one way you can make a monumental difference.
Whether helping out at a local shelter or food bank, participating in community clean-ups, or assisting at area churches, service brings us closer to the principles Jesus himself lived by.
Another enriching experience is joining or even initiating a bible study group.
Tackling the spiritual practices and teachings of the season together can magnify their impact, enhancing your faith and that of your fellow participants.
This can be particularly meaningful during Holy Week when the stories of Jesus’s last days on earth are at the forefront of our minds, especially those newer to the faith. Embrace this time to deepen your understanding and your connections within the community.
Embrace a New Lenten Tradition
Lent is the perfect time for reflection, growth, and new spiritual practices that bring us closer to Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit and deepen our connection to the season’s meaning.
As we wander through these 40 days, steering clear of fast food, screen time, and perhaps even your favorite cup of coffee or that daily bite of chocolate, let’s think outside the box.
Why not embrace a new Lenten tradition that not only aids in your spiritual life but could also benefit those around you and even our planet?
- Consider running a Bible study – not just a simple Bible story reading but a deep dive into the Scriptures that speak to the heart of the season. There’s immense beauty in gathering as a family or with a group of friends, exploring the word of God, and allowing it to shape our daily lives. I’ve been with the same group of women for over three years, and it’s been life-changing for me!
- Initiate a ‘kindness project’ – Commit to performing an act of kindness each day. Whether it’s sending a text message to someone telling them they’re appreciated, helping a family member with a task unasked, or volunteering your time for local community services. It’s a beautiful way to practice the pillars of Lent in a tangible, meaningful way. Texting a kind message is my favorite.
- Adopt a sustainable practice that reduces your carbon footprint – fasting from plastic, giving up certain animal products, or simply making more environmentally friendly decisions in your daily life. This practice benefits your spiritual growth and is a wonderful way to honor God’s creation during the holy season.
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List of Lent Ideas
- Reduce media time
- Increase daily prayer time
- Family Bible study
- More family time
- Improve physical health
- Take better care of your body (a temple for God)
- Meal planning
- Meal prepping
- Earlier bedtime
- Deeper prayer
- Write in a prayer journal
- Attend services during Holy Week
- Fasting
- Financial donation
- Family prayer or grace
- Family acts of charity
- Meatless Friday meals
- Volunteering
- Digital Detox
- Read spiritual books
- No streaming services during Holy Week
- Community clean up
- Assist local churches with projects
- Run a kindness project
- Adopt a sustainable project
- Give up fast food
- Give up junk food
- Abstain from nail biting or bad habits
- Abstain from social media
- Give up energy drinks
- Abstain from playing video games
Regardless of which new tradition you adopt, the focus should remain on spiritual expansion, reflecting on the life and sacrifices of Jesus Christ and preparing our hearts for the rejoicing that Easter Sunday brings.
Each of these new Lenten traditions offers an easy way to deepen your spiritual life while positively impacting the people and world around you.
Reflect, Rejoice, and Renew
As we reflect on the days of Lent, we enter into a time of reflection to examine our personal habits and spiritual life. This period challenges us to reconsider our everyday choices and how they align with our faith and values.
Lent isn’t just about fasting or giving something up; it’s a season filled with opportunities for genuine spiritual enrichment and renewal.
Let’s embrace this time to streamline our lives and focus on what truly matters. As Easter Sunday approaches, let’s anticipate the joy and renewal it promises, strengthened and refreshed by our Lenten journey.
This Lenten season, challenge yourself to explore these less traditional yet profoundly impactful Lent activities.
Which ones sound inviting to you?
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Related Posts:
3 Life-Changing Reasons to Extend Your Lenten Activities
What Did Jesus Do During Lent: Finding Meaning In It
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Be sure to grab your FREE Self-care Starter Guide! Lisa Kimrey is a 33-year veteran registered nurse (RN), speaker, and author of the Bible study, The Self-care Impact: Motivation and Inspiration for Wellness. At Mylifenurse, Lisa combines her nursing expertise with Scripture-based encouragement to show readers who serve and care for others how to begin and maintain their self-care journey – without feeling guilty or overwhelmed – to feel happy, healthy, and rejuvenated.