Activities for Lent / Easter

Today, Janna Widdifield will be speaking to our MOPS group about ideas that we can use with our kids to make Lent / Easter a big deal in a fun and relatable way.

Here are some of the resources shared:

• Palm Sunday Coloring Sheet
• He Is Risen Rolls Tutorial
• Robin's Egg Nest Tutorial 
• Hosanna Palm Tutorial  
• Hill of Calvary Tutorial
• Link to Janna's Easter Page (which contains more Easter and Lent ideas)

Bringing Thanksgiving into our Homes

1 Thessalonians 5:16-19 (NIV):

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit.



Tips to savor the season of gratitude:

• Read the Psalms
• Memorize scripture
• Write down a daily list of your thanks
• Give words of encouragement
• Pray continuously 

Online Resources:

• Ten Activities to Cultivate Gratitude in Children   
• 5 Simple Ways to Foster Gratitude in Kids  
• Cultivating Thankfulness in Preschoolers  
• 5 Kernels of Corn Activity 
• Ann Voskamp’s Thanksgiving Tree Activity & Free Printables  

Children Books: 

• Mary's First Thanksgiving: An Inspirational Story of Gratefulness by Kathy-Jo Wargin
• Give Thanks to the Lord: Celebrating Psalm 92 by Karma Wilson
• The Pumpkin Patch Parable: Special Edition by Liz Curtis Higgs 
• My Thanksgiving Prayer by Crystal Bowman

Resources Compiled by Allison Boatman.

November 8th MOPS Meeting

Our next MOPS meeting is Tuesday, November 8th.

We have a wonderful speaker lined up for you - Janna Widdifield. Janna has spoken with our group in previous years and she always has great tips on how to make holidays fun and meaningful for your children. You won't want to miss this!

If you want copies of some of the ideas Janna will be sharing with us, you can print the documents below:

• Advent Countdown
• The Three Gifts
• Favorite Christmas Books

Janna's blog is Mustard Seeds. If you visit, be prepared to be inspired!

After Janna is done sharing, we will be packing our boxes together for Operation Christmas Child.

The Season of Advent

Just recently I have begun to learn about "Advent". I knew that it always occurred around Christmas but that was about the extent of my knowledge. To start my quest at learning what Advent was and is, I looked up the meaning of Advent. According to the dictionary, Advent is "the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event." So being the Christmas season it seems appropriate that we, as Christians, would celebrate the coming of Christ as the baby Jesus.

I have also learned that the most common way to celebrate advent is through a wreath with four candles. Each candle represents a Sunday prior to Christmas or the birth of Christ. Depending on the day of the week when Christmas falls, the advent season can be 22-28 days long. At amazingmoms.com, you can learn how to make your own advent wreath and read more about the symbolism of the wreath and the four (sometimes five) candles.

Another common way to celebrate advent is through an advent calendar that begins on December 1st. Joanne Heim, The Simple Wife, has a extensive collection of posts on advent and how she and her family have incorporated this celebration into their family. Joanne also spoke at our MOPS group last year and shared some examples of books and other materials that she uses to  during the season of advent.

I am a little behind starting our advent celebration this year, as it will be our first with MaKenna. I have a couple of ideas of what I would like to do, but I am curious how you celebrate advent with your family. I have heard a lot of you mentioning that you have begun, so please share your family traditions or ideas with me and the rest of our MOPS group.