The 40-Day Journey
Lent is 40 days of intentional focus on Jesus: His life, His teachings, His sacrifice, and His victory over death. For families, it's an opportunity to slow down together, dig deeper into faith, and arrive at Easter with hearts overflowing with gratitude.
This guide provides a framework for your family's Lenten journey. Don't feel pressured to do everything. Choose what works for your family and adapt as needed. The goal is growing closer to Jesus, not checking boxes.
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
— Psalm 139:23-24 (NIV)
Daily Rhythm for Lent
Establish a simple daily rhythm that you can maintain for 40 days. Consistency matters more than intensity.
Option A: Morning Focus (5-10 minutes)
- •Read a short Scripture passage together
- •One sentence prayer from each family member
- •Quick discussion: 'How can we live this today?'
Option B: Mealtime Focus (at dinner)
- •Light a candle as a visual reminder of the season
- •Read a verse or devotional thought
- •Share highs and lows of the day
- •Pray together before eating
Option C: Bedtime Focus (10-15 minutes)
- •Read from a Lenten devotional or the Gospels
- •Reflect: 'What did you learn about Jesus today?'
- •Pray together: confession, thanks, and requests
Pick One and Stick With It
Week-by-Week Themes and Focus
Here's a suggested theme for each week of Lent, with Scripture, discussion questions, and activities:
Week 1: Repentance and Humility
Theme Scripture: Psalm 51:10-12
Focus: Admitting we need Jesus. Turning from sin. Asking for forgiveness.
- •Family discussion: What does it mean to repent? Why do we need Jesus?
- •Activity: Write down things you want to turn away from on slips of paper. Shred or burn them as a symbol of letting go.
- •Daily practice: Each person confesses one thing to God in prayer each day.
Week 2: Prayer and Listening
Theme Scripture: Psalm 46:10
Focus: Making time to talk to God AND listen to Him.
- •Family discussion: How do we hear from God? What makes prayer hard?
- •Activity: Try different prayer styles this week: silent prayer, written prayer, walking prayer, prayer with music.
- •Daily practice: Add 5 minutes of silent time to your family prayer, just being still together.
Week 3: Fasting and Simplicity
Theme Scripture: Matthew 6:16-18
Focus: Giving things up to make room for God.
- •Family discussion: Why do Christians fast? What have you noticed from what you've given up so far?
- •Activity: Choose one extra thing to fast from this week as a family (a meal, screen time for an evening, etc.).
- •Daily practice: When you feel the absence of what you've given up, use it as a prompt to pray.
Week 4: Generosity and Service
Theme Scripture: Matthew 25:35-40
Focus: Loving others through giving and serving.
- •Family discussion: Who are 'the least of these' in our community? How can we serve them?
- •Activity: Do a family service project this week: serve at a food bank, make care packages, visit the elderly.
- •Daily practice: Each day, do one specific act of kindness for someone outside your family.
Week 5: Jesus' Journey to the Cross
Theme Scripture: Mark 10:45
Focus: Understanding what Jesus was walking toward, and why.
- •Family discussion: Why did Jesus have to die? What did His death accomplish?
- •Activity: Read a portion of the Passion narrative each day (Matthew 26-27, Mark 14-15, or Luke 22-23).
- •Daily practice: Thank Jesus specifically for different aspects of His sacrifice.
Week 6: Holy Week (See separate section below)
The final week requires special focus as we walk through Jesus' last days.
Holy Week Day-by-Day
Palm Sunday
Read: Matthew 21:1-11
Focus: Jesus enters Jerusalem as King. Crowds shout Hosanna.
- •Wave palm branches (or paper palms) and shout 'Hosanna!'
- •Discuss: Why did the same crowds turn against Jesus days later?
- •Activity: Create a path of palms/leaves through your home.
Monday-Wednesday of Holy Week
Read: Jesus teaching in the temple, anointing at Bethany, Judas' betrayal
Focus: The tension builds. Jesus knows what's coming.
- •Read one passage each evening about these final days
- •Discuss Jesus' emotions and resolve as He approached the cross
Maundy Thursday
Read: John 13:1-17, Matthew 26:17-30
Focus: Jesus washes feet and institutes communion.
- •Have a simple family meal together, remembering the Last Supper
- •Consider foot washing as a family, humbling but powerful
- •Take communion together if your tradition allows
Good Friday
Read: John 18-19 or Mark 15
Focus: Jesus is betrayed, tried, and crucified.
- •This is a solemn day, so keep activities quiet and reflective
- •Consider fasting from something (screens, desserts, normal activities)
- •Watch a child-appropriate Passion video or read the story slowly together
- •Attend a Good Friday service if your church offers one
Holy Saturday
Read: Matthew 27:62-66
Focus: A day of waiting. The disciples thought all was lost.
- •Continue the quiet, reflective mood
- •Discuss what the disciples must have felt: grief, fear, confusion
- •Wait with anticipation for tomorrow
Easter Sunday
Read: Matthew 28:1-10, John 20:1-18
Focus: HE IS RISEN! The tomb is empty! Death is defeated!
- •Celebrate with joy! The waiting is over!
- •Feast, sing, decorate, worship with gladness
- •Reflect on the journey: How did Lent prepare your heart for this moment?
"He is not here; he has risen, just as he said."
— Matthew 28:6 (NIV)
Age-Appropriate Activities
👶Ages 3-5
- •Resurrection Eggs: Use plastic eggs with small objects to tell the Easter story
- •Paper chain countdown: Remove one link each day until Easter
- •Simple daily prayer: Thank you God for Jesus. Help me love like Jesus. Amen.
- •Purple decorations: Add purple (the color of Lent) around the house
- •Bible story books: Read one story about Jesus each day
👶Ages 6-11
- •Lenten journal: Write or draw something each day about what you're learning
- •Service chart: Track acts of service done during Lent
- •Scripture memory: Learn one verse each week
- •Give-up and give-to: Track what you're giving up AND what you're giving to others
- •Stations of the Cross: Do a simplified version as a family
👶Ages 11+: More Depth
- •Read through a Gospel: Complete Mark or John during Lent
- •Personal devotional: Use a Lenten devotional book designed for teens
- •Serve outside the family: Volunteer weekly during Lent
- •Social media fast: Give up social media for 40 days and journal about it
- •Lead family devotions: Take turns leading the family Lent time
When It Gets Hard
Around week 2 or 3, enthusiasm often fades. Here's how to keep going:
- •Remember why you started: Refocus on the purpose, growing closer to Jesus
- •Adjust if needed: If something isn't working, change it. The practice serves you, not the other way around.
- •Talk about the struggle: Share openly as a family when it's hard. This is part of the journey.
- •Celebrate small wins: Notice and acknowledge growth, even small steps
- •Look ahead: Easter is coming! Keep your eyes on the finish line
- •Grace, grace, grace: If you miss days, start again. God's not counting your failures.
The Struggle Is the Point
Common Mistakes Families Make
Most families who abandon Lent by the second week do so for the same handful of reasons. Knowing these ahead of time helps you plan around them. The season is meant to draw you toward Jesus, not to become one more source of stress in an already full household.
✅What Trips Families Up
- •Overcommitting: signing up for a devotional, a fast, a service project, and a memory verse all at once
- •Making it about performance: measuring the season by how much you gave up rather than how close you drew to God
- •Quitting after a missed day and treating the whole thing as ruined
- •Framing fasting as punishment, so kids dread the season instead of anticipating Easter
- •Skipping the 'why', so children experience the practices as arbitrary rules
❌What Helps Instead
- •Pick one rhythm and one fast. Depth beats breadth over 40 days.
- •Talk openly about grace. Jesus already earned what we could not.
- •Restart the very next day. God is not tallying your streak.
- •Connect every sacrifice to a longing for God. Explain the point out loud.
- •Tell the story behind each practice so the season teaches, not just restricts.
Fast From, Feast Toward
Real-Life Moments Around the Table
Lent rarely unfolds the way the plan on paper suggests. Kids ask hard questions, complaints surface, and ordinary evenings become teaching moments. Here are a few scenes you may recognize, with words you can borrow.
😤When a Child Says 'This Is Too Hard'
Your eight-year-old gave up dessert and is now negotiating at dinner. Instead of debating the rule, meet the feeling first.
Child: "Why do we even have to do Lent? None of my friends do this."
Parent: "You are right that it is hard, and it is okay to feel that. When you want dessert and remember you gave it up, that little ache is a reminder to talk to Jesus. We are not doing this to be sad. We are practicing wanting Him more than we want anything else. Want to say a quick prayer together right now?"
🙄When a Teen Pushes Back
Your fourteen-year-old rolls their eyes at family devotions. Pushing harder usually backfires. Invite instead of command.
Teen: "This feels fake. I can pray on my own."
Parent: "I hear you, and honestly, some nights it feels routine to me too. That is part of why we keep showing up. You do not have to fake feelings you do not have. Would you be willing to pick the passage for Thursday and lead it your way?"
"Lent is not about becoming more religious. It is about becoming more free from the things that quietly own us."
Questions Parents Ask
Are our young kids too little for Lent?
No. Preschoolers cannot grasp theology, but they can wave a palm branch, help remove a link from a paper chain, and pray a one-sentence prayer. Keep it concrete and visual. The repetition itself plants seeds you will not see sprout for years.
Do we have to give up food?
Not necessarily. Fasting can mean stepping back from screens, a favorite show, a spending habit, or complaining. For children, a food fast can feel like deprivation without meaning. Choose something that creates a genuine gap they will notice and can fill with prayer.
What if we start late or miss whole weeks?
Begin wherever you are. Lent is a road toward the cross and empty tomb, not a spiritual scoreboard. A family that observes ten meaningful days has gained more than a family that grimly checked off forty. Grace is the whole point.
How do we handle kids who fight during devotions?
Keep it short, keep it predictable, and lower your expectations for tidy behavior. A wiggly five-minute devotion that actually happens beats a perfect plan that never survives real family life. Consistency shapes children more than intensity.
Your First Week of Lent
If the whole 40 days feels overwhelming, ignore the finish line and focus on the first seven days. Momentum builds from small, repeated wins.
✅Concrete Steps to Begin
Choose one daily rhythm
Morning, mealtime, or bedtime. Write it on the calendar and tell the family when it happens.
Pick one family fast
Decide together what you will set aside, and name what you will add in its place.
Set up one visual reminder
A candle, a paper chain, or a Crown of Thorns craft keeps the season in front of young eyes.
Plan one act of service
Put a specific date on the calendar this week so generosity does not stay theoretical.
Pray the family Lenten prayer together
Read it aloud on day one and let each child add one sentence of their own.
Resources for the Journey
Recommended Devotional Books:
- •For Young Children: 'Benjamin's Box' by Melody Carlson
- •For Elementary: 'The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross' by Carl Laferton
- •For Families: 'Lent for Everyone' by N.T. Wright (read aloud)
- •For Teens: 'Not a Fan' by Kyle Idleman
Visual Aids:
- •Lenten calendar with daily Scripture readings
- •Crown of Thorns craft (remove a toothpick each day)
- •Empty tomb countdown
- •Jesse Tree extended through Lent
The Purpose of Lent
💡A Lenten Prayer for Families
Lord Jesus, as we begin this Lenten journey, prepare our hearts to meet You in a deeper way. Help us give up what needs to go and add in what draws us closer to You. When we're tired, give us strength. When we're distracted, refocus our hearts. Walk with us through these 40 days so that when we reach Easter, we truly understand what You've done for us. We love You, and we want to love You more. Amen.
