What Lent Looks Like {Our Domestic Church}

I have really been looking forward to Lent this year. Maybe it's because this winter has just been soul-crushingly long, cold, and snowy, and Ash Wednesday is an early sign of spring. Or maybe it's because motherhood is like a magnifying glass on my faults, making it painfully obvious how much I need my Savior. I'm tying Lenten spiritual cleaning in with my spring cleaning efforts in my home, so that by the time the warm weather rolls around, I won't have to spend any more time on indoor projects than absolutely necessary!

Do you decorate your home for Lent? Putting up a few things around your home (the simpler the better) is a great way to remind yourself of your Lenten commitments as you go through your day. It can also present an opportunity to share your faith with neighbors and friends. It helps us to unite our families to the greater church and really get into the penitential spirit.

Throughout Lent, we will forego the blessing of fresh flowers in our home as we wait for Easter. Here are the other simple little things I put up around the house:

1. A plain grapevine wreath (JoAnn Fabrics, $4.99), with a strip of purple fabric attached. Plain and simple, a reminder that Jesus is the Vine, and we are the branches, and that spring is coming.

2. "Sackcloth" (burlap, $3.99/yard at JoAnn's) and purple on the mantel.

3. A normal fixture in our home, but this little succulent is a desert-loving plant. How appropriate as we enter the desert with Jesus!

4. Desert centerpiece on our dinner table. Burlap, a purple placemat, a plate with our Lenten devotional on top, open to the day's page, and stones and candles. We've been reading a devotion aloud during breakfast each day, since my husband can't always be home for dinner. It's a great way to connect as a family first thing in the day.

5. Purple shrouds on all the crosses and crucifixes.

6. A Lenten message on the chalkboard that hangs in our stairway.

That's it!  What does your domestic church look like this season?