Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday. If you’re part of a church that observes Lent or even if you’re not, you may have some discussion among the children of your congregation about “giving something up for Lent.”

People who give something up for Lent do it because Jesus gave so much for us. He gave up his heavenly Lordship to come and live among us, and he willingly, lovingly gave up his life—suffering the agony of beatings and crucifixion and hell—so that we would not suffer eternally. Because of Jesus, we are God’s own dear children, and so we look for special acts of love we can do during Lent as a small token to say, “Thank you, Jesus, I love you.”

Here are a few ideas of small sacrifices you can make as you remember the biggest-ever sacrifice Jesus made for you:

·        Give up the time it takes to write a note of encouragement and thanks to someone who has helped you grow in faith.

·        Look for a way to be kind to three different people every day.

·        Bake cookies. Take them to your local nursing home or VA hospital.

For more ideas, or to send home an inexpensive magnet to serve as reminder and get families involved, order CTA’s Life. Death. Victory. magnet.