The Barefoot Evangelist

Two of the most loved series on Barefoot Evangelist are How to Lent for Teens and How to Lent with Kids. I created them to be simple, honest, and accessible for real families. They are built around the Pillars of Lent – giving, praying, fasting, and reading scripture – and filled with practical ideas you can actually use.

You’ll also find things like packing away the Alleluias for the season and bringing them back on Easter morning, what fasting really means (and what it doesn’t), and how to walk gently and intentionally through Holy Week.

Because Lent can feel confusing.

It’s confusing for kids.
It’s confusing for teens.
And if we’re honest, it’s confusing for adults too.

How do you “do” Lent?
Is it just about giving up coffee or chocolate?
What is the Lenten journey, really?
How do you know if you’re doing it right?

Those questions make sense, especially when Lent has often been presented as a season of deprivation. And if that’s all Lent is, it’s no wonder many people quietly opt out.

But Lent is not meant to be about punishment or proving something to God.

Lent is about the journey.

It is about walking with Jesus as he turns his face toward Jerusalem. You may not be travelling anywhere physically, but you can journey in your heart, your habits, and your attention.

Every journey begins with where you are, and a general sense of where you hope to arrive.

Lent gives us six contained weeks – not an endless commitment – to focus on one part of our faith life. Because it is focused and time-bound, it is easier to stay with it.

And because it is focused, you don’t have to do everything.

You choose one kind of journey.

Maybe this is the year you become more comfortable with prayer.
Maybe you slowly read one book of the Bible.
Maybe you read the words of a medieval mystic or a modern thinker.
Maybe you practice stillness.
Maybe you practice faith-in-action.
Maybe you practice faith-in-quiet.

All of these are faithful choices.

Because this is your Lenten journey. It does not have to meet anyone else’s standards or expectations.

The goal is simple: to grow a little deeper in your faith and in your actions, using the Lenten tools of prayer, reading, giving, and fasting. You might even add candles, music, or silence if that helps you focus.

This is not a surface-level “I gave up ___ for Lent.”

This is an invitation to become more awake to God.

So the real question is not what you are giving up.

The real question is:

Where are you now, and where do you hope to be by Easter morning?