Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent for Western Christians. Lent is traditionally a time when fasting, prayer, and charitable giving are emphasized. With children, find a special Bible story book or a book like the C. S. Lewis “Narnia” series and read a bit from it every night. The forty days of Lent are a good time to cut sugar from their diets as you can use “because it is Lent” as the reason they can’t have a cookie or soda for a snack. Help them find a service project to do once or twice a week. Have them help feed the homeless at a local church or work in a food or clothing bank sorting donations. They could deliver a homemade card to a neighbor or someone who is in the hospital. The ideas are limited only by their ages and the opportunities around you. The important thing is to make Lent special by doing things differently from what you might do as a family the rest of the year. Developing good spiritual formation habits is so much easier when you are young and to start these kinds of traditions with kids now builds good spiritual habits for when they are older. Plus, when the whole family is involved, everyone benefits.