Lent is here. One of the activities we’re planning on using this year is the Jesus Tree. There are a lot of different versions out there, but the essential idea is the same as the Jesse tree- Each day of Lent we will read from Scripture part of the story of the life of Christ.

It’s an awesome opportunity to pull out my Bible, worn and read, special and sacred, and read aloud to them from it directly. I love kids’ books, and we do most of our Bible reading from our Children’s Bible, but when there’s an opportunity to pull them up on my lap with my own Bible, I take it, and it makes a difference.

When I’m reading to them from my Bible, I always make sure that we’re somewhere special, the “big bed” in mom and dad’s room or my cozy prayer chair, and I always snuggle them in close. For me, this sets the stage because the kiddos (G is 5 and Will 3) are still at that age where involving all of their senses makes a huge difference in how they experience. My goal is to create a cozy memory that connects Scripture to feelings of love and warmth and safety in their heads.

The next thing that I do is show them my Bible. I exaggerate my motions and slowly, slowly, with as much reverence as possible open the pages. I share with them the story of picking out my Bible with my dad when I went to college. I gently flip through the pages so that they can see the highlights and underlinings of passages that have spoken to my heart. I explain what those are and choose one or two short passages to share with them. I show them all of the mementos that are tucked into the pages- the flowers from my day praying in the desert in Mexico as a missionary, the note from a woman at adoration asking me to pray for her daughter, an engagement photo from a dear friend.

The reason that I do all this before we even read the story is to help them understand that the Bible is different from the other books we read. It is alive, it speaks to our hearts in different ways at different times in our lives, but it always, always has something to say to us. And because it is the Word of God, we are meant to respond to it. All the pieces of my Bible, all the worn pages, the notes, the highlights- these are examples from my own life of how I have responded, and a way that I can show them what is possible.

So then, and only then, do we find the page and read the story.

As I read, I make sure to read slowly, stopping to explain any big words or to answer any questions that come up as we read.

When we are done with the story, I ask them a few questions. As we go through them, I answer them too, telling them how the Scripture passage spoke to my heart.

• What questions did you have about this story?
• What part of the story stuck out to you? What did you find most interesting?
• What part of the story did you like best? Why?
• Were there any parts of the story that you didn’t like? Why?

And that’s it. I usually keep the experience short and simple, no more than 15-20 minutes total, unless they are really interested and are leading the discussion. Most of the time they’re not, and they’re ready to be done. By about 15 minutes their interest and attention have waned. I try to respect that, and not force them to sit longer than they’re ready for, especially since my end goal is so that Scripture is associated with warm and cozy feelings.

You can read more about our experiences reading Scriptures with our children here in this post.

If you’re looking for a Jesus Tree version for your family (it’s not too late!) check out this one from Elizabeth Clare. It’s the one we’re using this year- and comes with 2 sets of ornaments (which means William and G can color their own and don’t have to share- win!), along with a reading schedule with the Bible passages included.