So maybe you’ve heard of Lent, but you’re not exactly sure what it is. Lent is the 40 days before Easter and is part of the Christian Liturgical calendar. If you’re part of a more traditional Church background like Catholic or Luthern, you’re probably at least familiar with Lent. For those of us in the more modern/non-denominational backgrounds, you may have only heard the reference without experiencing it.
Traditionally, Lent involves fasting and using the time of fasting for additional focused worship and devotion to prepare your heart for Easter. Traditionally a Fast is food, but you can fast from other things that will free up more of your time to focus on Jesus. In the past, I’ve fasted social media, noise, hobbies, and shopping to free up more time. And any time that you would have spent doing the thing you’re giving up, you spend it with Jesus.
Now there are a lot of Lent reading plans out there, and your Church might even have offered or suggested one that the Church will be doing together. But for those of you who are considering Lent and don’t have those options, I put together a reading plan for you. I specifically made it one that will work for someone starting for the first time or someone who is used to following reading plans.
Each week of the reading plan focuses on different things Jesus did leading up to the week of Easter, which many Christians call “Passion Week.” Each day has a large section of scripture, a focus verse, and a reflection question. If you’re new to lent or reading plans, try to commit to at least the focus verse and spend the day reflecting on that verse and question of the day. If you’re more comfortable with reading plans, do the large section. If you want to try adding fasting with the reading to give you more space, think about what you’re giving up to give more space for reading.
There isn’t a right or wrong way to do Lent, any extra time you spend with Jesus just gives you a stronger relationship. The process of trying tells you more about where you’re at in your relationship and ways that you may need to focus and grow in the coming months and year. The important thing is always taking the steps rather than taking no steps.
You can download the Lent Reading Plan 2025 by clicking here, and you can also follow me on TikTok or YouTube for videos of the reading plan.
Stay weird,
