This is the fifth in a series of six posts leading up to Easter. This period – often called Lent - can be a time of preparation and observance as we reflect on what Jesus did for us. When I first started teaching English to fifth graders, I was teaching in a Catholic school. Every week all the students took turns going to the chapel where they stepped into the confessional booth to confess their sins to a priest, and seek repentance for their sins from God.  Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of  refreshing may come from the Lord. (Acts 3:19) Being a Protestant, I never had viewed this experience before, and found it interesting to observe the reactions of my students. Some of them made light of it and seemed to get little out of it. Others approached this as a way to humbly…and sincerely…repent and get right with God. They took God seriously, they took confession of sin seriously, and they believed in a lovin...