My favorite holiday is approaching!
My birthday!
I’m kidding. It’s Easter. It just so happens that my birthday and Easter share a date this year. I decided to host both sides of my family because I happen to really like my family. All of them. This will bring 15 adults and 11 children (ages 3-9) in total to my house…I know. It will be crazy and I am praying for the forecast to be accurate so that we can have our egg hunt outside.
I am thankful that I will be surrounded by believers. We have a thick Christian Heritage on both sides of our family. I get to celebrate the resurrection and talk about Jesus as freely as I want without having to be concerned of offending anyone or getting into a debate. This makes me think of those of you who have to be brave with your faith as far as your family is concerned. I pray strength and love to be all over you while you celebrate with family that may be more interested in the bunny as opposed to the Lamb.
By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:35 (NIV)
Remember to practice love above any other law or rule you adhere to in your walk with Christ. He will give you strength to simply love in a radical way if you let him.
Anyway, that isn’t where I am going with this post. I want to share how I am celebrating Christ this weekend. I looked for a few decorations, but most have bunnies and eggs on them. While I am not opposed to a little commercialized aspect, I am pretty protective of the ratio between that and the resurrection. As I was surfing the net (ha! 1998 phrase right there) I found the coolest center piece for my table. I didn’t look further than the picture I found and decided I could make that! Also, I make my kids gifts one of Christian theme, and finally, family communion.
#1 The Resurrection Center Piece
I went to the store and purchased these items.
- A plastic plant saucer
- a 3″ terra cotta pot
- a bag of decorative rocks
- sheet of moss
Then I found these items around my yard
- dirt
- twigs
- a large rock
The whole project cost about $12. If I had had small rocks or time to grow grass instead of use the moss, I could have saved about $8 of that. I simply laid the small pot on its side and covered it with dirt. Then I filled the saucer nearly to the top with dirt all around the pot. After that, I placed the moss on top and covered the remaining dirt with rocks. I placed the large rock next to the pot. Finally, I used small rubber bands to make the crosses (although hot glue would work too). The final touch is simply placing them on the back side of the tomb. I am not sure I will be able to get rid of this after Easter.
#2 Christian Literature (affiliate links)
One of the things that I started when my first was born was choosing Easter to expand their Christian Library. I used this time to buy them a bible or buy them a more age appropriate bible as they grew. We have also been fans of Veggie Tales for a while so I enjoyed getting them a new video. Thanks to Amazon Prime, you still have time to pick up a few of these items in time for Easter. I remember that this was the first book I bought for our oldest’s first Easter: The Easter Story. Here is a list of a few others that will give you and your little one an opportunity to dive into the greatest story ever told. My children are young (under 8) so I only have experience with younger children’s books.
- The Berenstain Bears and the Easter Story
- The Very First Easter
- The Week that Led to Easter
- Very Veggie Easter
If you are looking to get them a bible–again, I can only speak from the non-reader to early reader categories, but we have really enjoyed the ones that we have used thus far.
- Deep Blue Kids Bible This one is for kids who can read. We got this when my son was 6 and he couldn’t read well enough to do it on his own. Now, at 7 he is enjoying it and I can see this being age appropriate for quite some time. I enjoy the sidebar info. It helps to bring the history of the bible to life!
- The Beginner’s Bible– This is a story bible but it includes a great deal of OT and NT stories. This has been a family favorite for a few years now.
- Read and Share Toddler Bible-My daughter received this one when she was 3 and it was a perfect preschool bible. It is just a story bible as well, but it came with a DVD of the stories as well.
#3 Taking Communion as a Family
This will be a first for us, but I hope to make this a tradition in our family on Easter. I plan to buy grape juice and Matzo crackers. We will all take communion before the meal in order to re-posture our hearts and bring the focus to Jesus and the amazing gift he gave to us on that first Resurrection Sunday! He not only paid the full price of our sins, but he broke the curse that was upon us because of our decisions. He paved the way for the indwelling of Holy Spirit! We, as post-crucifixion believers, get to have the most intimate experience with God that anyone ever has! This is something to celebrate!
I hope that this weekend brings you and your family great joy at the possibilities we have in Christ. He paid it all! He endured great pain and chose not to call legions of angels to rescue him. He kept his focus on the joy set before him. And he did it all for you. For me. For anyone who chooses to believe. They don’t have to check their baggage at the door of belief. He asks that you bring it in with you and unpack it together.
Oh, I could go on forever when it comes to the freedom we have because of our sweet Savior, but another day. Be blessed this week as you meditate on the joy set before us!