Easter 2012

Easter is one of my favorite holidays. I love everything about this day. All the signs of new life, the symbols associated with new life. I love our traditions, but I also like incorporating new ones as well. I know that my kids have outgrown some of our traditions. Will is pretty much the only one who still enjoys the Resurrection Eggs. Unless the Lord brings us a new little one any time soon, we probably won't be using them to tell the Easter story next year. 

One tradition that I keep expecting them to outgrow is the Resurrection Cookies. But this must be one of their favorites because they always ask about them.

Easter

Easter... What does this holiday mean to you? What traditions do you associate with this day?

When I was a little girl Easter meant a basket filled with chocolates and treats. A new dress, sometimes with a little bonnet. Sometimes with a little purse and gloves. It meant decorating eggs, and finding them, hidden in the yard. It meant getting together with family and sharing a special meal.

The Jelly Bean Flowers... this is a tradition that my children and I share at Easter. We make this simple flower arrangement and place it on our kitchen table.

Jelly Bean Flowers

One of the "crafts" we incorporate into our Easter celebration...

One lesson I am continually learning -- never underestimate the importance of family traditions to your children. Case in point: this simple little flower arrangement. My kids are older (my youngest is 12) and I always think that they won't want to continue some of the things that we've done in the past as part of our holiday celebrations. They always prove me wrong :)

Bits and Pieces

Mike's knee is healing well after the surgery. He is continuing with physical therapy. He is still having some issues with swelling, and there is some fluid build-up on the knee. The doctor said this is normal and he can come back into the office to have the fluid drawn off. So far, he is waiting on that; he said the last time he had a needle in that knee it was excruciatingly painful.

More Easter

our new rabbit, Marshmallow

the night before Easter

Easter morning

our family

Easter 2010

I love Easter...love all the little things we do to celebrate...love everything that it represents. New life. A resurrected life. I am grateful that He gave His life so that I might live!

Coloring eggs at the church-wide Easter celebration

As part of our celebration, we had a "Walk Through the Resurrection" with the deacons and pastors telling the Easter story.

The donkey reminds us of Christ's entry into Jerusalem

The coins remind us of the 30 pieces of silver that Judas received for betraying Jesus into the hands of the Jewish leaders.

The cup reminds us of Jesus' last supper with His disciples before His crucifixion.

The praying hands remind us of Jesus' visit to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray.

The leather strips remind us of the whip used to give Jesus 39 lashes after His trial by Pilate.

The crown of thorns reminds us of the crown that the soldiers placed on Jesus' head while mocking Him, saying, "Hail! King of the Jews!"

The spikes remind us of the nails that were driven into the hands and feet of Jesus when He was crucified on the cross.

The die reminds us of the Roman soldiers gambling for Jesus' robe.

The spear reminds us that the Roman soldiers pierced Jesus' side while He was on the cross.

The stone reminds us of the tomb with the stone rolled away

The tomb is empty because Jesus is resurrected and He lives!

The egg hunt is on!

He is Risen; He is Risen indeed!

"He is Risen!" These were the words I spoke Sunday morning as I awakened my children on Resurrection Sunday. "He is Risen indeed!" were the sleepily mumbled replies I heard from each of them. Oh what beautiful words for a beautiful day! Reminding us that our Savior lives! That He conquered death and is sitting at the right hand of God, pleading for us!

(left to right) Will, Kate and Ryan

The worship service at church was so moving. The Children's Choir and the Adult Choir presentations were awesome! The Spirit really spoke to my heart. How much like the two Marys at Jesus' tomb I am...quick to forget what He has already told me. That I am His...that He bought me at a price...that it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives within me.

I am so very grateful that He loves me, that He saved me, and that He has given me new life. I love Easter and all the different ways we celebrated. Our homeschool group made a "bunny in the grass" cake to take to someone whose home was in the flood zone here. Our Awana kids celebrated His death and resurrection with the Easter Story and an egg hunt. The church-wide egg hunt and celebration was fun and meaningful. My family made a "jelly bean prayer" floral arrangement and Resurrection Cookies; we read the Resurrection Eggs devotionals each night. And we were able to worship our risen Lord and Savior on Sunday.

the bunny cake

Margaret and Kate hunting eggs at the Awana Easter Celebration

Will hunting eggs at the Awana Easter Celebration




My family - husband - Mike, me, oldest - Ryan

youngest - Will, middle - Kate

Easter is amazing...




Our Lord, and His love for us is amazing!

Making the Resurrection Cookies

We received this recipe many years ago when my youngest child was about 2 years old, and it has become our family's tradition to make these cookies on the eve of Easter. It's a nice, hands-on way to tell the Easter story. My family looks forward to this each year. If you're unfamiliar with this recipe, go to www.annieshomepage.com/resurrectioncookiestext.html so you can take a look and see what you think. When we make the cookies, I read the directions, my husband reads the Scriptures, and our kids make the cookies. I've posted some photos, as well.

Easter Egg Hunt at Church on Saturday

We had our annual church-wide egg hunt on Saturday, with our youth pastor sharing a very moving story of Christ's last week on earth, His death, and His resurrection.

The Easter Story, shared by our youth pastor

Kate, with the crown of thorns

Will, looking for eggs

and counting his eggs

Decorating eggs to take home

Day 12 - Empty Tomb

But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you." So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word. Matthew 28:5-8

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. He said that no one had taken Jesus' body, but instead He had risen from the dead! The angel told them to go tell His disciples what they had seen, that Jesus was risen. Can you imagine their excitement? They ran all the way to tell the disciples the good news! "He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!"

Now after this Jesus appeared in person to Peter, the other disciples, and then to more than 500 people! Because Jesus appeared on different occasions to so many people - who saw Him with their own eyes and even touched Him - we have proof that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-7; John 20:27-28).

As He rose from the dead, Jesus did what no one had ever done before or since. Being both God and man, He overcame sin, death and hell. And now those things no longer have any real power over those who believe in Jesus and have His Spirit leading them. Instead of being slaves to sin and death, Christians, by the power of His Spirit, are free to obey God and do good (Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "so if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed."

Like the tomb, our hearts are empty and lifeless without Jesus. But as we repent, believe, and trust in Jesus' death and resurrection, He fills our hearts with life and the Holy Spirit. As we read the Bible and memorize God's Word, the Holy Spirit helps us obey God. God's Spirit never goes against His Word. When we read the Bible, the Holy Spirit can speak into our lives in powerful ways.

Of course, we won't always do the right thing. The Bible says this in 1 John 1:5-10. God's Word makes it clear that when we do sin, we need to confess our sins and then repent. God will forgive us based on Jesus' death on the cross.

Now, when you think of the empty tomb, remember that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive. Remember too, that Jesus comes into empty, dead hearts and fills them with His Spirit, giving new life! Will you allow Him to roll the stone away from your empty heart?

Day 11 - Stone at the Tomb

Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing was as white as snow. Matthew 28:1-3

A large stone, bigger than a door and heavier than a car, was placed over the opening of a tomb to prevent grave robbers from stealing the body of a dead person, or from taking valuables that had belonged to the dead person. In the case of Jesus, the Pharisees were worried Jesus' disciples would take the body and say that Jesus had risen from the dead. In order to prevent this, Pilate had posted soldiers to guard the tomb. He even had the soldiers close the tomb with an official Roman seal on the edge of the huge stone. Pilate was sure this would keep the disciples from taking the body of Jesus because the penalty for breaking this seal was death. And the Roman soldiers also knew that the penalty for them was death if anyone broke the seal during their watch.

When Mary Magdalene and the other Mary arrived at the tomb of Jesus to anoint His body with spices, they saw that the stone had been rolled away, the guards were gone, and the grave was empty, except for Jesus' grave clothes! They were fearful and didn't know what to do. If only they had remembered that Jesus told them He would rise from the dead, they would have been filled with faith rather than confusion. How many times have I been like the two Marys? How many times have I forgotten His words to me?

When we don't remember God's Word (the Bible), we too, are fearful and confused. God wants us to remember His words. They give us faith, hope, joy, courage, and direction in this scary, confusing world in which we live. Words about the stone being miraculously rolled away and about Jesus' resurrection from the dead are the most encouraging and hope-giving words a Christian could ever hear!

Day 10 - Linen Wrapping

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. Matthew 27:57-61

Some of the Jewish leaders secretly believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but didn't want others to know they believed, for fear of being killed. The Bible tells us that both Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were members of the Sanhedrin who believed that Jesus was the Son of God and trusted Him for their salvation. After Jesus died on the cross, these men could not hide their faith any longer. Joseph of Arimathea loved Jesus so much, he was willing to risk his own life by asking for the body of Jesus.

Joseph was a very rich man and wanted His Lord to be buried in a proper manner. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 53:9 "His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death..." God foretold this before Jesus was even born.

Joseph's love for Jesus and courage were really amazing! God is pleased when we love Him enough to risk the things we own, even our very lives, to stand with Him. Will you be courageous and stand with Jesus?

Day 9 - Soldier's Spear

Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you may believe. For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, "Not one of His bones shall be broken." And again another Scripture says, "They shall look on Him who was pierced." John 19:31-37

The Bible tells that because the Sabbath was approaching, the Jews were anxious to remove the crucified bodies. Therefore, they asked Pilate to have the soldiers break Jesus' and the other two thieves' legs, so they would die quickly. When people were put to death on the cross, it was common for the Roman soldiers to break their legs. With broken legs, the people could not lift themselves up to keep from suffocating, thereby allowing them to die more quickly.

The soldiers broke the legs of the two thieves who were crucified on either side of Jesus, but when they came to Jesus, He was already dead. So there was no need for them to break His legs, thus fulfilling prophecy foretold hundreds of years before, "He keeps all His bones, not one of them is broken." Psalm 34:20. I remember studying this several years ago with our previous pastor's wife. When the Jewish people offered sacrifices to God for their sins, the animal had to be unblemished. In order for Jesus to be the sacrifice needed to pay for our sin, He had to be the unblemished lamb, hence no broken bones!

Because the soldiers had to make absolutely sure Jesus was dead, they pierced Him in the side with a spear. When they did this, blood and water came pouring forth. This was the proof the soldiers needed, and it is proof of His death to us, as well.

Jesus loved us so much to die this horrible death in our place! Let us not take it for granted!

Day 8 - Dice for Gambling

Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took His garments and made four parts, to each soldier a part, and also the tunic. Now the tunic was without seam, woven from the top in one piece. They said therefore among themselves, "Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be," that the Scripture might be fulfilled which says:

"They divided My garments among them,

And for my clothing, they cast lots."

Therefore the soldiers did these things. And there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19:23-25

Amazing to me is how God foretells, hundreds of years before this event, how the Roman soldiers would gamble for Jesus' clothes:

"They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." Psalm 22:18

Jesus shows us what we are to do when others wrong us. He asked His Father to forgive them. This is to serve as an example to us of how we should treat others when they are mean to us, even when they hate us. We know from God's Word that we should pray for our enemies, but we are also told that we need to forgive them, just as Jesus showed us.

What Does Your Easter Celebration Look Like?

I mentioned in an earlier post that my friend Teena at www.homeschoolblogger.com/teena6 was making an Easter Garden with her kids this week. She has posted some pictures on her facebook page, and on her blog now, and the garden is just beautiful! And at http://www.holyexperience.com/ I love Ann Voskamp's Easter tree. Of course, I haven't created either one here at my house. But the kids and I did make an arrangement for our kitchen table. It's made from artificial flowers and jelly beans. I didn't follow the color arrangement for the salvation plan with the jelly beans, but instead I followed "The Jelly Bean Easter Prayer" that my children made for Easter in Sunday School several years ago. I thought it was cute and it reminded me of when they were little.

Red is for the blood He gave,

Green is for the grass He made,

Yellow is for His sun so bright,

Orange is for the edge of night,

Black is for the sins we made,

White is for the grace He gave,

Purple is for His hours of sorrow,

Pink is for our new tomorrow.

Day 7 - Nails in the Cross

Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. Then they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of the Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him, and two others with Him, one on either side, and Jesus in the center. Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, "Do not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King of the Jews."'" Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written." John 19:16-22

Why did Jesus have to die? He died so our sins could be forgiven, and so we could live forever with God. In Romans 3:23 the Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." From the beginning, since the fall of man in the garden of Eden, everyone is born sinful and separated from God.

God is perfect and holy and in Him there is no sin. Our sin keeps us separated from God. It's as if there is a big canyon or gulf (of sin) between us and God that we can never cross on our own. There are many ways in which we try to get across that gulf...being good, going to church, tithing, obeying those in authority over us. But no matter how hard we try, we always fall short...no one is good all the time, or obeys all the time, or is perfect. Since God is holy, he must punish all sin with death. In Romans 6:23, the Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death..."

There you have it, a bleak outlook indeed. Death. Sin = Death.

Now for the good news! God the Father provided a way for us to escape the punishment of our sin. Only one way. Many falsely believe that there are many ways to heaven, but God clearly states there is only one way. He sent His only Son, Jesus, to die in our place. Jesus received the death sinners like us deserve. Because Jesus is the perfect Son of God, only He could be punished in the place of sinners like us! By His death on the cross, Jesus built a bridge for believers across the canyon of sin and separation.



When we as Christians think of the nails that were pounded through Jesus' body into the cross, of course we should be heartbroken about our sins that put Him there. But shouldn't we also be filled with wild abandon and joy because He died for us, to free us? And because we know that we have been given eternal life through Christ's suffering and death? He was pierced through for our transgressions! Can you say Hallelujah?

Day 6 - A Crown of Thorns

When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Matthew 27:29-31

We are using FamilyLife's Resurrection Eggs as a launchpad for our family's Easter devotions and I really enjoy the insight it gives into the Scriptures that we read during this season. I won't quote it all verbatim here, but I will give a short synopsis of what we read last night.



Day 6 - Crown of Thorns

Obviously, the same people who were praising Jesus a few days before, when he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, are now the ones crying out for Him to be put to death. And not just any death, death by crucifixion. I read some information a few years ago, detailing the horrors of this type of death.

After scourging Jesus to the point that He was not recognizable, the Roman soldiers fashioned a crown of thorns and placed it on Jesus's head. Not your typical rosebush thorns, either. These thorns were 1 to 2 inch long spikes. The soldiers didn't just place it on His head, either. They crushed it down onto His head, thereby forcing the spiky thorns into His skin, causing much pain and bleeding.

Still, Jesus showed them the love of God by forgiving and praying for them. The Bible says if you love God, you will love others. If you don't show love to others, then you really don't love God. I stressed this point to my children as I was reading it to them, but I could feel Jesus pricking my heart on this issue, too. We can be reminded that even when we experience the thorns of others' meanness to us, we can choose to respond in love because Jesus has gone before us and has shown us the way of love...even when it is difficult to love.

I wish I had thought to post each of the days on here as we have read them, but I will leave you with the passages of Scripture and you can go back and read them.

Day 1 - Ride on a Donkey - Matthew 21:1-9

Day 2 - Silver Coins - Matthew 26:14-16, 46-50; 27:1-5

Day 3 - Passover Cup - Matthew 26:17-19, 26-28; Exodus 12:23

Day 4 - Praying Hands - Mark 14:32-42

Day 5 - Leather Whip - John 19:1-15

I will try to remember to post the others each day.

Sunshine!!

It was so nice to see sunshine today!! I really enjoyed sitting outside in the sun today watching my son's baseball game. It was a bit breezy, but I suppose the Lord is sending the wind now to dry up all the water that is standing everywhere from all the rain we received this week. My, how amazed I was at all the creeks and rivers that have flooded around here!

Many thanks to Cynthia for her kind words of encouragement to me in response to my recent post about my upcoming graduate!

I've been reading my friend, Teena's blog over at www.homeschoolblogger.com/teena6, and she has some neat ideas that she's read about to use in your celebration of Easter. She actually does some of these things with her kids, unlike me, who reads something and thinks, "Wow! What a neat idea!" and then *sigh* never follows through with it!

Well, I am excited about Holy Week, about celebrating the resurrection of our Lord! I had anticipated reading the book, The Final Week of Jesus by Max Lucado to my family this week. It is very good, and I highly recommend it if you have not read it already. But upon glancing over it, I think I read it to them last year (I try not to read the same book every year). Although, this one is so good, in my opinion, it is definitely worth reading again this year!

I do like Ann Voskamp's (at www.aholyexperience.blogspot.com) idea about the Easter Garden. Maybe it was Ann's idea (I think it was someone else's idea, and she has the link posted on her blog)...anyway, hop on over to her blog and check it out. My friend Teena has finished making hers and I can't wait to see the pictures. Maybe the kids and I can work on one tomorrow... And an Easter tree ... I keep saying each year that I'm going to make an Easter tree. Ann has a really neat idea for one.

I do love Easter and look forward to celebrating it each year. As my friend Teena said in her recent post, "without Easter, we have no Hope." I'll say Amen to that.