Thursday, March 28, 2013

If You Only Do One Thing This Easter, Do This

Easter Eggs
Photo Credit

Easter is only a few short days away, and I'm not ready. 

The girls' Easter baskets and the Resurrection Eggs are in our maxed-out storage unit underneath piles and piles of "stuff." I haven't made the Resurrection Rolls or even dyed eggs yet, and at this rate, it doesn't look like either will be happening at all this year.

In an effort to save money, I opted out of buying special Easter dresses and hats for the children and found cute spring dresses for cheap at a consignment sale. 

To be frank, my heart just hasn't been in the Easter spirit, or at least not in the commercialized, you-must-do-this-Easter-craft-and-buy-this-cute-gingham-bunny-dress-now! spirit, which is so pervasive everywhere you turn. It's so easy for me to succumb to Mommy guilt, but I've decided not to this year.

Instead, I'm happy and my spirits are high with the sunshine of Spring because I know that my Redeemer lives! 


So, I'm shutting my eyes to Pinterest and pulling out the perfect, mess-free, no supplies needed Word of God. This week my girls and I have been reading and talking about Jesus, and the relevance and significance of His life, death, and resurrection for us today.



Cross
Photo Credit

We're reading and talking about Jesus...

  • His baptism (Matthew 3:13-17), which attests to His obedience to His Father; 
  • His miracles, which reveal His compassion and empathetic heart for the despised and afflicted; 
  • His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a young donkey (Matthew 21:1-11), which shows His humility; 
  • His agonizing prayer in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46), which affirms His humanity; 
  • His death on that cruel cross (Matthew 27:35-44), which shows, once again, His obedience and His victory over sin and death; 
  • His resurrection (Luke 24:1-12)--the tomb could not contain Him; and 
  • His ascension to Heaven (Luke 24:50-53), which promises He will come again! 

And while I wish I had time to do all of those fun crafts I've pinned to my "Easter Crafts" board on Pinterest, if I don't do anything but tell my girls the story of Jesus, I think I've done enough. 

If YOU only do one thing this Easter, tell your children about Jesus: His life, His death, His resurrection. That is of more value than new plaid shirts, white shoes, and chocolate bunnies. 



My richest blessings to you & your families this Easter. 

{P.S. If you do Easter crafts and buy fun Easter goodies for your kids, way to go! I applaud your energy and zeal (& my kids would love to have you as their mom). 

Love,







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3 comments:

  1. Thanks for your post! It's sad how commercialized Easter has gotten. My kiddos are 1 & 3, but we are already trying hard to stress that Easter is when we celebrate Christ's resurrection. I was so proud when my 3 year old showed her "stained glass" cross craft to her grandma, and grandma said, "oh, is this for Easter?" and she replied, "No grandma, it's for getting to Heaven!"

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    1. Jamie, you must be so proud of your daughter. How beautiful! Thank you for your comment. It made me smile!

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  2. :) I can so relate this year! It's been one of the busiest years for me as my senior mom's health needs have increased a bit and I've been babysitting grandchildren quite a lot. Plus these grandkids are getting older and more interested in computer games than crafts most of the time. We did have fun making some Easter vignettes on their Minecraft game one day and I did get to enjoy the Easter resurrection eggs with one grandchild. But I was talking to God yesterday about how hard it has been this year to really wrap my head around the fact that it is already Easter.

    Thank you for reminding me that even though it's going so fast and we've done so little, I HAVE spent several nap reading times reading about the story of Easter with my grandkids - talking about what Jesus went through and praying AND singing through it. It has definitely been a simpler season for us - but a blessed one full of His love.

    What a sweet gift from Him and a lovely encouragement for me from visiting your site. Thank you!

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