Recommendations

So, I'm big on recommendations, because I NEED them! When I find something that is helpful to me and my family I want to pass it on because I love it when people do that for me! And what woman can't share about a good deal?!

First of all, HAPPY EASTER! He is risen and we can therefore have hope and joy!

Second, our family is really searching out ways to practically make Easter/Christmas, etc about God - to honor Him. Without planning and be specific, we get distracted and end up spending 90% of our time cleaning for guests, planning our menu, making food, enjoying family, etc, and 10% remembering and relishing God and all that He has done to delight our souls.

Side note: those 90% aren't bad as long as Christ's first. Again, we just feel like if we aren't practical, He isn't first. And we sure as heck don't want ourselves or the precious children God has entrusted to us temporarily to be swayed to believe Easter is about bunnies and eggs.

So I've been searching from ideas and I've found some good ones!

To get the full extent of great ideas for holidays and just other basic family traditions I highly, VERY HIGHLY recommend the book Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper. This book is great because it has MANY ideas so we don't get into a rut or have things that are not age appropriate for our families. Btw, the lovely Piper's have made this downloadable FOR STINKING FREE!!! THAT ROCKS!

Second, here are two other ideas I found thanks to the Girl Talk blog - Resurrection Eggs which can be purchased online, and Resurrection cookies.

Resurrection Eggs are just your typical Easter eggs but with things in them (like coins, nails, etc) and corresponding Scriptures that help you tell the story of Christ's capture, torture, death, and resurrection (yay!) to your children. Hopefully next year we can have an Egg Hunt for Anna and friends using these!

Resurrection Cookies are...well...cookies, but each ingredient and step also has corresponding Bible verses to read with your children to tell the story as well. You prepare everything the night before and end with Jesus being placed in the tomb dead.

On Easter morning, the cookies are ready and the Scripture is about the grave being empty (the cookies come out cracked and empty)! You read Matthew 19 (well, they suggest only parts, but I prefer the whole thing because the last few verses are such a good reminder of God's Sovereignty, rule and power and His imparting that to us in Christ) and then you're done! I would also recommend going through the verses to make sure you think they are the best ones to communicate the truths desired to your kiddos - some didn't make as much sense to me so I think I might sub in some other ones at certain places :) But overall, excellent idea!

May our hearts be tuned to Christ this Easter and always, and may we encourage each other all the more as time goes not to be distracted from the One, True source of life, joy and hope!!!!

Off to get ready for church!