Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter sunday with family. We started the day off at church and then came home for naps and Easter dinner. The kids took naps so that the Easter bunny could hop over to our house during naptime. When they woke up they found their easter baskets and went on an easter egge hunt. Just the usual stuff. But it was fun nonetheless because this year both of the big kids could get really into it. It's fun to see them so excited. We had Easter dinner and just spent time relaxing and playing with my parents and Josh's mom. As our kids are getting a little older it is becoming increasingly important to us that they understand the real meaning behind some of these holidays like Aaster and Christmas. I never want us to get so caught up in the Easter bunny and Santa that we just kind of blow by the power of these days and what they mean for us as followers of Christ. However, Seth and Lilah are still young and I am finding it challenging to explain the concepts behind Easter in an effective and age-appropriate way. I mean, if you really think about, the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection and is kind of gruesome. How do you tell a 4 year old that Jesus died on the cross, had nails driven through his feet and wrists, was stabbed in the side, had a crown of thorns crushed into his skull, and was beat with a leather whip made of bone and metal until his flesh was hanging from his bones? The whole mental picture is pretty horrifying.

(Sidenote: I sent Seth to his room for a resting time yesterday and told him to turn on the TV to watch cartoons. I checked on him a few minutes later. The channel had somehow gotten changed from noggin to an extremely graphic reenactment of the crucifixion. Seth was just sitting on the bed with his eyes wide open and his mouth hanging open.)

And then to explain that He did it all for us, because He loves us, and that he made the sacrifice for our sins? Not the easiest concept. Obviously, the incredible part of the story is Jesus' resurrection from the dead and that He has provided salvation for us and a way to have a personal and intimate relationship with God for all eternity. It's amazing. And it's crucial that my kids understand how extraordinary the story is and what it means for us. But it's a challenge to bring it down to their level. So, I found this teaching tool called the Resurrection Eggs. Each plastic egg contains an object that tells a part of the story of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. The final egg is empty to signify the empty tomb. The kids loved it and I think we will do it every year. Right now the story is being kept pretty simple (and non-graphic), but we will explain it more and more every year as their understanding grows. I love Easter because it is a great reminder that we serve a mighty and victorious God who loves us so much that He is willing to come down to the human level in every way, even to death, so that we can come to Him intimately until the end of time.