Easter is coming

In just a few days we will be celebrating Easter.  This is my favorite holiday.  For me it is more manageable to tame than Christmas.  Consumerism hasn't taken its grip and I can fight the Easter Bunny better than St. Nicholas. 

Last year I used a devotional from Ann VosKamp called Trail To The Tree.  It's a free download.  (www.aholyexperience.com )  We also had our first family Passover Seder days before Easter Sunday.  Both of these experiences brought focus and vision.  This year I'm tweaking an idea from the blog Babe of my Heart to enrich our season of remembrance, repentance and rejoicing.  This idea is kid-friendly and uses plastic eggs to tell some significant events of Holy Week.  (Not the same as Resurrection Eggs which  are a great tool too.)

Easter story eggs

Each night I plan to gather my kids together to discuss 1 egg, read scripture and hopefully talk and then pray.  Monday night they all talked while I was talking and the gathering time ended quickly with everyone being sent to their rooms!  Last night we made unleavened bread and talked about the Last Supper.  It was a little crazy to do at 7:30 PM, but by 8:05 we were breaking bread and passing a glass of Fruitables.  On the lighter side, Jacob's sisters wanted a sip before he did because his germs are worse than theirs?!  Meanwhile, Caleb was up in the night for 2 hours with a headache, fever and even threw up!  And he drank first!!  Ugg.  All I could think about was the Hosier family sick for Easter... Please God, no!! 

making our unleavened bread

finished product. smelled sweet and tasted so good!

So, I hope you are taking this Holy Holiday into your own hands and are doing all you can to make it about Jesus.  I hope you have wonderful plans to practice hospitality this week.  I hope you are up to fight the Easter Bunny because you can win.  My way of fighting is by doing the things I'm writing about.  I do it all just as much for me as I do for my kids.  I want/need to keep my focus!

If you need more strength, check out Easter post by Jen Hatmaker at www.jenhatmaker.com.  She has an excerpt from "7" that will mess with your Easter outfits, plans and thoughts about the day!  And if you've never made Easter about Jesus I hope you will find some time to visit the events of Holy Week recorded in the Gospels.  Read about Jesus riding on the donkey into Jerusalem; about Mary pouring perfume on His feet; about Passover and how His body represents the bread and His blood the wine; about His agony in the garden of Gethsemane; about His cruel death on the cross; and about the empty tomb!  He lives and He loves us all so much.  Please don't let any past experiences get in the way of your future.  Jesus would do for 1 what He did for all! 

Finally, please don't think that in order to practice hospitality this Easter you need to have an elaborate menu.  Magazines and traditions are helpful, but also can cause us to give-up before we've even started.  If your heart is telling you to make a meal for someone, do it.  If your heart is telling you to grill hot dogs for homeless people (Jen Hatmaker's blogpost), do it.  If you know a widow or someone who is alone and want to invite them in, do it.  Whatever you do, may LOVE lead you...  because hospitality comes from the heart 1st and then the kitchen!