The birds are singing, the flowers are blooming, the grass is getting greener.... I love this time of year! There's something so special about spring and the newness of life it brings.
I also love this time of year because of Easter!
Easter is one of my most favorite holidays. I love dying eggs with the kids, having big family egg hunts, buying little Happy's for our children's Easter baskets... all that fun stuff!
But, I guess the most special part I love about Easter is that it is the time that our Savior willingly layed down His life for me, so that I could be forgiven for my sins, and be with Him for eternity!
Some people think our family is crazy because as parents, we have made the decision, that for our family, we would be truthful with our children and tell them that there isn't an Easter bunny. Or for that matter, a Santa clause, tooth fairy, and whatever else I'm missing:) Because.... we felt the best way to teach them about our Jesus and what He's done for us, was to take all the junk out of it.
Now of course our children get presents and Easter baskets, we're not trying to be that crazy. But they also know that that's not what we celebrate those holidays for. (And we also felt it was important for them to recognize that we work hard for what they have, God has blessed us with the means to be able to give them these things, so in turn, they need to be thankful to Him and us for what they have.)
You would be surprised at the difference it's made in our son to know the truth! He's much happier during the holidays because he doesn't have to be scared of a ginormous bunny walking through the door and also, there's a new sense of closeness with him because he knows that we've been honest with him on these things.
Anyway, my point is that sometimes we tend to make these holidays so commercialized, without even realizing it, that we forget to teach them the truth. We tend to want to hang on to the "junk" and skim the truth and think it's enough.... in reality...it's not.
Britt and I have started a tradition with Nate and Maggie leading up to Easter, hoping that it will make an impact on their lives and teach them a deeper meaning of the holiday.
Tonight we sat down with them, as we will every night until the day of His Resurrection and explain to them what happened on this day. We started with Palm Sunday. The day He began His journey into Jerusalem to be crucified on the cross for our sins.
He sent His disciples into Jerusalem to bring back a donkey and a colt so that He could fulfil the prophesy of the Messiah entering Jerusalem on a donkey and a colt. Then He started His journey into Jerusalem where He would later be crucified on a cross for us! We told them as they say their prayers tonight to really think about Jesus and what He did on this day. Think about what was probably going through Jesus' mind and what He must have felt during this time. And to also thank Him for entering Jerusalem and not turning His back on us.
I pray that you will take the time this week to teach your children about the true meaning of Easter and don't just expect someone else to do it or hope that they will pick it up along the way.
If all they're focusing on is the Easter bunny and getting candy then you've already lost. I challenge you to bring it back to Jesus.
Love ya'll! Strive to be Different!
