Monday, April 4, 2011

Because Easter should be more important than Christmas

Easter really should be more important than Christmas. Jesus' resurrection should be the most important thing we celebrate all year. I've tried to give all the egg-stuff a meaningful, devotional spin, but it's a far reach by any means. My kids feel a deep reverence for Easter and its meanings, they resent the Easter Bunny's attempts to take us from the real meaning of it. We did some egg painting and hunting when they were younger, we have several other traditions that are important to us.

I don't want Easter to be a day I force them into nice clothes that they say are itchy and we have a big lunch with family after church. My husband and I have always struggled with really making Easter a time of importance and spiritual significance. For us, the best way to do this is with several weeks of Bible lessons or special devotional times together.


We've done several neat Easter devotionals in the past - We've done an extended RESURECTION EGG devotional, and various other things. I love Benjamin's Box - there are tons of really great children's books available.


I like this 17 Day EASTER DEVOTIONAL available as a free download from A Holy Experience.


Just reading through the life of Jesus in Children's Bible and discussing it is a great option.


I've shared on the blog before my VERY FAVORITE special Easter breakfast - which is a big family tradition for us. I've made these as an Easter lesson in Sunday School with groups as large as 100.


Today marks 20 days 'till Easter. As my children have gotten older, they have gained an understanding of the importance of sacrifice. They have really gained a lot from some experiences with fasting, not from food generally, but from some activities or extras. We will discuss as a family how we can best honor God in this season, and allow the kids to make recommendations based on their own convictions. I am wanting to go through The Sparking Gems from the Greek devotions for March & April as a family. I love these! This is an adult devotional, but it has some really great insights into the Easter story. We'll go through and pick out some of our favorite "gems." How can YOU make Easter more meaningful for your family? I'd love to hear some of your ideas!

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