A Different Kind of Easter

In recent years, Marcus and I have discussed our family traditions, specifically the celebrations that surround Christ. We have felt led to study more of the of the meanings behind ancient Jewish holidays and customs. We have also felt convicted to actually celebrate Christ's life and His death for what they truly are. This year we continued to study the Passover and celebrate it during holy week. We chose some time ago to no longer include the "Easter bunny" or "Santa Clause" in our observances of Christ. No judgement to anyone else, we just found that it hindered our focus being on our Savior. We added some new things that we hope will become traditions in our home. We made our version of the tomb where Jesus was buried. Thank you, Pinterest. The kids love a good craft and I have found that most hands-on projects help our kids retain the lesson on a deeper level. 

We also decided that we would partake in our first family communion. We want to be good examples to our children in obedience to God's Word. We also want to be reminded of how Christ was broken and His blood was poured out for us. It was gruesome, the death of Christ. But all the more our sin and separation from our Lord. We choose communion by intinction. 

My favorite new tradition was waking our babes just before the dawn broke and hurrying them into the truck for something special. We left everyone in their jammies, let them bring blankets, and drove to the park to watch the sunrise. What a perfect picture of new life. A new Day, where His mercies are new. It is a spectacular picture of the newness of life the Christ brings when we surrender our lives to Him. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell with us shining a new light where the darkness was all that we knew. We enjoyed muffins and fruit together, while we worshiped our Savior in song, who was risen again the third day according to the Scriptures.

We did continue old traditions of gathering with family, enjoying an enormous feast and hunting eggs. We are unbelievably blessed to have the abundance that God so graciously gives. This year we decided that Easter should be a celebration in which we give in honor of all that God has given to us. We are notorious for dresses to the nines on specific holidays, all in coordinating fashion. This year we took part in "Forget the Frock". We took the opportunity to bring awareness to those in need by purchasing t-shirts from an organization that is helping alleviate poverty in some capacity. We chose Feed the Orphans. We want every aspect of our lives to point to Christ.