Focus on Jesus this Easter « intentionaleveryday

Easter is coming!! How will you Focus on Jesus this Easter?

There is something truly heart-warming about this time of year. The fresh air fills my lungs, the sunshine warms my skin, and the birds are making music for me to enjoy. I feel like each warm spring day is a blessing, a gift, from God.

Sadly, this holiday is also filled with a tug-o-war of sorts concerning the spiritual versus secular aspects of the holiday.

Bunny versus Jesus. Hmm. Wonder who will win? What is crazy is how much emphasis Christians and churches place on the bunny. It’s almost like you can’t have a fulfilled Easter without all the extras that honestly can take away from the real meaning.

I’m not opposed to hunting eggs or loving a stuffed bunny. We enjoy these things in our home but we make sure our focus is on Jesus at Easter.

So how do you balance it all?

Well, here’s how we are focusing on Jesus this Easter.

Family Events –

Our family likes to spend a lot of time together around Easter. We have a few traditions that we look forward to each year that helps us remember what God has done for us.

We start Holy/Passion Week by focusing on Palm Sunday. Talk about what praise means and the word Hosanna. We usually do a craft, too. This year cut out handprints from our family members and glued them to a popsicle stick to make palm leaves.

Maundy Thursday – We like to have a Mediterranean Dinner and talk about the ‘special supper’ (Lord’s Supper) Jesus had with his disciples. We usually have hummus and pita, dates, chicken, and rice. It’s a great meal and to make it extra special we eat on the floor on blankets and pillows.

Good Friday – We spend a lot of time this day just enjoying each other’s company. Start this day with breakfast and a discussion about the events of today in history. We will also be doing an Easter Bible Verse Game this year. We will also be cooking a lot to prepare for the big Easter feast and we like to prepare our eggs this day.

Holy Saturday – Our kids wake up to an Easter surprise from Mom and Dad followed by egg hunt either at our church or in our community. There are usually lots of options for egg hunts. This year is slightly different but we are still enjoying an Egg Hunt. We will be looking for colored eggs in people’s windows from our car.

Easter Sunday – Focus on Jesus and worship. We usually do not have egg hunts, etc on this day. After church, we enjoy some quiet family time at home and an Easter feast.

Bible Studies –

We like this 5 minute devotional series for each day of Holy/Passion Week. It’s easy to do and is great for bedtime. Bible time doesn’t have to be complicated to be effective. Something simple works great.

Crafts –

We love to do Easter crafts. On Monday and Tuesday, we do fun, silly crafts with eggs and bunnies. On Maunday Thursday we start doing religious crafts. There are tons of craft ideas out there. Search and see what your family would like best.

We also enjoy putting a resurrection garden together. For this activity, we take a flower pot (ours is 18″ in diameter) that is mostly full of dirt. We add a small, empty terra cot (3″ diameter) to the big pot. Turn the small pot on its side and cover the top with dirt. Leave the front of the pot open and this becomes a “tomb”. Cover the dirt with pretty rocks, moss and any other things we find in nature. We like to make a cross from sticks and add behind the tomb. Then put a small stone in “the tomb” and a larger stone over the front of “the tomb” on Good Friday. This represents Jesus’ death and burial. Then the stone inside magically disappears and the stone covering the tomb is moved out of the way before the kids wake on Easter morning.

Food –

We love resurrection rolls. Look these up and try them. It’s worth the time to do this. Just make sure you tell the story with it. It’s so great.

I love to give chocolate crosses in the kid’s Easter baskets. We don’t do a lot of sweets so this is a special treat.

Egg Hunt –

Our kids get an Easter surprise in their baskets on Saturday morning. They need the baskets for the egg hunts on Saturday so we fill them this day instead of Sunday.

We enjoy an egg hunt or two with our kids.

If we have an egg hunt at home, we leave the prize egg is empty to symbolize the empty tomb.

Another idea, tie up a couple of sticks as a cross and hide along with the eggs.

I’ve also found religious items to put in eggs at places like Hobby Lobby like little crosses and stickers.

And don’t forget Resurrection Eggs!!! This set is worth $25. We love this and look forward to it every year.

Songs –

I know Easter songs are not as plentiful as Christmas songs but they are out there. Find one that fits your family this year and enjoy it together. Sing it often. I enjoy singing a sweet song right before bed or as the kids are getting into bed to set a tone of joy in their hearts for a good night’s sleep.