This year we enjoyed a beautiful outdoor Easter feast with family and friends complete with 27 adults and children. It was a glorious afternoon of enjoying one-another, good food and remembering our RISEN Lord!
Dyeing eggs
Easter Family Devotions
Easter Tree
Making the tomb for Jesus
Jesus – from play-dough
Finished eggs
“He was poor, that he might make us rich.
He was born of a virgin that we might be born of God.
He took our flesh, that he might give us His Spirit.
He lay in the manger, that we may lie in paradise.
He came down from heaven, that he might bring us to heaven….”
-Thomas Watson
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14
Merry Christmas!
(this precious babe, such a fresh and tangible reminder of the Word- become flesh for us, born- that we might have life!)
Guess who got designated baby Jesus?? I walked into the girl’s room and found Malachi stuck in a pink basket while the girls were acting out the Nativity story. Poor guy.
“What do I long for now?
Our weak desires have been exposed by the powerful images and stories of God’s mighty deeds throughout history. We have been confronted with our day-to-day cravings,
which often have little to do with the redemptive work of Christ or his coming reign of peace and justice.
Our only recourse in these times of searching for hope has been to plead the cry of Advent:
“Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Come and revive our spirit, lift our eyes to the God of hope and to Christ, our hope of glory.”
If we dare look deep into our hearts, this day(Lord, help us to pause for a moment in the business of today), we can’t help but hear those nagging cravings – the ones that tell us we need to be busier or skinnier, prettier, more creative, more organized, healthier, more fashionable, more philosophical, a penny-pinching, grain-grinding, baby-wearing, home birthing, all-natural, people pleasing, problem solving, rule-keeping, hobby-loving, party planning, triathalon-training, do-it-all-put-together (but really sort of a mess, huh?), person. And when you say it that way, person, it just sounds so plain, so dull…so needy and ordinary. And that’s just what we are.
All those cravings promise us we will be something more when, really, we are helpless and needy without the great call on our hearts from a Savior – who, amidst our broken lives broke through with great joy at the hope of a Savior.
Our only recourse in these times of searching for hope has been to plead the cry of Advent: “Come, Lord Jesus, come.” Come and revive our spirit, lift our eyes to the God of hope and to Christ, our hope of glory.
The clouds are breaking, morning is coming. The kingdom of heaven has begun its’ invasion of earth.
(Advent source of inspiration, here.)
We recently enjoyed our yearly tradition with my dad (“Papa” to the girls) in our annual Nutcracker date. This was Ellie’s first year going and she was enthralled – she jumped when the mice appeared during Clara’s dream – so cute. All 3 of them love this so much and Dad and I haven’t grown tired of it either after 25+ years of going…such a sweet time of year.
Over the years, our Christmas has changed – a growing in grace and steady plodding into a deeper understanding of what it means to live out our faith, deep and long and with joy. It has been so enjoyable this year to be free from some of our culture’s pressures, though they will always be present. And they change we’ve seen in our own hearts has been reflected in small glimpses in the hearts of our children as their joy becomes more and more authentic at the prospect of giving to and worshipping our Lord together. We live in a time where we are fortunate to have a myriad of resources to choose from, but here are just some of the resources we have enjoyed to help keep this season meaningful:
4. A FREE Jesse Tree Devotional
5. A good read on helping our children to celebrate Jesus during Christmas
6. Another good one from last year
7. The Innkeeper, John Piper
8. Thinking About Santa, Noel Piper
9. Thoughts for parents and children who don’t do Santa
10. St. Nicholas and The King’s Christmas List – 2 great children’s books for Christmas
Kind of. I didn’t quite pull off the “Christmas in July” prep. that I like to tackle each year to help us to focus more on the true essence of Christmas when the season is upon us, but I have had fun with some simple gift ideas as the summer comes to a close.
As we dive deeper into the Charlotte Mason way of life, handicrafts have been on my mind. Ashtyn has asked to learn how to crocket. The only problem stopping us was that I had no idea how. So I learned. A sweet gal at our Church taught me and it was a delight to get to know her better – and to listen to her story as we sat and crocheted together. Now, Kevin has a warm, cozy scarf to sport this fall/winter season….and hopefully, our little eager gal will be tackling this new handicraft soon, upon her own liking.
I decided to make my own vanilla for Christmas gifts this year – instead of the mounds of baked goods (which I love, don’t get me wrong!) that are usually received, I thought this might be a welcome change. And, the best part is…that it’s the “gift that keeps giving.” Literally. Once this stuff has sit on a shelf for 3 months (which it is currently doing in our pantry), as one uses it, when a little vodka is added, the vanilla bean inside will keep producing vanilla. Brilliant!
The final product should look something like this…
This post may be a little late for this year but I like to have all of my resources in one place for the years to come, hence this post. The bigger our family gets and, just living in the fast-paced and distracted American culture alone, can cause us to lose the meaning of pivotal holidays that mark our Christian faith. Here are 10 excellent resources for families on preparing for Lent, Holy Week and Easter…
1. How To Make An Easter Garden
2. Trail To The Tree Easter Devotional
5. Is Easter Too Scary For Children?
6. Celebrating Easter With Kids
9. Free Easter Video For Children
10. Gladness Of The Risen God Sermon Audio
“A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices…”
Ah, a weary world. Today, we experienced its’ weariness – handing a local prostitute a hot cup of coffee and a granola bar, witnessing a drug deal in our front yard, hearing the ever-familiar “street story” of a woman begging for money to get to a hotel, a phone call from our homeless friend wanting a place to come for Christmas. Oh, weary world – a true need for Christmas is felt in our hearts this eve of Christmas day. The brokenness of mankind, the sting of sin watching those around us desperately cling to tradition, feed their want for more ,ordering a day around their own desires. We watch the hurting cry out around us for a thrill of hope – some light to lift their trodden feet from the darkness. It’s ok if it’s not a wonderful life ( a must-read today, if you can make time). But a thrill of hope, just a thrill to cause a weary world to rejoice! A weary mother birthing the Christ-child. The thrill that comes not from gifts or things or family – but from the hope of a Savior, come to deliver the weary world of something gone terribly wrong.
May you know and feel and bleed the thrill of hope as you plod on this common eve of Christmas, that a weary world my sing with hope and loose its’ chains soon and very soon. Come Lord Jesus!
