I LOVE Easter! I love that fresh smell of spring as buds start popping up and grass returns, even though every year I have to remind myself that usually Easter in the north includes snow still on the ground. Growing up in Ohio, I have distinct memories of snow-covered bushes with plastic eggs hanging off them. And so far it looks like here in the northwest we can expect snow to cover our outside decor this year.
But what I love most about spring is the reminder that new things are coming, that death has been overcome and life is beautiful.
People who know me personally have probably heard me say before that I think Easter should be a bigger celebration than Christmas. I believe it’s important to celebrate God becoming man (i.e. Christmas), but I think it’s even more important to remember His sacrifice (i.e. Easter). The reason we have the Christian faith is because God died for our sins on a cross. He became the pure lamb that was a necessary sacrifice to enter the presence of God. But even more than that, what’s so beautiful that thousands have died for the belief, is that He ROSE FROM THE DEAD. “God’s not dead, He’s surely alive!”
The cross is bare as a reminder that He’s not there, He’s not in a tomb, we will never dig up the bones of Christ, because He’s alive! If Christ had just died, like so many martyrs, it’d be harder to argue that He was God, even though He said He was. More than that, He proved He was God by rising from the dead and appearing to friends and family and later, even to those who were actively working to destroy the early Christians (i.e. Paul).
I could talk about this forever, I really could, so you can look forward to more in the weeks to come as we enter the time of Lent, leading up to Easter, which is a set six weeks to really focus our hearts and minds on why we celebrate! 🙂
My family has always celebrated Lent (yes, I said “celebrated”) leading up to Easter, even though we’re not Catholic and Lent is a practice normally associated with Catholicism. I’ve always felt that Lent was an important practice to keep, however, because it’s a reminder to keep the focus at Easter on the Resurrection, rather than the Easter Bunny, baskets of more candy (didn’t we just finally finish the Christmas stash?), and even more gifts (seriously, Christmas was only a few months ago!). Like at Christmas, our family turns the focus on Christ and Truth.
I pointed out I said “celebrated” because I think oftentimes people associate Lent with penance. Growing up, we did celebrate Lent by giving something up, and we still do, but I don’t see why that shouldn’t be a cause for celebration. To fast in order to focus on what Christ gave up, well, it seems so little in comparison to what He gave.
In general this year I’ve been feeling like it’s really important to keep focusing more and more on Christ and His involvement in our daily lives. When I do, the day goes so much better! When I focus on Him and not on how tired or frustrated I am, everyone’s attitude improves!
So this year we started things off with some simple crafts using this beautiful ribbon I found at Hobby Lobby. (It was actually in the discounted Christmas section, but really what better time to remember all of Christ’s names than at Easter?)
First I made a very simple wreath using my method from Christmas: cut a hole in the center of a paper plate for the base and then just wrap with the ribbon!
It’s extremely simple but I like it because then you’re drawn to read the words.
For the second craft I took a cardboard we painted over the summer with splatter paint…
…and added the ribbon in the shape of a cross and some Scrabble tiles!
Voila! A simple, clear, reminder this Easter season.
Then, I got the kids involved with this very simple idea: I put masking tape on white paper, let the kids paint, then pulled off the tape and once again, the cross is central!
Next, we tried to tempt spring to come (since we do still have snow on the ground) by making some beautiful flowers for the window! We took coffee filters and brushed homemade “mod podge” (half water, half glue) so we could stick on tissue paper squares!
Then I cut out felt green pieces for stems and stuck them on the window (the next day after they’d dried—the mod podge made them extremely wet).
For more ideas, check out my Pinterest board: Easter!
What are you doing this year to focus on Christ’s ultimate sacrifice? I hope we’ve inspired you! There will be plenty more to come as we work our way closer and closer to Resurrection Day!