Age to Age You’re Still The Same

 

 

El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.

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Easter~ The most important of all events in the Christian life.The time when Jesus gave his life to take away the sin of the world.

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  John 3:16-17

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Celebration, Rejoicing, Joy

~busy times ahead this week!! Where to begin?? Well let's see, there is cleaning to be done, shopping, baking and cooking. Phew, exhausted just thinking of it, but it will be worth it all!! To begin I think I will make a list, I always work well with a list because I can empty my busy little mind of all of the jumbling list of ingredients it takes to pull together family holidays. We have several traditions that we try to keep, and they are different for each holiday. For Easter, of course we have an Easter egg hunt. We have always done this as long as I can remember. I have older siblings with children, and so as I was growing up there were gatherings and Easter Egg hunts with nieces and nephews. When my children were younger we started some of our own traditions and the children "included" some of there own as well.

One of the traditions is to bring out our resurrection eggs!

These are regular plastic eggs in a carton, but inside each egg is a surprise. The eggs are numbered one to twelve, and inside each are little tokens that tell the Easter story for children.(If you are interested in ordering the  Resurrection Eggs, just click on the pic above)

Beginning with number one- a little replica of a donkey representing Jesus' entry into Jerusalem(Matthew 21:1-9),number 2 are praying hands- the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-42); number 3 – 3 coins representing 30 pcs of silver Jesus was betrayed for by Judas (Matthew 26:14-16); number 4-  a small pc of a leather strap- for the lashes (John 19:1-3, Matthew 27:26-31); number five is a cross representing the cross for which He died to take away the sin of the world(John 3:16), number 6-one die representing gambling for Jesus’ robe (John 19:23-25); number 7- gauze- for the linen cloth used to wrap Jesus’ body (Matthew 27:57-61); number 8- stone- stone rolled away (Matthew 28:1-2); number nine is an empty egg which reminds us of the empty tomb(Matthew 28:5-8); number 10- three nails (John 20:19-29); number 11 – bible eraser- representing God’s word, a reminder for us to tell others about His death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven(Luke 24:46-50); and number twelve is a cotton ball representing His ascension through the clouds(Luke 24:51-53).

We have tried to do this each year and as the children grew, we would gather with some of their cousins and "play" together and each child would take an egg and tell the story to us in their own words. This was always a fun time as you can find out what the children really feel and think about the meaning of Easter. I am truly blessed now to have grandchildren to share these with. Our oldest grandchild is only four and a half this year, but we still have gone through them with her in the past letting her explore each egg and telling the story. My son asked me last year "don't you think she is a little young to understand it?" my reply was that this is how we started with you when you were young. We don't wait until children are in their teens and then expect them to know and understand everything. We start young and each year add a little more "understanding" to the word.

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Well along with the Easter  season we have a few favorite recipes.  Just wanted to share a few recipes and pics . One of the favorites of one of my sons is Watergate Salad. He would like this at each and every holiday dinner, although we usually reserve this for spring. It is a sugary fluffy side dish that goes quite well with our ham and turkey. The ingredients for Watergate Salad are: cool whip; dry pistachio pudding mix; one can of crushed pineapple; and a few miniature marshmallows. All you do is combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well, it is pretty simple to do and we usually let the younger children mix it up.

 

Something else that I tried this year is a bunny bread, it begins with frozen bread dough which I usually make into rolls, but this year I wanted to try something different. I began by thawing the bread dough until it was soft and I then cut it into different size pieces, and arranged it onto a greased cookie sheet. I added cloves for the eyes and nose, but you could use raisins or anything else.

 

Life is too short to not enjoy all of the little joys in life that the family has to offer! I am looking forward to spending time with the "kiddos", young and old, coloring eggs, preparing food and enjoying the company. A busy weekend for sure leading up to Easter Sunday, with a sunrise service, Easter Breakfast,church with special music by the family, Easter Dinner and an Easter Egg hunt! Wow, a full weekend of LOVE!

Enjoy your day! ~ Sara

"For he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”"

Mark 9:31 ESV