Today, on Easter, I want to encourage you to remember that the weekend is not really about chocolate bunnies who sneak into your home at night to lay eggs. But you knew that, already…
In our home, we talk about Christ dying for our sins every single day. Since we sin every day, it’s only fitting to spend some time each day remembering and thanking God for the price that was paid to redeem us from those sins. One of the ways we try to keep Christ in our children’s hearts year round is by offering special activities for them:
At various garage sales and dollar stores I have found Nativity Scenes and Resurrection Scenes. We keep them in a special box, and play with them only under supervision (since they are usually ceramic and very breakable!)
Another favorite of ours are some Bible Puppets made out of felt, using Valerie Bendt’s book Easy-To-Make Bible Story Puppets. Normally I am not a fan of puppets, but what fun it is to hear the children retell their favorite Bible Stories using these puppets! (Hey! Would anyone be interested in a Puppet Making Swap? Leave a comment below or send me a message if that appeals to you!)
Last week, Doorposts.com posted a treasure hunt designed around the theme of Christ’s resurrection! We plan to do this soon!
And check out this picture my friend Amanda sent me of the Resurrection Scene her boys made! They planted grass seed in the soil, so they’ll have lots of fun watching their seeds grow in the days to come!
photocredit: Amanda F.
For an amazing, edible resurrection scene made out of delicious carrot cake, click here to see what I found over at AmysFreeIdeas.com! Or, if you’re not quite that crafty, click here for a fun paper version by Diane Hopkins!
And last, but not least, we’ve been reading the book King of Glory: The Story & The Message of the Bible Distilled into 70 Scenes . It was sent to me by the publisher to review a few weeks ago. It’s not particularly marketed as an Easter Book, but Easter seems to be a fitting day to share this with you. What I like about it is that it shows the Bible as one grand story of God’s love for us instead of as a compilation of little, unrelated stories. By picking the 70 main stories in the Bible, this book clearly shows how the plan of salvation unfolds, tracing the story from Creation and man’s fall into sin, to the Sacrificial system and our need for redemption. Then we read about the flood, Abram’s test of sacrificing his son Isaac, and the story of the 10 Commandments given to Israel. Part two is about the birth, life, mission, death & resurrection of Christ. The artwork is absolutely spectacular and will certainly hold anyone’s attention! (They also make this book a great choice as a Bible for children who can’t read yet! FarmBaby looks at the pictures and thinks he’s reading while we read from the Bible.) These original paintings are some of the best pictures I have ever seen in a Bible Story Book! The text is 50-70% taken directly from the NIV Bible, with quotes couched in the author’s own words to make the story flow. My one caveat is that occasionally there is a doctrinal point that is worded poorly. I just choose to skip these occasional sentences it if I’m reading aloud to my children.
Do you have an idea for keeping our children’s focus on their need for a Saviour all year long? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
