The 12 Days of Easter

I was asked to do an object lesson about Easter at a faith-based program run through my church.  Having taught Sunday school only twice in my life, I wasn't sure where to start.  Finally I thought of Resurrection Eggs.  You can buy them and they come with a book etc.  However, they are just as easy to make and ask your own comprehension questions and print out a free colouring page or two.  Or make play-doh and have them sculpt a tomb or any number of other things.

You need an egg carton, 12 of those hollow plastic eggs you can get at the dollerstore and everything else you probably have at home or can easily make.

One could make this the 12 days of Easter - like we have the 12 days of Christmas - and each day do an egg and a related activity or colour page 

Additionally, you can make a "tree" out of various branches and stick them in a flower pot with some dirt and either hang up or put at the foot of the "tree" the various objects form each egg.

BREAD.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” (Matt 26:26)
Activity: Bake bread or do a family communion


SILVER COINS
Then one of the Twelve – the one called Judas-went to the chief priests and asked “what are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”  So they counted out for him thirty silver coins.  From then on Judas watched for an opportunity to hand him over. (Matt 26:14-15)
Activity: look at different kinds of silver coins and study their differences.  Maybe design your own coin face.
Or go to a store and see what you can get for 50 silver coins

PURPLE CLOTH
The soldiers put a purple robe on Him… (Mark 15:17)
Activity: Make a paper doll and purple robe for it.

THORNS
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head (Matt 27:29)
Activity: study different plants that have thorns.  Draw some pictures of them.

ROPE
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them.  He had Jesus flogged and handed him over to be crucified (Mark 15:15)
Activity: make rope by winding and weaving different strings together.

CROSS
Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull.  Here they crucified him… (John 19:17-18a)
Activity: find some sticks and make a cross

NAILS
This man was handed over to you by God’s set purpose and foreknowledge and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross (Acts 2:23)
Activity: Nail some nails into wood to see how difficult that task can be

SIGN
“You are King then” said Pilate….So Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross.  It read : Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
Activity:  Have them make a sign and write out Pilate's message in Greek, Latin and Aramaic

SPONGE
Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge.  He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink (Mark 27:48)
Activity:  Take several sponges and liquids and have the sponge absord them.  They try drinking from teh sponge.

RECEIPT
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from you forefathers.  (1 Peter 3:18)
Activity: study a grocery receipt and count at all that perishable items on it.

ROCK
Joseph took the body wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock.  He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. (Matt 27:59-60)
Activity: study various kinds of rocks

EMPTY
He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.  Come see the place where he lay. (Matt 28:6)
Activity: with play-doh, make an empty tomb 

Audience of One

A month or so ago, a gentleman sang a solo at my church.  It lyrics were moving and the melody was beautiful.  From PURELY a musical stand point, it didn't really sound the best I've every heard.  Notes were missed, timing was off.  But MAN was it moving.  That man left his heart at the feet of Jesus for all to see.  He sang like no one but the Lord was listening.

Last week I sang a song at church.  I had a horrible soar throat and I couldn't even talk when I had gotten up that morning.  But my voice came back (sort of).  I stood before the congregation and for a moment I felt unqualified to sing that morning.  The song I had chosen wasn't really in a key I was super comfortable with.  I actually had to sing it in a lower key then i had been practicing in because there was no way my voice was going to go that high nicely.  Talking hurt, forget singing and I didn't want to sound bad.

But sound bad to whom?  myself?  I already knew that I wouldn't be singing up to my standard.  The congregation?  except for those who happen to sit near me, no one had really heard me sing - not even the Pastors.

Then I thought of the man.  He probably knew that he didn't sound like he once used to.  He knew that he probably wouldn't hit every note.  But the beauty was that he didn't really seem to care.  He was singing for only an audience of One.

So I told my foolish pride to get lost.  I pretended that no one was watching me, that I was standing just before God and I sang Him a song - How Beautiful - and that's all that mattered.  I missed a few notes I'm sure, and I missed the timing in one spot.  But none of that mattered.   I know that by being humble, that by saying "here I am, take me as you find me, all y fear, failures, sin and use me to show Your glory" that that is exactly what He did.

Crouching Carrot, Hidden Potato

Last night, the kids were playing in the kitchen and the pantry...nothing unusual about that.  So we had our normal bed time routine and went to bed.  In the morning as I was doing a few chores I didn't do the night before, I started to notice potatoes and carrots in odd places...like the utensil drawer, in pots, in among the books, even wrapped in some doll clothes.  It was very funny. 

I guess this is pay back.  I used to hid all the potatoes when I was little too.

Our Tree Of Life

It's not the most glamorous looking tree, but the fruit of this tree will be our new theme at home.  We will be focusing on The Fruits of the Spirit as found in Galatians 5 22 - 23

 ²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Every time a situation starts to escalate in a negative way, I will stop and remind my kids of the tree.  And, every time a situation starts to escalate in a positive way, I will stop and praise my kids for bearing good fruit.

This tree is not only for my kids, but for me as well.  The more you parent you children the more accountable you must be.  If I expect my children to act a certain way, then I had best be able to give them a living example.  I fully expect Pumpkin at some point to quite the tree at me in a moment of weakness.

I am looking forward to the challenge of becoming a better person for my husband, for my kids and for myself.  I'm also curious to see how this will positively affect my children.

We had fun making the tree.  Patience and gentleness was the overtone.  Pumpkin had to be patient as she trued to colour in the lines.  As you can see blow, I had to be patience with Boo and remember to be gentle when he decided to colour himself instead of the apples....

on a budget

Every week I look in the flyers, make a meal plan and a shopping list.  i even clip coupons when I can.  I do I quick guess of how much each item will cost, or how much I'm willing to spend on certain items, like meat.  I leave a little bunker room just in case I end up going over on something.

I usually take my kids with me (which can be it's own adventure!)  I avoid certain isles if I can, or pull the cart just inside the isle and then run up to get what I need.  I can bank on my kids asking "mommy, can we get this?"  Sometimes it's junk like cookies or ice cream.  Sometimes it's healthy stuff, like hummus or fruit.  Regardless of what it is, I will say either "that's not in the budget" or "Let me see if there is room in the budget for that".

Pumpkin, my 5 year old, asks "what's a budget?".  I tell her that we work to ear money and that money pays for things like electricity and oil and water and our house and food - so we need to make sure that money in is more than money out and we can't spend more than we make.  I allot a certain amount of money each week for food and I need to stick to that amount, so I make a list and price things out to make sure.

Then I pull out the cash and explain that this is money and once it's gone it's gone, so I need to spend it carefully and that's why I sometimes have room for extra things, and sometimes not.

We were looking at BBQ's (we will be buying one this summer) and Pumpkin was asking why we couldn't just buy it now.  I said that for bigger items or items that cost more money, we need to save up.  So we have to exercise patience.  If we don't have the money for it at the time, then we won't buy it (unless it was an emergency - like when our washing machine broke.)

I hope that by teaching her about money smarts she will avoid some mistakes that I made because no one taught me how to manage my money.