HE IS RISEN!!!

Today is cause for great celebration.  Jesus Christ was crucified and buried, but in an act of victory, he triumphed over death.  HE IS ALIVE.  He is risen.  He conquered the grave and was payment for our sins.  We celebrate his victory, his all encompassing glory and power today.  Hallelujah!

I love Easter weekend.  I love celebrating it with our kids.  If there was ever a time to party, this is it!

Our traditions remain the same, but here are some updated pictures;)

On Good Friday, the table and cross are cloaked in black.   We read through the story of the crucifixion in the Jesus Storybook Bible.

Our Noelle Piper inspired calvary is the centerpiece.

Then we bury Jesus.  Since it is Christian's first Easter with us, he got to be the hands on kid this year.

Then we put Jesus in the tomb 

And roll the stone over the door way.

Next we each take the cross we decorate with our name on it and say "Jesus died for Kim (chloe, phin, etc.)" as we place it at the foot of the cross.

Our dining room remains cloaked in black and Jesus remains in the tomb all weekend.  Those days Jesus was dead had to have felt SO DARK for his friends and disciples!

BUT SUNDAY WAS COMING!!!!!!!

 Saturday we read "The Legend of the Easter Egg"

and dyed eggs

Christian was a quick learner...

Yay!

 After the kids go to bed Saturday night, we make a few changes;)  The black is gone just like our sin, and made white as snow.  Jesus is NO LONGER In the tomb, he is risen!

We make resurrection rolls first thing

We dip a marshmallow in butter and cinnamon and are reminded that oil and spices were used at Jesus burial.

We bury our marshmallow in dough just like a tomb and place our tombs in the oven...

The tomb is empty and the people are overjoyed.

So are we:)

And the tomb?  It's NOW EMPTY!  We celebrate and read the story of the resurrection as we eat.

After breakfast, we play the egg game.  It is a Lebanese tradition and in many other places with french influence.  The goal is to crack the other persons egg without cracking yours....

It gets quite competitive and has no significance whatsoever except it is fun and we laugh and we believe God loves joy and laughter- he created them after all!

 Happy Easter, friends.  He is Risen!

He is risen and because he is risen, he has conquered sin.  Death did not win.  Because of Jesus sacrifice, we are able to spend eternity with God.  We celebrate with all our hearts and souls!  If you aren't able to celebrate because you don't quite understand what that means...won't you give us a call?  We'd love to have you join us in celebrating today and in spending eternity together in heaven.