For the next post in our Easter blog series, we have a guest blog from Aaron Conrad – a dad of 3 who blogs about faith, family and fatherhood. In this post, he talks about how his family celebrates Easter and their use of the popular craft Resurrection Eggs.
I love this time of the year. I find the way that nature comes back to life to celebrate another season and the hope of things to come fascinating. I love Easter Sunday morning with all of the children in their new spring outfits and hats. Our three children also look forward to the neighborhood Easter egg hunt each year to fill their baskets.
I would be lying if I said this isn’t an incredibly competitive event with each Dad strategically positioning their child and pointing out the best available “stuff”. We arrive early to find our place on the rope separating us from “the goods” and develop a game plan. When the horn sounds, it’s game time. “Elbows out” I yell as they make their way towards their respective goals. We’ve brought home some pretty strong wins over the years including a chocolate bunny that was over a foot tall.
Although I am kidding (well, kind of), and all of the pageantry and celebrations are fun, we do our best each year to remind our children that the real celebration of Easter is the foundation of our faith. It is the weight of the sacrifice on Good Friday and the promise of eternity with Him on Sunday.
When I say “we” what I really mean is that my wife does an amazing job of pouring into our kids and keeping a major focus on what is the most important part of Easter. She does this by utilizing what is commonly known as “Jesus Time” in our home. Each morning before school starts, they pause to do a devotional time. Throughout the school year, they work through various devotionals and bible studies geared toward children.
In the days leading up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday they have used a product called “Resurrection Eggs” that my wife purchased a few years ago. There are 12 different colored plastic eggs with a surprise inside. Each surprise is a part of the story of Easter (a nail, a crown and dice for example). The final egg is empty to represent the empty tomb. Included with the eggs is a booklet to walk them through the story for the day and scriptures to support the story. It is a wonderful resource and guide for telling the Easter story. The kids like to anticipate what will be inside each egg as they learn the key elements of the resurrection story. You can see a past post on the What’s in the Bible? blog explaining how to make your own resurrection eggs here.
I’m so thankful for my wife and the investment she makes into the spiritual nurturing of our children each morning. By creating a foundation of bible study and reflection, she is able to transition directly into the Easter season and key elements of our faith. Our children are well versed in the Easter story and how important the sacrifice that Christ made on our behalf is. While there are so many fun things about this time of year, celebrating our risen King, our hope and our eternity with Him makes it even more special. Happy Easter to each of you and as Tony Campolo says…”It’s Friday….but Sunday’s coming!!!”.
