Easter

Happy Easter!



Easter totally caught us off guard this year. We did a lot of last-minute shopping! We'd been so busy with everything else and all of a sudden, we were like, "Easter is THIS Sunday??" I guess we're not used to having Easter in March.


I don't know WHAT it was about today but I was a bit of an idiot. First, I took pictures of the kids with their baskets in the morning. Neither picture has BOTH of the baskets in them. ARGH!!


Here are the pics:





Then, at church, I kept hitting my head on the front pew EVERY TIME I bent over to pick up my purse. EVERY TIME! It happened like 3 or 4 times. I don't know. I forgot how to count after the second time. It was CRAZY!! Oh, but I can laugh about it now. And nurse a headache.

Jennifer wanted to see the cross in the "grownup" worship room at the church. They draped it with a white cloth. She kept asking questions about the crucifixion of Christ. I really don't know how to talk to her about it. It's hard for her to grasp why Jesus died and why He was crucified. (She doesn't really "get" the concept of crucifixion.) I wanted to run back to the children's ministry and tell her to ask her pastor ALL of her questions but I figured we could both talk it all out in time.

Usually, at the church, they have "He is Risen!" on the walls for Easter but they didn't have it this year.

We had a nice Easter. I wanted to go ALL OUT since it was Jesse's first but my husband didn't want to make it too much of a big deal kind of thing. He complained it was too cold, gray and wet outside, anyway. But it was still a pleasant day. After dinner, I read to the children. I read the books Little Rabbit Waits for the Moon, The Velveteen Rabbit, Guess How Much I Love You, I'm Big Enough and The Bunny of Bluebell Hill. Jennifer asked me which one was my favorite and I said, "The Velveteen Rabbit, of course." Before I read Guess How Much I Love You, she asked, "Guess how much I love you!"

"Oh, I don't know. How much?"

"Guess!"

"Hmmm. All the way up to the moon?"

"All the way up to God!"

Well, I certainly wouldn't ever want to travel any more farther than that!

The Cross

Yesterday, I had an appointment with a lactation consultant at the hospital. While Jennifer, Jesse and I sat in a room waiting to be taken to the office, Jen pointed at something up on the wall and asked, "What's that?"

I blinked at her in surprise. "That's a cross."

"What does it mean?"

More surprise. "That's what Jesus died on."

"Who's Jesus?"

OK, I thought. I'm going to have to have a little talk with her Sunday school teacher. And, maybe I should be more informative to her on that end, too. "You don't know who Jesus is?" I asked.

She shook her head.

I frowned. "What are they teaching you at church?" I then gave her a brief, summarized explanation of who Jesus was, why He died on the cross and how He died for all of us.

Jennifer got all sad. "He died?"

"Well...yes. The bad people hung Him on the cross. But, Jennifer, it's a good thing. He died for you and me. His death took away all of our sins." I started to wonder how I could explain the concept of original sin to a 6-year-old.

"But He died!" she went on, all teary-eyed and sad. She looked down, a deep frown on her face.

"Honey, Jesus isn't really dead," I explained. "It's just His body that died. Jesus came back to life. And He went to Heaven. His spirit is alive."

This didn't offer much consolation to her. She just sat there all sad, looking down at the floor.

"Don't be sad that He died, be happy," I said, unsure of the right words to say! "When He died, He took away all of our sins. And that means we get to go to Heaven, too, when we die." I thought on this for a minute, then added, "If you're good."

I wondered if those last words had any affect on her.

Well, she soon wasn't so sad anymore. And I made it a point to get out her Children's Bible and read to her the story of Jesus. (Uh, we haven't gotten to that part....yet.)

All of this made me remember that gospel song, "Old Rugged Cross." It wasn't long before it was stuck in my head. I love that song! It's one of my favorites.

Here are the lyrics:

The Old Rugged Cross
Copyright: George Bennard, 1873-1958

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
the emblem of suffering and shame;
and I love that old cross where the dearest and best
for a world of lost sinners was slain.

Refrain:
So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
and exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
has a wondrous attraction for me;
for the dear Lamb of God left his glory above
to bear it to dark Calvary. (Refrain)

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
a wondrous beauty I see,
for 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
to pardon and sanctify me. (Refrain)

To that old rugged cross I will ever be true,
its shame and reproach gladly bear;
then he'll call me some day to my home far away,
where his glory forever I'll share. (Refrain)