Resurrection Sunday

The night before Resurrection Sunday ... the crown is full of thorns that represent our sins that Jesus bore.

Bright and early on Resurrection Sunday, the children woke up to the "crown" wrapped in soft royal purple cloth. The thorns were gone. We have really enjoyed our Journey of Lent and the 40 days of anticipation!

"Mommy, what happened to the toothpicks? Why are they gone?"

So, I asked them ... what did the thorns (toothpicks) in the crown represent? My 2 older ones were easily able to answer ... our sins. I asked them what did Jesus' death and resurrection mean about our sin? It meant that Jesus took all of our sins on Himself and paid the price for our sin!
The younger ones are still trying to grasp it, but the older two understood completely.

I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and while resurrection day is traditionally the day to celebrate the resurrection, my prayer for my family is that we will celebrate what Jesus did each and every day.

Please take the time to read, An Empty Tomb, written by my husband.

Maundy Thursday

Many days ago we began our journey of lent. There are 6 in our family. Obviously over the course of 40 days ... we have sinned more than the "thorns" in the "crown" represent. We have thoroughly enjoyed reading the scriptures each night at our dinner table that have been leading us to the cross and even more importantly the ressurection. I have observed my children thoughtfully placing thorns in the crown and recalling the ways that they have fallen short. While this is only a "season", my prayer is that they will take this activity with them throughout the year and continue to be thoughtful on how they sin ... and even more so that they will have repentant hearts.

My husband has written a thoughtful post on his blog, Befriending Wisdom.

Maundy Thursday

Our Journey of Lent

After dinner last night, Rich read our first Lent Scripture reading. The children had been anticipating this all week and were excited to begin. Then afterward we each confessed a sin ... some of us had a harder times than others thinking up something they had done that was wrong.
Rich said that the way we ought to do this is to have the "crown" out and accessible all day long and as we sin throughout the day, we should place the toothpick. Think about what we did wrong, pray and ask for forgiveness, and put a thorn into the crown.
So, already on the first day, the process has changed a bit. I like this better for several reasons. It brings the whole activity to the forefront of our minds all throughout the day. It will potentially lead to a habit of ongoing repentance, and is much less ceremonial.

The one thing I have already seen in only a few short hours of doing this is that the children have a much easier time seeing their sibling's sins than their own. (isn't that just how it is?) I have had to point out a couple of times that this isn't an exercise in you pointing out someone else's sins ... it is for you to recognize your own.

I am hoping that this activity will lead each of us to an ongoing attitude of repentance, thankfulness, and joy that can only come through Christ and His forgiveness.

Lent: 40 Days of Anticipation ... making it tangible

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. I've been pondering this thing called Lent for a long time now and I think I finally have a plan on how to make it - a special time of anticipation - while also making it tangible for the children. A few years ago we began a family tradition of Advent. That tradition has become special to all of us as we read the Scriptures together and think about the birth of Jesus. This year we are going to do a similar activity together during the 40 days of Lent ... leading up to Resurrection Day. My friend, and college roommate, gave me a kit of symbols, and a book with suggested Scripure Readings that we will use each day leading up to Resurrection Day. 

But that is not all we will do. While the Scripture readings  will be a focused time of anticipation and reflection ... and the symbols are even a tangible way to express the readings ... I still wanted something more... I just didn't know what, until I read this blog post written by a friend from college...

It was just the idea that I was looking for to implement into our family for this time of  Lent. So, I bought the supplies that I needed and tomorrow we begin this time of anticipation ... together. Each day we will read a Scripture Passage together that will lead us to the cross. The idea is that we focus on being repentant for our sins and as much as we can remember and as we are convicted, place a toothpick in the "crown" as a symbol of our sins being on Jesus. 

Supplies for the Crown of Thorns: styrofoam wreath, wooden toothpicks, and purple fabric

Process: Start with an empty wreath. Each day confess our sin to one another and place a toothpick into the crown. 

The night before Resurrection Day, I am going to remove all of the toothpicks and wrap the wreath in purple fabric for the children to see on the next morning. No more thorns. Jesus is Alive. Sins are washed away by the blood of Christ for those who believe in Him!

Jesus bore our sins! What a tangible way for the children to see that! My prayer is that even the youngest ones will understand the significance or our need for a Savior! I pray that our family will draw closer together as we confess our sins to one another. There is no question that children need to be taught about repentance and even more importantly have it modeled for them ... so, I hope that this will be an exercise of humility for all of us as we come together as sinners recognizing our need for forgiveness.

John 14:6

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

1 Corinthians 15:3-8

New King James Version (NKJV)

³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,⁴ and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. ⁶ After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. ⁷ After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. ⁸ Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.

Birthday week!

Rich and Rosalie celebrate their birthdays in the same week. So, we eat a lot of cake in the last week of January/first week of February. Rosalie got a card in the mail from Nanny and Pupup, and the picture above is of her opening it. Yes, it's already stared. There is great ... GREAT anticipation about her birthday that is coming up in only a few days.

She knows that her birthday comes after Daddy's, so every time we talked about his birthday, she shouts with glee ... that after Daddy's birthday it will be hers! On a side note, she was convinced that the princess on the front of her special birthday card was her!

I decided a few weeks ago that I would surprise Rich and get a babysitter, so that we could go out on a date for his birthday! We went out a couple of nights ago and enjoyed it so much! The children had a wonderful time at home with a special young lady, and we had a great time too. Today, the children each gave him a gift, we had a homemade birthday cake complete with candles, and Rich's favorite meal. It was a good day. We are blessed!
This weekend I will make another cake, there will be pink and purple candles, and presents for our little princess! It's so hard for me to believe that she is going to be 3.