Jesus-Centered Easter Traditions

By Jessica Floyd

I have an 18 month old son and a little girl on the way. As Easter is approaching, I am thinking how I want to make sure my kids will know the story of Jesus and not just the Easter Bunny. I have to admit, that I love all holidays and I am a sucker for Santa, elf mischief, the Tooth Fairy, Leprechaun tricks, and the Easter Bunny. I think it is all fun, but not at the expense of my children not knowing about the true meanings of religious holidays. I know many families who choose not to celebrate with Santa or the Easter Bunny and I respect that choice absolutely. I think for my family we would like to have Santa and the Easter Bunny visit, but we want the main focus to be on Jesus!

I came across this blog, which is full of fun ideas and activities to do with children at Easter time that reinforce what Easter is supposed to be about. My son is probably too young this year for a lot of the activities, but I look forward to doing them in the years to come! My favorite is number 5!

Photo via We Are THAT Family

Chicks or Bunnies?

By Karen Brown

The roots of baby chicks and rabbits being associated with the Christian tradition of Easter is a bit unclear. It may just be as simple as the abundance of both baby chicks and bunnies in the spring, the same time of year as Easter, and their reminder of new life happening around us. Either way, they have definitely become symbols of the holiday.

When we fill our children’s baskets this year, we will do our best to marry the Christian holiday with the more secular traditions of gifts and candies. One thing we are going to try new this year is to give our kids the gift of helping others. We will buy live chicks in their names as a gift for those in developing countries. Through Samaritan’s Purse, we can purchase a dozen baby chicks or ducklings as a perpetual source of income and nutrition for a family. Then on Easter morning, we hope to be able to dialogue as a family about how one way we can show Christ’s love to others is by sharing gifts and what we have with them, the way Christ shared his priceless gift of eternal life with us.

You can purchase baby chicks through Samaritan’s Purse here for $14

And a trio of rabbits through Heifer International for between $10-60 here

Such a better use of $14 than for more jelly beans, don’t you think?

Via Heifer International

31 Ways to Pray for your Children

By Karen Brown

Photo from here

A friend recently shared this link to a wonderful article on praying for your children. What I love most about it is that the concept is so simple. It is something you could easily incorporate into everyday prayer life.

One way I like to add prayer into my daily routine is to include it as part of something I am already doing. For example, with three kids and different activities, we spend a lot of time back and forth in the car. With a simple list like this, I could easily leave it in the car and pray for the kids during the time I am driving to pick them up from school. At that time of the day, my preschooler is happy watching a movie on the dvd player in the van, and I can have some “quiet time” as I drive.

How do you include prayer into your day? Do you have any specific ways you pray for your children?

Review: Kisses from Katie

By Andrea Andis

Kisses from Katie is an inspiring and challenging memoir of a four-year journey in the life of Katie Davis---a journey that took her from a life of comfort and privilege to the place that she now considers home in the red dirt of Uganda. Through the pages of this book, Katie honestly wrestles with her desire to follow God’s call for her after graduating high school and her duty to honor her mother and father, who had dreams of Katie going to college. Through her unwavering love for God and for the children in this area of Uganda, Katie intimately shares the struggles and joys of saying “Yes” to God despite her shortcomings. She also challenges readers (through multiple passages of scripture as well as her own experiences) to listen to God’s leading in helping and serving others, even when that service seems hopeless in the face of much desperation. In the end, this is a story of a modern-day Mother Theresa and an excellent example of a woman who is living wholeheartedly for God! 

Favorite Easter Books for Preschoolers

By Karen Brown

Sometimes the Easter story can be a hard one to share with preschoolers. The story of Jesus’ death and resurrection is a heavy topic for little ones. The following books explain the celebration of Easter through simple words and pictures and are well-loved this time of year.

Here are a few of our favorites:

The Story of Easter by Patricia Pingry - this book tells the story of the first Easter and why we celebrate it today. It has just enough words and is perfect for toddlers and preschoolers.

Tell Me the Easter Story by Joni Walker - this book does a wonderful job of marrying the Christian celebration of Easter with more secular traditions like dying eggs and Easter baskets.

My Easter Basket and the True Story of Easter by Mary Manz Simon - this Easter basket shaped book has a fun rhyming format and bright, glitter covered pages the kids love.

Beautifully Rooted

By Karen Brown

I came across this beautiful blog and wanted to share it with you. This is one of those blogs you could easily get lost in for hours.

Beautifully Rooted is “a place for women to deepen their relationship with their Savior, through encouraging words, inspiring projects and creative vision. “ Their team of contributors is top-notch, and the writing and images are inspiring at the very least. Check it out the next time you need to relax and steal a little time for yourself - and we could certainly all use more of that!

A Confession

By Karen Brown

photo by Tyra Bleek

The kids were on my last nerve. They were being unkind and disrespectful. I don’t remember the last straw, but I yelled at all of them and sent them to their rooms. I was frustrated, impatient and angry. I was tired of repeating myself and breaking apart their sibling rivalries.

I was so quick to judge their behavior as sinful and condemn their actions. Treating others unfairly, disobeying, exercising zero self-control. What would their punishment be? How would I choose to discipline them? As I sat on my bed in silence thinking, it quickly became apparent that in those moments preceding, I had failed as a mom. I had not modeled at all the character traits I try so desperately to instill in my children. How was my response and behavior any less sinful than theirs? Did they deserve the punishment of quiet time- absolutely. But what about the way I chose to raise my voice to them in anger, committing the same sins I had just admonished them for? It was hard to ignore the plank in my own eye. We were all in tears and in need of forgiveness.

photo by Tyra Bleek

I love that my Savior wipes the slate clean each day. That we are new every morning and given the chance to reconcile each day. I love that for my children and I love that for myself.

Grace covers a multitude of sins!

Source: ballerinainchrist.tumblr.com via The Queen on Pinterest

75 Books that Build Character

By Karen Brown

Our family reads together every night. Not a lot of things compare to snuggling up under a blanket with the kids and a book. It’s funny how they have favorites they insisting on reading over and over and over again. You know the ones where you skip a line and the kids correct you. Those are by far the most well loved.

I stumbled upon this blog post recently and found it too good not to share. It’s a list of 75 books that build a child’s character. This is an objective list, but we are always on the hunt for new suggestions and favorites. I kind of figure if I am going to be reading to them anyway, it should be something with some substance. Something that helps drive home the values and character traits we are already trying to instill in our children. Something that teaches them lessons about things like diversity, individuality, fairness, and being open-minded.

At our local library, you can reserve books online. I’m excited to grab this list and place some of these on hold. Then, the next time we go to check out books, these are added to the pile. (Brilliant for people like me know will never remember to bring the list along.)

Share with us. What are some of your favorite children’s books or authors? Do have ones you remember reading as a child?

No Time for Flashcards via Apartmenttherapy.com/family