Easter Celebrations to Remember

As the kids grow I am discovering that different holidays are opportunities for us to reflect on what they really mean for our family and to make decisions on what we feel are absolute things we wish to be passed onto the next generation.

Such was a case with this year's Easter.  I've tried to hold Christmas or Thanksgiving parties before but there was just never time to do any planning and by the time I wanted to do something I was already so exhausted I felt I had to wait till the next holiday.  And I confess at times I had felt guilty for not doing 'more' to share my faith with those around me...but now I know.  God is never wrong with His timing.  He has been shaping me and moulding me to be ready to host one of these parties all along...not out of guilt, or obligation.  Not because I was called to be a great host.

There was much I needed to learn .... before, during and now afterwards...

I needed to deepen my understanding of Who God and Jesus was to ME first
I needed to learn to LISTEN to His promptings
I needed to be INTENTIONAL in my loving
I needed to get rid of my desire to be perfect.  He wanted an IMPERFECT but WILLING daughter
I needed to be LOVING above and beyond what is logical or natural.

Palm "Saturday"

Our small group met around Palm Sunday (one week before Easter holidays) and we decided to be a bit more proactive as a group to think about Easter.

With that in mind, we read the kids a story about Easter ("God gave us Easter"), we had worship time together (it is always amazing to witness our children worship so openly and freely!), had an Easter Egg Craft and ate Easter Marshmallow Peeps.

It was not just about packing the night with 'religion'...we had just pure fun, enjoyed the relationships, and even simply enjoyed marshmallow peeps.  My son even had a melt down - hey, that is real life, isn't it!?

But by intentionally putting Easter at our kids' forefront it gave me an opportunity to open this conversation for the rest of the week.  Sometimes I felt I sounded like a broken record but soon I realized the kids were learning, thinking and digesting everything.

Partnerships

Aside from partnering with our small group, I also asked our church's Children Ministry Director for information about what my kids were doing and learning in the weeks leading to Easter.  I shared with her my idea of hosting an outreach Easter party and asked for prayer and for ideas

In addition, I realized that the kids were talking about Easter in school.  I was surprised to hear my daughter's kindergarten teacher mention "Jesus" as she taught about Easter while I was volunteering on the Wednesday before Easter weekend!

Once I began to notice that our kids were receiving messages from many different people and places I realized that we can and should partner with some of these people.  I also realized that keeping the communication lines open is key to not only following what they might be learning but to also find support for what we as parents are trying to instil in our kids' lives.

The Big Party

During the week before Easter weekend we planned our Easter party (for details on the party go to Sandy's Sweets), invited friends and thought through what we would do.

I felt strongly this year that we needed to use this opportunity to teach our kids what Easter was really about...in a meaningful way, and to share with some people in our community who would have never heard of this amazing message.

With that in mind, we invited neighbours and asked my kids to invite some of their friends.  They automatically wanted to invite their best friends (and I realized how similar we adults are to them!  We tend to invite those we know and like!).  It was hard but I asked them to think hard again - and to invite someone who did not know God or who might not have heard about what Easter was about.

At first I was discouraged.  Most of the people I asked had plans for Easter and could not come.  Then I came to my senses and realized I needed to ask God who He would like us to invite. 

God put together our guest list.  All in all we invited 2 families, plus 2 other kids.

The mix could not have been more interesting.  One family was a new immigrant family from Asia who was still learning English.  The other family were born in another East Asia country but grew up in Canada.  My daughter's friend's family was from yet another East Asian country and my son's friend were from an European country.

Prayer

After we had the RSVPs, it was time to recruit prayer supporters.  I feel so blessed to be surrounded by other moms in the community that are like-minded

Resurrection Eggs

I had prepared to share with the kids the Easter story using Resurrection Eggs.  (Here is a sample of how to do them - there are many resources online) - When the time came to share the story, being that the kids in this party were on the younger side, I simply let each kid choose an egg and at the count of 3 they all opened the eggs together.  I told them each egg would help us remember a part of the Easter story.

As the story required each item to be shown, I would ask the kid that had the item to tell us what they had and to either show it to all and then pass it to me, or to pass it to each child so that they could look, feel or smell it.  We had a lot of fun during this part (especially with the spices!).

I was very surprised, though, when the child who had the cross looked at me with a blanked face.

She did not know what a cross was.

Right there it was as if God reminded me of the meaning of "there are so many people in the world who have never heard of the Gospel".  He reminded me that 'those people' might be living right next door to us (and not in a far away land)

As I continued telling the story (since most of these were young kids) I could see some of the kids growing sad and worried for the protagonist in the story:  Jesus.  If you think about it - it is a very sad story at the beginning!  How people betray him, sell him, mock him, and ultimately kill him.

In a way, after almost decades as a Christian, having gone through countless Easter services, just telling Jesus's story in plain language, and seeing these children's reaction, was the most powerful experience for me ever.

And to top this all...one of the fathers invited to our party asked me if he could read the story again and I saw him read them over and over again...and at one point told me how great this was!

What he meant by 'great' is still not clear to me. But I do know this was the first time that family had a chance to hear the entire story behind Easter.  And I know God's Word never comes back empty handed

Isaiah 55:11 (NLT):  

It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.

Talking with Jesus

After the story time, I used the opportunity of having all the kids seated to pray for our lunch.  But I realized soon enough that some of the kids and parents would not know why we needed to pray.  So I explained to them our family believed that all blessings come from God and that is why we have a tradition - we pray and give God thanks for the food He provides for us.

At that point, one of the girls raised her hand and told me she did not know how to pray.  I love to hear the kids honest feedback!!!

Egg Hunt Reminders

Before the Egg hunt I gave the kids some simple rules, their bags, and a few reminders:

a)  Some eggs were empty - to remind us of the Empty Tomb!

b)  Explained to them what Easter Eggs reminds us of - LIFE in Jesus

Loot bags with a message

I gave each kid a simple loot bag with goodies but added a Jelly Bean Poem.

I believe in God's perfect timing.  Everything just worked out perfectly...During this Easter Season, just in thinking outside my box the Lord was able to stretch me, mold me, deepen me and bless me.

If I had not seen that my kids needed to know about Easter...

    ... I would have not taken the time to think about what I personally knew and believed about Easter.

If I had not felt the challenge to reach out to others during this Easter...

    ... I would not have seen with my own eyes the need for us to tell others the best love story ever!

    ... I would not have felt the sacrifice Jesus made for us
    ... I would not have realized that some people living right next door to mine might not have had a chance to hear about Jesus EVER

If the first few guests we invited had been available....

    .... I would have kept doing what was comfortable to me
    .... I would not have had to think about the purpose of this party and the people in our community

    .... I would not realize that I needed to commit the party to the Lord

    .... I would not have asked the Lord to put together my guest list

If I was just putting together an Easter Party ...

    ....I would have just focused on all the food, activities and games
    ....I would have worried about entertaining guests rather than bonding and sharing the message of the cross with them

If not for a community of committed believers surrounding me
    ....I would not have had the courage to host such a party
    ... I would not have had the courage to freely and openly share the gospel with our guests

HOW did I do it?

You might think I am a supermom - but I am really not.  And I really believe God did not allow me to host any party like this until now because He was teaching me all about who was my neighbour, about what being missional really means, about Himself, about true Love, and so much more.

Having said that, here are some things I learned in the process:

Don't overcomplicate things -- it's not about doing...but about listening and obeying God's call

Be willing to learn and be changed - God will stretch you, but it will be refreshing the new perspective He gives you

Don't succumb to pressure - it's not about who does it best.

Don't succumb to fear - you are just sharing your life and your family.  If in your family you pray and talk about Jesus...then pray and talk about Jesus even when you have hosts that may not.

Remember love cannot be forced.  We love because He first loved us.  Let that soak in before you reach out.  Our love is so limited but His love is infinite

Be ready to be changed.  When we ask Him to use Us He will need to work in us before using us.  The changes might not be easy but ultimately it will deepened our understanding of Him, our relationship with Him and our partnership with Him to see His Kingdom Come!

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4:18-19