Easter revisited

On my way home from church yesterday I passed 2 different people outside doing yardwork. I thought how sad it was that to them, Easter Sunday is no different from any other day, except that maybe it's a day off and a chance to get things done. How sad to live life without the hope of resurrection.

We have friends who no longer celebrate Christmas (as in no cards, no gifts, no decorations, nothing). Their belief is that we have so much more to celebrate at Easter, so we need to downplay Christmas. From the commercialization standpoint, I understand where they are coming from, but I'm not ready to stop celebrating Christmas. Instead, it makes more sense to me to take our Easter celebrations up a notch.

We have spent the past several weeks preparing for Easter, admittedly probably not as much as we should have. This was a good story to ponder: http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/stories/TheSon.html And this a thought-provoking video: http://www.ignitermedia.com/mini-movies/1923/Follow But one of our favorite recent traditions, Communion in our home, with friends around the table, got pushed out due to poor planning. Next year that has to be the first thing on our calendar when we look ahead to Easter month. This was a good story to ponder: http://www.crossroad.to/Victory/stories/TheSon.html And this a thought-provoking video: http://www.ignitermedia.com/mini-movies/1923/Follow

The one tradition I miss is sunrise service. I remember when it was outside and was truly a sunrise service. There's just something about celebrating Easter first thing in the morning, while the sun is coming up.

I also miss my first graders reciting the Easter story from Matthew, and sometimes acting it out to help us remember better.

But we do have a few traditions of our own.
At our house, we do have Easter baskets. (See March 9, 2011) Some years we fill them, and others we don't. Some years it's one big gift for everyone, like the year we promised a trip to Sight and Sound Theatre. Sometimes it's a scavenger hunt, one year it was yarn crisscrossed throughout the entire house to find the Easter basket at the end. This year it was plastic eggs filled with notes about where to find the gifts, most of which were family gifts.

Like this fad which the kids have been asking us to participate in.

Or this video chair for the basement.

Or a snack drawer stocked with snacks I usually don't buy.

A few years ago, when our church had a newsletter for small groups, I read about a small group that always meets for breakfast on Easter morning. What a good idea. Not exactly a sunrise service (at least I don't think they sing "Up From the Grave He Arose" in four-part harmony) but a fun way to welcome in the day. And now we do this with our small group. It's us and the police officers and the same waitress, Jen, who start Easter morning at Cracker Barrel.

And this year, imagine our surprise to come home and find buckets filled with goodies for the kids.

Then on to Souderton for Easter dinner

and an egg hunt.

Today we washed up the Jell-O egg molds, bagged up the Easter baskets for attic storage, returned the "Resurrection Eggs" to their correct places, and ate Ham Chowder for dinner.


Let us not forget in this coming year, the hope that Easter brings. He is risen! He is risen indeed!