Easter is coming!

The time is drawing near!  Easter is almost here!  Theologically this is wear the rubber hits the road.  We call ourselves Christians because we believe in the resurrection of Jesus the Christ!  I know Christmas gets more face time, but in truth it is all about Easter.  If Jesus had not risen on the third day we would not have had the fulfilment of the prophesies and would be in a completely different place than we are today.

So what about the kiddies?  What are our jobs as parents who are responding to our baptismal or promise vows we made?  First, read the scriptures for yourself.  You can't tell your child(ren) the story if you haven't read it.  Each gospel is a little bit different, so I suggest reading all of them:

• Matthew 27-28
• Mark 15-16
• Luke 23-24
• John 18-20

*I didn't break it down to the exacts because selfishly I want you to get lost in the story

There are a couple of reasons to read all of them.  First, as a believer we are called to study the scriptures.  Sometimes we hear the scriptures in worship, maybe even look at them in Sunday School, but when was the last time you read the passion story?  Second, when your children ask you questions, you want to be able to answer them.  Third, if your child is pretty smart (and I know yours are) then you don't want to get caught not knowing what your child is talking about.  Case point, Macie goes to a Baptist pre-school (yes, we are Presbyterians, but we love the Baptists too).  Macie told me the entire passion story last week with only a couple of holes.  She believes that God can heal Jesus' boo boos and that he's in heaven with God's only father because Jesus is alive!  Not bad for a 4 year old.  This week we've been reading different children's books about the death of Jesus and she's learning about disciples and that Peter wasn't nice when he wouldn't tell people Jesus was his best friend.  Even with all my edification I still get caught by her questions.  Usually it is because she has deemed a new word for something biblical and it takes me a minute to figure things out, but if I hadn't been up on my reading the scavenger hunt would take way longer.

Those are some of the parental theological preps.  Now the practical.  As you may have read I help with our church nursery.  Easter is rough when we don't set some things in place.  Help your church by helping your child!  Help your church by helping hold babies or making the snack that day.  I've listed a couple of key things that really make a BIG BIG BIG difference.  Please share them with everyone you know!

• If you do the Easter Bunny thing, please let the Easter basket and all of it's contents stay home.
• Allow 1-2 pieces of fun candy in the am, but limit the rest.  Would you want to be the adult in the room with all the kids who went nuts on chocolate bunnies before 9a.m.?
• Make sure the Easter outfit is comfy.  Can your child get in and out of it to got the bathroom?  Are the shoes broken in?
• Label anything that can be removed (gloves, hats, special ties, etc.)
• Go to church prior to Easter to show your children where their room will be and how the day will work.
• If you have 100 family members coming to your house for Easter, BRING THEM TO CHURCH and make sure to give good directions and expectations about your church nursery.  In other words, don't let Aunt Sue drop off the kids without knowing the drop off procedure.
• If the nursery staff and/or volunteers look overwhelmed be a good Christian and help.  The worship that can happen among a team of compassionate adults is pretty amazing

The key to Easter will be about thinking ahead...not just about what goes in the diaper bag, but what's in your heart.  Remember the sacrifice that God made through his son Jesus.  The food, the family, the "pictures for Jesus" in front of the azaleas are all ways that we celebrate the greatest gift ever.  The hard part can be remembering in the midst of the celebration. 

Prayers and Hugs for all of you!  Have an amazing week!