I love EASTER! I set up my Easter decorations around the house before St Patrick’s Day has even past! I love to decorate Easter eggs! I love a good egg hunt and I have a great time planning what to fill my girls Easter baskets with and look for months for the perfect Easter dress!
But much more importantly then that, I love the reason we celebrate Easter! I truly love my Savior! I know that He lives without a shadow of a doubt and every year my heart exclaims with joy “He is risen!! He is risen!!” and it truly fills my soul!
When Emily asked me to speak tonight I said “OK what now? How DO I help my children focus on the Atonement and Resurrection at Easter?” We have been talking about Easter and Monday night at family prayer we were going through the Easter story. When I asked Keagan where they put Christs body after He died for us in the cross, she loudly exclaimed "an Easter egg!!" Great! Obviously we have a long way to go. Thankfully my girls are only five!
So I thought of two things to turn to help us out and to help me out for tonight, Lds.org and prayer! Surely between those two things this little talk could write itself, right?
When I turned to lds.org there were a lot of great ideas as always. I have done and love the idea of empty plastic eggs in the Easter basket representing the empty tomb. And resurrection rolls or cookies that you place a marshmallow in and when the marshmallow melts then your roll is also empty representing the empty tomb. I also found the idea of a Christ centered Easter basket which I loved! I am going to try to start implementing that in our family. You assign different scriptures that teach something about our Savior to the different items in the basket. For example I am giving the girls Goldfish to remind them He is a fisher of men for Mark 1:17. And playdough with Issiah 64:8 attached which says He is the potter and we are His clay. Gold coin candy which Keagan has a weird obsession with, with Psalm 19:72 to remind them His love is more precious then silver and gold. And there is many more!
I also love the idea of testimony eggs. Each family member can right part of their testimony that Jesus Christ lives and put it in an empty plastic egg which could be included in a basket of treats to give to neighbors or friends. I also loved the idea of reading the Easter story out of the scriptures and then having a scavenger hunt to find things that could represent parts of the story like something pointy for the crown of thorns and a something that looks like a cross or the linen left behind in the tomb.
Lds.org has several great Easter week countdowns and a great one was published by the Friend Magazine this month. It gives you scriptures to read and a song to sing for each day leading up to Easter about what happened that day. I know a cute family that includes honeycomb and fish in their Easter meal because that is what the Savior ate when he appeared to the disciples. And another friend of mine even does a candelight dinner and reads from the Book of Mormon about the three days of darknees before Christ came to visit the Americas. Also I don’t think there is anything that can bring the spirit like music can and there are great hymns and primary songs to be included before family prayer each night.
But when I turned to the real source that all the best ideas come from, or prayer, a scripture came to mind. It was a scripture that was used in General Conference at least four times and since it was on my mind it stuck out to me.
It is the prophet Nephi’s declaration of what his people did to fortify the youth of his day found in 2 Nephi 25:26. “We talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, [and] we prophesy of Christ … that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins.”
This scripture is used often but during Conference it was used along with discussing a Christ centered home. One where family prayer and scripture study takes place. One where hopefully most weeks see some sort of Family Home Evening. Isn’t that just the kind of home that we are all striving for?
So when I think about how do we help our children focus on the Atonement and the Resurrection at Easter, I think about my personal goal as a mother to get my two sweet girls to think about it all year long! Not just in the times for designated celebration. I mean that is what this scripture really means, right? That is how the people of Nephi fortified their children against the power of the destroyer. And I know from personal experience that in our families that power is raging against us so strongly!
So, my thoughts are that we should be trying our best to have conversations often with our children about their Savior. And it doesn’t have to be long serious conversations or ones that were formulated with a plan. Ideally, Jesus Christ should be within many of our thoughts throughout the day and so He should also be within many of our conversations with our children. That way when things like Christmas or Easter come up it is not a struggle to focus on Him. It is natural for all of us, and what we have already been doing.
If we do simple things each day, not major things, to bring our Savior across the minds and the lips of our children and all members of our families, then I truly believe that we will continue to stand firm no matter what storms may rage around us and we will be able to live and know another scripture, even Helaman 5:12 “it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that [we] must build [our] foundation … , a foundation whereon if [we] build [we] cannot fall.”
If it is natural for our children to think of our Savior, then I pray that means when our children face times of doubt, fear, temptation or trouble that they will naturally turn to Him. How great would that be? If it is natural for our children and us to think of Christ and talk of Christ then that can only lead to a deeper conversion for all of us. One in which we are using the blessings of the Atonement in our lives to repent, to heal our troubled hearts, to find guidance and seek comfort and direction. I can not think of anything better that I could hope to teach my children, or yours.
I testify that He lives and that He loves all of us! I'm so thankful for the true meaning of why we celebrate this week!
Happy Easter!
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Beautifully said Emily! You are such an inspiration to your sweet daughters and to all of us.
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