"But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death,
because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him." Acts 2:24
Wahoo!! Doesn’t this verse just fire you up?!
Celebrating the reality of our Risen Lord, THE Christ, is truly the pinnacle of our faith as Believers.
While that is the focus of Easter Sunday, for our family, it is our fervent prayer that we would
ever so humbly and gratefully celebrate this with every breath of every day!
Believing God’s promise that the SAME power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in
those who believe (Eph 1:19) is mind-blowing, and certainly something that we should never get over or stop celebrating!
In the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, the Passion Week,
there are several efforts we make that powerfully call our hearts to an even more focused reflection and worship
on the sacrificial death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus.
Both my husband and I were born and raised in the South,
so sporting new matching Easter dresses for the girls,
sear-sucker and bow-ties for the men, and sharing in a big family dinner are very real parts of our Easter celebratory traditions.
As the Lord continues to grow us as individuals and as parents,
we've also seen a shift away from overly emphasizing the Easter Bunny, Easter Egg Hunts, traditional Easter baskets, or candy galore.
We certainly don't demonize any of these things, but as the Spirit leads us,
we are intentionally trying to focus on the true meaning of Easter--
for our own hearts, but especially for the shepherding and informing of the mold-able hearts of our children.
Let's be honest, this can be a bit of a challenge in our world today.
After seeking the Lord repeatedly on what this should like for our family, year after year,
here are a few examples of how we celebrate Easter in the Lyon household:
Together with our girls, we read over various Scriptures related to the
Resurrection around the dinner table each night;
we make play-doh replicas of the tomb, filled and sealed at first, then EMPTY on Easter morning;
we make "Resurrection Rolls" to demonstrate the empty tomb;
we set a celebratory Easter table to awaken to on Easter morning;
we even have fun "Spring Baskets" on the first day of Spring,
in lieu "Easter Baskets" on Easter morning.
We also cherish the annual Maundy Thursday service at our church,
which is a somber, deeply moving time of reflection, preparation, and worship
centered around The Table, the Lord's Last Supper.
Now, it’s important that we recognize our love of Starburst Jellybeans and Cadburry Eggs,
and that occasionally, we participate in an Egg Hunt, or dye Easter Eggs.
However, we try and differentiate between these Societal Easter associations
and what the Christian’s true hope is in Easter, the glorious resounding from Matthew 28:6:
"He is not here, for He has RISEN, just as He said...!”
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