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Rejoice! For He is Risen!
As Easter or (as I prefer to call it) Resurrection Day approaches, I thought it would be fun to share some great resources with you that you can use this Spring to celebrate all that He has done for us.
Read the Easter Story
1In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.
7And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.
8And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.
9And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held him by the feet, and worshipped him.
10Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.
11Now when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into the city, and shewed unto the chief priests all the things that were done.
12And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
13Saying, Say ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
14And if this come to the governor’s ears, we will persuade him, and secure you.
15So they took the money, and did as they were taught: and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.
16Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
17And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.
18And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28, King James Version)
A Year of Family Worship
- Memory Verse: “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.” Matthew 28:6
- Resurrection Cookies
- Resurrection Eggs
In the Kitchen
- Easter Menu – 2012
- Resurrection Rolls
- Parmesan Popovers
- Lemon Pie Bars
- Lemon Snowball Cookies
- Lemon Chess Pie
- Easter Recipes
- Passover Recipes
- Bunny Cupcakes
- Jelly Bean Carrots
- Sheep Cake
In the Garden
- Free Milkweed Seeds – Help the Monarch Butterflies
- Free Seed Exchange
- How to Make a Newspaper Pot – video
Everyday Crafts
Home Education
- Easter Lapbook
- Clouds Art Show
- Watercolor Lilypads Lesson
- Easter Math Drills
- Make Your Own Easter Worksheets
- Easter Resources for Teachers
Nature Study
Resurrection Cookies
We will be making this recipe on Saturday night. It has been a few years since we have made them and the children are excited!
Resurrection Cookies
You will need:
1 cup whole pecans
1 teaspoon vinegar
3 egg whites
a pinch salt
1 cup sugar
a zipper baggy
1 wooden spoon
scotch tape
Bible
Instructions:
These are to be made the evening before Easter. Preheat oven to 300F.
*** (this is very important — don’t wait until you are half done with the recipe).
Place pecans in zipper baggy and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested. He was beaten by the Roman soldiers. Read: John 19:1-3
Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 teaspoon vinegar into mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross He was given vinegar to drink. Read: John 19:28-30
Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read: John 10:10&11
Sprinkle a little salt into each child’s hand. Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers, and the bitterness of our own sin. Read: Luke 23:27
So far the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1 cup sugar. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him. Read: Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16
Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed. Explain that the color white represents the purity in God’s eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus. Read: Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3
Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid. Read: Matthew 27:57-60
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus’ tomb was sealed. Read: Matthew 27:65-66
GO TO BED!
Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. Jesus’ followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed. Read: John 16:20&22
On Resurrection Sunday (Easter) morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! On the first Easter Jesus’ followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty. Read: Matthew 28:1-9
A Year of Family Worship: Morning Worship
“And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew him…” Luke 24: 28-31
I know I have mentioned this before, but in our house, I try to have family worship each morning just after breakfast before we clear the table. This worship time tends to be shorter than our evening worship.
You also know by now, that I am a firm believer in morning devotions for women. It is so important to seek out Christ first thing in the morning before we do anything else! So, if it is so very important for each one of us to have personal devotions every morning, isn’t is just as important for us to teach our children to seek out Christ first thing every day?
Are you walking with Jesus each day or do you feel like He is often going one way and you another? Has Jesus walked on past where you were going? Or have you constrained him? Morning devotions give us the opportunity to wrap our arms around Jesus and constrain him. Morning worship helps us grasp His hand and tell Him, “Abide with us!” Through morning worship we are able to seek out Christ daily and keep our focus on Him.
Our children need to be taught how to “abide with Him.” Create in your children – now – a desire to spend time with Jesus at the beginning of the day so that when they are grown it won’t be so hard to get into the habit. “Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22: 6
We need to wrap our arms around Jesus, constrain Him, each morning as a family and say, “Lord, I am not letting you go!” As a family find His purpose for your lives. Discover together what it is you can do as a family to serve Him on a daily basis.
Use morning worship time to discuss the days events, plan how best to use your time and most importantly pray that God’s will for the day will be made known to each one.
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
A Year of Family Worship: Scripture Adventures
Yesterday I discovered a new Scripture Memory product that you can download for free! Scripture Adventures 21 Day Bible Memory Verse Challenge is perfect for your whole family!
Over the course of 21 days you and your children will learn 12 meaningful verses from the Bible. Here is what the author says at the beginning of the e-workbook:
21 DAY BIBLE VERSE MEMORY CHALLENGE
They say it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Why not form a habit that will put God’s Word in the hearts of your children for a lifetime? In the next twenty-one days, you and your children will begin a journey that will get you learning and loving the messages of the Bible. In just five minutes a day, you will help your children memorize, review, and retain important Bible verses that will help them love and live God’s Word.
The e-workbook is well-done, and the ideas and activities presented will help you and your children form a solid habit of memorizing Scripture.
Scripture memory is such an important gift we can give our children (and ourselves) so why not make it fun?
This week, my daughter Emily has taken a special interest in selecting verses for us to memorize. Because she showed an interest, I have encouraged her to continue choosing verses for us to memorize as a family. Assigning children different responsibilities for Family Worship time helps them feel connected to the family and a part of the worship experience.
What have you been up to this week?
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
A Year of Family Worship: Praying for Our Worship Experience
Have you prayed about it?
Teaching our children to worship God with respect and reverence and with adoring love is not something to take lightly. So have you prayed about it?
What is it that God wants you to teach your children through family worship? What is it God wants you to learn through family worship? How can family worship bring you closer as a family?
Prayer should be our first priority no matter what it is we are undertaking. During worship our hearts should be open to the Holy Spirit’s leading. Sometimes trying to keep little ones still and interested can seem like an uphill battle. If you are having a hard time with your little ones (or even the older children) bring it to God! Ask Him to bless your worship experience and to show you exactly what you should be praying for and what your worship time should focus on.
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
Q & A: How to Wake Up Without Waking the Kids
Photo Credit: Mehmet Goren
Q: Hi Melissa! I am reading through some of the Spring Cleaning reading you’ve given us, and I’m coming across a question that I’ve had in the past and have never come up with a solution for. How do I manage waking up early for devotion and getting breakfast ready for my family without disturbing their sleep?
I have two kids (ages 2 and 3) who are light sleepers, and I worry that an alarm will wake them since they’ve been known to wake up at the sound of a car driving by outside. They generally wake up around dawn anyway, so I really don’t want to wake them earlier because they won’t be getting enough sleep. With this in mind, I have wanted to wake in the morning to do a devotional each day and start the day off right, but I can’t figure out how to make it work without disrupting the rest of my family. Do you have any suggestions? Or alternatively, do you have any suggestions on how I can do a morning devotional if they’re awake with me?
I’m sorry to bother you with such a silly question, but it’s something that’s been circling my mind for months and I just don’t know what to do with it. I know that as they get older things will be different, but I would like to find at least a temporary solution for now.
– Amy
A: Hi Amy, I understand how hard this can be. I had a baby, (she’s 9 now) who would wake up at any noise and was sooo hard to put to sleep! This is not a silly question! I am so glad you asked!
First, I would pray about it.
Second, go to bed early enough that waking up early is easy.
Third, ask God to help you wake up at a specific time. (I can’t count the times I have asked God to wake me up at a certain time and He has! )
I use my cell phone for my alarm clock. My husband uses our actual alarm clock. But with my cell phone I can set the ringer on real low – say 2 or 3. and it will wake me up. I don’t know if that would work for you.
So, if none of those ideas work, I’d have my devotions at the breakfast table either during or just after we ate.
I usually do family worship with my kids just after breakfast. Since your children are little you could have family worship and then tell the kids to go play for 15 or 30 minutes (whatever you feel your kids can handle) while you have your “Mommmy Worship Time.”
If they try to bother you during that time tell them that they have to wait until you are done. If you have a problem with them listening to you, try setting an egg timer and telling them that when they hear it “ding” they can come out of their rooms (or where ever they are playing).
This time will pass quickly and it will get easier as time goes on. One day you will miss all this! I hope these suggestions work. May God bless your efforts!
– Melissa
A Year of Family Worship: Scripture Memory
“Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11
Family worship is a perfect time to work on Scripture Memory as a family. I remember the very first verse I ever committed to memory. It was Romans 6:23 and I was just 9 years old. It has stuck with me all these years. Teaching our children to commit God’s Word to their hearts is something powerful that will stay with them all the days of their lives.
Perhaps as a mom, you have never really committed very many Scripture verses to memory. That’s okay! It is never to late to start. When we have God’s Word hidden in our hearts, in a time of need we can pull up those words and they will comfort us and remind us of God’s faithfulness.
Here in America we are very blessed to have the right to worship God however and whenever we choose. We can purchase a Bible or even obtain one for free if we need. What would happen if there came a time when you could not access God’s Word? Would you remember what He said? Would your children?
As your read your Bible and come across verses that really speak to you, write them down in your family worship journal so that you can come back to them, one by one! Children are like sponges and they soak up God’s Word so much easier that we adults do! Use this precious time to instill the goodness of His Word in their hearts.
Here are some resources you may enjoy using:
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
A Year of Family Worship: Getting Started
How do you get started with Family Worship if you have never done it before?
First, I would suggest you seek the Lord out and ask Him to direct your worship. After all, He is the One we are worshiping! We want it to be pleasing to Him, right?
Secondly, choose the best time of day. If you are able to have morning and evening worship – wonderful! I try, but there are days when it just doesn’t work. In our house, we have morning worship at the table after eating breakfast. This works out easiest for us. Evening worship in our house usually happens around 7 pm. If you are not able to do it twice a day, choose a time when the family is generally together – right before bed, before leaving for school, etc. Family Worship does not have to take very long 15 minutes is usually all you need to have a good experience. Of course, if you are enjoying yourselves and time is on your side, why not take as long as you like?
You will want to choose a good devotional book or a book with Bible stories suitable for the ages of your children. You may also want to purchase song books with fun worship songs. In our house we use a book that my husband used in church as a child back in the 1950′s. It is called Happy Songs for Girls and Boys. I was very lucky to find a big stack of these song books for free at a church school book giveaway. We also have a number of praise song books and of course a good number of fun songs right in our heads!
If you have a family member – including a child – who plays the piano or guitar or other instrument, encourage them to play for worship. I am especially partial to guitar music at worship time!!
In our house we like to start by singing songs, followed by story time, discussion, Scripture memory, and prayer. Give your children an opportunity to share prayer requests and then make a point to pray for them. You may want to keep a family prayer journal and record prayer request in black ink and answers to prayer in red ink!
Worshiping God together as a family will bring you closer together as a family and closer to God!
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
Buttons for A Year of Family Worship
You can copy and paste the code directly into your blog and let others know you are participating in
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TIP: It helps to paste the code into Notepad and then copy and paste into your website/blog. Notepad will remove any formatting which can mess up the code! It is important that the quotes (” ” ) be straight up and down and not slanted. So, if you are having trouble, check the quotes. I noticed when I tried it on my blogger account that when I pasted it into the gadget box, for some reason there were double quotes and I had to delete the slanted quotes, if that makes sense.
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Button #1
A Year of Family Worship: Church History
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.” Psalm 95:6
For the last few days, we have been reading a book each morning for worship called Angels on Horseback and Other “Grandma Stories.” I found the book at a church school library giveaway last year. It is not a fancy book. In fact, the printing is very basic and the binding looks homemade – but the stories are wonderful!
They are full of our church history. I didn’t grow up learning about church history. I want my children to know about those people who changed the course of the world through their faithfulness to God!
Stories of great leaders – stories of their real lives – show our children that despite the odds and despite the struggles we can all lay down our lives for Him. These kind of stories show our children where they came from, the legacy of faith and the spirit of truth that has lived in men and women down through the ages.
That’s what family worship is for – to inspire our children (and ourselves) to live for Jesus everyday – at home and away. As mothers we have been commissioned first to be ministers to our families, our husbands and children. We are to care for them in a way that Jesus would care for them. We are to show them that true faith is demonstrated in a life of service to those around you.
Family worship strengthens our relationship with each other and gives us courage to face the day with determination to live a consecrated life, to live a holy life. It brings into focus why we worship our Savior and show us the purpose He has for each one of us.
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If you would like to take part in A Year of Family Worship, add your blog to the Mr. Linky below. If you don’t have a blog, you can add your comments in the comment section! You can read about A Year of Family Worship here. And you can see the 52 Weeks of Family Worship here.
Each Wednesday, we will add a new post for A Year of Family Worship and you can do the same. Share your goals, experiences, and ideas for family worship with the rest of us!
If you do not have a blog… you can either post your ideas here in the comments or even join our Proverbs 31 Sisters Network and get a free blog that way!
When you add your link below with the Mr.Linky… please add the link directly to your post on Family Worship – not to your main blog. This way, folks don’t have to go searching for the Family Worship post!
