Happy Resurrection Day!

We enjoyed a fairly quiet day at home and then with extended family today.

To start the day off, we made Resurrection Rolls together. It is a fun way to go over the details of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Here are the instructions and below are several pictures of the kids working on the rolls and what they looked like at the end. My kids ask each year for us to do these rolls, not only because it is fun, but because they taste really good!

I hope you have a blessed Resurrection Sunday! He is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!

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Resurrection Rolls

Here's a new twist on the Resurrection Cookie idea for Easter, both are recipes you can do with your kids/grand kids in order for them to understand the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This fun recipe uses Crescent rolls and a disappearing marshmallow!

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients:
Crescent rolls
Melted butter
Large marshmallows
Cinnamon
Sugar

Give each child a triangle of crescent rolls. The crescent roll represents the cloth that Jesus was wrapped in.

Read Matthew 27:57-61

1. Give each child a marshmallow. This represents Jesus.
2. Have him/her dip the marshmallow in melted butter. This represents the oils of embalming.
3. Now dip the buttered marshmallow in the cinnamon and sugar which represents the spices used to anoint the body.
4. Then wrap up the coated marshmallow tightly in the crescent roll (not like a typical crescent roll up, but bring the sides up and seal the marshmallow inside.) This represents the wrapping of Jesus' body after death.
5. Place in a 350 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. (The oven represents the tomb - pretend like it was three days!)
6. Let the rolls cool slightly. The children can open their rolls (cloth) and discover that Jesus is no longer there, HE IS RISEN!!!! (The marshmallow melts and the crescent roll is puffed up, but empty.)

Now read Matthew 28:5-8

Explain: At the tomb, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary saw an angel, who told them not to be afraid. No one had taken Jesus' body, but He Had risen from the dead! The angel told the women to go and tell the disciples what they had seen, that Jesus had risen from the dead. They were so excited, they ran all the way home to tell the disciples the good news! He is risen from the dead! Alleluia!

After that Jesus appeared in person to Peter, then to the 12 disciples and after that, to more than 500 people. Jesus' appearance to eyewitnesses, those who saw Him with their own eyes, would give support and prove that Jesus rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).

By rising from the dead, Jesus proved once and for all that He was the Messiah, the Savior of the World, the Chosen One, and the Lamb of God. By dying on the cross and rising from the dead, Jesus did what no other had ever done before. As both God and man, He overcame sin, death, and hell. And now because of what Jesus has done, these things no longer have any power over those who believe in Jesus and allow His Spirit to lead and direct them. Rather than being slaves to sin and death, Christians ( those who love and believe in Jesus) are free to obey God and do good ( Romans 6:17-18). The Bible says in John 8:36, "If therefore the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed."

However, we will only obey God if we listen to the Holy Spirit our helper. He enables believers in Jesus to do the right thing. It is important that we read the Bible (God's Word) because one of the ways the Holy Spirit helps us obey God is by reminding us of what He says to us in His Word. God's Spirit will never go against his Word. In fact, when we read God's Word, we are listening to the Holy Spirit. Of course, you won't always do the right thing; the Bible says this ) 1 John 1:5-10). But that is why we need to continue to confess our sins knowing that God forgives us, based on what Jesus did on the cross. This is also a reason we need to spend time with other believers in Christ so they can encourage us in our faith.

May you have a blessed and meaningful Easter!

- Author Unknown -

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Preparing the "cloth" and eventual "tomb".

The wrapping of "Jesus' body" after being "embalmed/anointed" in oil and spices.

One of the rolls after baking--this one opened on it's own!

Here are the closed "tombs" after baking. They then got to open them below.

Opening the "tombs". He is Risen!

Should We Expose Our Children to Worldly Issues?

This topic was brought up on my local homeschool group's moms' discussion board. I thought I would post me recent post here also.

A friend who had been teaching an Essay Writing class this past semester, brought up the question about protecting our kids but also making sure they are aware enough of the world around them, especially as they approach the high school years, to be able to answer questions that will come up on essay tests, SAT, etc. intelligently. If they have never had the opportunity to discuss various issues openly at home in light of a Christian Worldview, how can we expect them to go out into the world and share an intelligent witness to others?

Anyway, my post below is about a book I just finished reading that should be a priority to read for every parent! I encourage you to buy it and check it out for yourself!
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I have just been reading through For the Children's Sake--Foundations of Education for Home and School by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

This is an excellent book. She covers many aspects of the Charlotte Mason approach to learning as well as many other great ideas.

It gives you a lot to think about and ways to examine yourself to see how you are doing in the "job" of educating your children for LIFE.

The section I am reading now is related to what S.M. originally posted about making sure we discuss issues with our children.

This Chapter is-- Education: A Science of Relationships. She covers many areas in this chapter, but in the section below, she is referring to how we are teaching our children to have what we now refer to as a Christian worldview---how we look at everything in relation to the God who created this world and who is ever present--not just making things "separate" but how to truly make all of life into one complete "picture or story"--no separation between "religion" and "academics" or the "real world". God's world IS the real world!

Anyway, here is a section from this chapter, just some ideas to think about! From pages, 101 to 103.

"It is an imperative priority, as never before, to allow our children to learn to think, understand, and see the central truths quite explicitly and clearly. This is a central part of the "Christian" aspect of our education.

We were able to show the film series Whatever Happened to the Human Race to our daughter's school. Attendance was optional. The children were between thirteen and sixteen years old, from average homes. They were absolutely riveted by the ideas of who the person is and his worth, and the topics of euthanasia, abortion, old age, and so on. Discussion afterwards was lively and penetrating. Children need to consider practical issues. They want to think. They want answers. Christianity is part of that rock of reality about which youngsters long to know. They need to understand how contemporary issues fit into what the Bible says.

Have you read The Plague by Camus with a group of fifteen-year-olds? Have they wondered over the problem of evil, the human problem? In reading this novel, do they notice the fallacy of the priest's argument? 'God has willed this child to suffer.' Do they think about how different the biblical perspective is: that the suffering was unleashed by man's choice to disobey God? That all individuals, and the course of history, are caught up in this river of consequence; an abnormal world?

Do they read Brave New World and discuss the logical conclusion of the humanist view of man, his morality, humanity, and social purpose?

Can they pick up something like Time magazine, read it, and think about where it fits into the Christian framework?

Do they come home from school, or from having seen a TV program, and spontaneously discuss what is right, what is wrong?

Have they thrashed through the reasons why the Bible is true? Do they understand the fallacies of other positions? Can they remember numerous occasions when the Bible was seen to fit like a key into the keyhole of reality? Do they know about the historical and archaeological evidence? Are they amazed at how the philosophical ideas of the Bible fit into the way we find reality to be?

They should not be left with only a feeling--'I know it's true because I feel it in my heart.' That is not enough.

One morning they will wake up and you will be gone, and so will their feelings.

Do they know?

All of this is 'Christian education'.

Seeing fallacies. Understanding. Knowing the Bible. Thinking. Judging ideas. Seeking and keeping ears open. Being in touch. "

You'll have to get the book to read the rest of what she has to say!

This book will be an inspiration to all homeschooling families!