I realize this is a bit late but I still wanted to share some thoughts I wrote out earlier last week but did not have an opportunity to post.

We are not an Easter egg family as far as providing them and doing a hunt in our home, primarily because I do not want our children to be focused on eggs and candy when we have so much to be thankful for in the Risen Saviour. We have been involved in several hunts this year and the kids really had fun running everywhere looking like little chickens. BUT…My desire is to teach them there is no other holiday that should be as exciting, not even Christmas. Our God came to earth, took the punishment for our sins, died, and then arose on the third day, conquering sin and the grave so that we could come to Him and receive forgiveness of sins. There is no greater gift! There is no greater celebration than that of knowing He did that because of His love and He will come again to receive those that believe on Him unto Himself.

We may not take part in the popular activities of certain holidays but that does not mean we are sitting back on our haunches while the rest of the world has a blast either. Christians do not have to miss out on the fun just because they are different or choose a different approach. All of that to say… that our family is not going to hold back our decorations, our activities, our thoughtfulness, our Scripture reading, our celebration! We are going to talk about it, read about, craft about it, and tell others about it. And I am going to do my best to make it exciting and fun…

You have probably been to some type of ceremony or boring class where you think to yourself, “let’s get all of this out of the way so we can have fun!” No, it is not in my nature to let our “traditions” become ho-hum. People naturally get attached to things that are the same, but my goal is to create great activities that help our children learn from God’s Word the wonderful significance of our Saviour. If you get bored with holidays and tired of all the parties and festivities, do not let this be the holiday that you push aside and forget about. Forget about another boring holiday instead (ahem, Earth Day)!

I’ve combed through Pinterest to find some ideas on activities we can do to celebrate the Resurrection of Christ and there are some great ideas out there! Then, there are the not so great ones but I like altering ideas to be more Christ-centered. And I have just been asking myself why there are so many websites done by non-Baptists that have wonderful activities that have to do with the Bible, including the Resurrection, but incorporate their doctrine and taint the purity of God’s Word. There are not many Baptists posting what they are doing with their families and encouraging people to put God into every aspect of their lives. I am going to do more to encourage Bible believers not to separate their beliefs from their holiday activities, to incorporate God more, and leave the traditions that leave God out, out!

Some people think I am a party pooper for not letting our kids do certain types of activities throughout the year and that is fine with me. We are fun, we are purposeful, we are integrating our beliefs from God’s Word into the holidays that are meaningful to us. We chose to eat fish one night and tell the kids about how Peter denied Christ and how Jesus came to where he was and stood on the shore and called out to him. Then they had a fish breakfast together and Jesus asked him if he loved Him and told him to feed His lambs. After they listened to the story the light turned on for them that we had planned that meal to tell a story.

One of the greatest gifts I received after going to Bible College was not only being in a Christian environment 24/7 but the gift of understanding, after going to public school my entire school career, that you can integrate the Bible into every school subject. God fits in science because He created the laws of science, He created the mathematical equations so He can show up in our math problems, He speaks about body and our health, and the importance of being wise with money in business. It was one of the wow factors, that I no longer had to separate God from school and only involve Him in home and church life. That is why I believe strongly in Christian education and doing things like taking special time out of our weeks and months and showing them how special God is. The gifts that He gave us can simply be learned through our spending time together as a family decorating the house and coloring a picture. It’s a wonderful thing to take the time to tie the strings to your child’s heart and allow them to ask questions in a safe environment about spiritual matters.

Not only are they growing from it, God is becoming more meaningful to me!

I would encourage you, not to go off the deep end but to choose an activity and find a special thing to merge God into the big picture of your holiday or choose a specific holiday and find new and creative Christ-centered activities to introduce into your traditions. If you do it right and plan it will make your special times together learning about God more meaningful!