Thinking through Easter...

I've been thinking a lot about Easter in the run-up over the past few weeks. It's the biggest celebration of the year for us as Christians, bigger than christmas, and yet we make so little deal of it in comparison. It seems weird that we make such a big deal of Advent, and yet there's no equivalent for Easter. If I'm honest, in years gone by, Easter has sometimes been and gone with me barely batting an eyelid. There's something seriously wrong with that...

Since Ava was born, I've been trying to think more meaningfully about what we do as a family and why. Jesus death and resurrection is the biggest deal in our lives. For David and I, it is absolutely central... how do you convey that to a child?

I'm only really at the beginning of thinking this through... I have time. Ava's not old enough to have a clue what's going on yet, but she will by next year, and even this year, I just wanted to make the simple point to her that Easter is special.

So I thought we'd start a new tradition: an Easter breakfast.

You know that feeling as a kid, at Christmas, when your desperate to get down the stairs to see if Santa's been? I wanted to create something similar... but not because there are presents waiting, or because someone's been in the night, but because I want that sense of expectation, of excitement... that something special has happened/is happening.

Jesus is alive.

So this morning we had our Easter breakfast... we came down to a decorated table, to little baskets of chocolate eggs (or rusks for Ava! Tutorial on them tomorrow!), we read the Easter story, we prayed together and sang some Easter songs. By the time we went to church, I had focussed my mind, and was so excited to meet with God's people and celebrate the fact that our Saviour is not dead...

He is Risen!