Family Alive

Ok, I know it’s almost too late for this to do anyone any good, but I just stumbled across some pretty Easter basket ideas. If I didn’t have such a busy day tomorrow, I’d make some of these pretty Thread Eggs to fill these Ruffled Paper Baskets.

My other Easter idea is one I’m excited to do next year. They’re called Resurrection Cookies, and they look like they’ll be a wonderful tradition of telling the Easter story through baking a sweet treat the night before Easter. Here’s the directions cut and pasted from the Family Life website:

We recommend baking these cookies on the Saturday night before Easter. But before you start, read the full recipe and collect all the materials and ingredients needed. As you make the cookies with your child, read aloud the Scripture story of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection where inserted in the recipe (highlighted in black after each numbered direction).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pecan halves
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 3 egg whites (room temperature for best results)
• pinch of salt
• 1-cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300°F degrees. Place the pecans in a plastic freezer bag. Let your child break the pecans into small pieces by beating them with a wooden spoon. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, Roman soldiers beat him.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him whipped. The soldiers twisted thorns together to make a crown. They put it on Jesus’ head. Then they put a purple robe on Him. They went up to Him again and again. They kept saying, “We honor you, king of the Jews!” And they hit Him in the face. John 19:1-3(NlrV)

2. Now, ask your child to smell and taste the vinegar. Add 1 teaspoon vinegar to a bowl. Explain that Jesus was offered vinegar to drink while He hung on the cross.

Later Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” He knew that everything was now finished. He knew that what Scripture said must come true. A jar of wine vinegar was there. So they soaked a sponge in it. They put the sponge on a stem of the hyssop plant. Then they lifted it up to Jesus’ lips.
After Jesus drank he said, “It is finished.” Then He bowed His head and died. John 19:28-30(NlrV)

3. Add the 3 egg whites to the vinegar. Discuss with your child that eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave his life in order to give us life.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so they can have life. I want them to have it in the fullest possible way.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:10-11 (NlrV)

4. Sprinkle a pinch of salt into your child’s hands. Allow them to taste a tiny bit and shake the remainder into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus’ followers.

A large number of people followed Jesus. Some were women whose hearts were filled with sorrow. They cried loudly because of Him. Luke 23:27 (NlrV)

5. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar to the bowl while beating ingredients on high with a mixer. Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us. He wants us to know we belong to Him.

Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who goes to Him for safety. Psalm 34:8 (NlrV)

God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son. Anyone who believes in Him will not die but will have eternal life. John 3:16 (NlrV)

6. Egg whites are ready when they are glossy, white, and stiff peaks form (peaks stand straight when beaters are removed). Share how the color white represents purity and how Jesus can cleanse us of our sins.

“Come. Let us talk some more about this matter,” said the Lord. “Even though your sins are bright red, they will be white as snow. Even though they are deep red, they will be white like wool.” Isaiah 1:18 (NlrV)

7. Now, add the nuts and fold in gently. Drop the mixture by teaspoon on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. Explain that these mounds represent the rocky tomb where Jesus’ body was laid.

As evening approached, a rich man came from the town of Arimathea. His name was Joseph. He had become a follower of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Pilate ordered that it be given to him.

Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth. He placed it in his own tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb. Then he went away. Matthew 27:57-60 (NlrV)

8. Put the cookie sheet in the oven. Then close the door and turn the oven off immediately.

“Take some guards with you,” Pilate answered. “Go. Make the tomb as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure. They put a seal on the stone and placed some guards on duty. Matthew 27:65-66 (NlrV)

10. Go to bed! Explain that your child may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. To a much greater extent Jesus’ friends were sad when He died and was placed in the tomb.

“What I’m about to tell you is true. You will cry and be full of sorrow while the world is full of joy. You will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy.”

“That’s the way it is with you. Now it’s your time to be sad. But I will see you again. Then you will be full of joy. And no one will take your joy away.” John 16:20 & 22 (NlrV)

11. Do not open the oven until the following morning. Allow your children to examine the cookies. They will form small mounds and have a cracked side. When the children taste them, they will discover that the cookies are hollow representing that on the first Easter, Jesus’ friends were surprised to find the tomb empty.

The Sabbath day was not over. It was dawn on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb. He rolled back the stone and sat on it. His body shone like lightning. His clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

The angel said to the women, “Don’t be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here! He has risen, just as He said He would! Come and see the place where He was lying. Go quickly! Tell His disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead. He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.’ Now I have told you.”

So the women hurried away from the tomb. They were afraid, but they were filled with joy. They ran to tell the disciples.

Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings!” He said.

They came to Him, took hold of his feet and worshipped Him. Matthew 28:1-9 NlrV)