Easter Advent Activity

In our house, we try to make sure Easter is more about Jesus than the Easter Bunny. Don't get me wrong, we like the Easter Bunny as much as anyone, but he's not what Easter is all about.

Our kids are still pretty young, and we still enjoy some of the basic traditions, like egg hunting and basket finding, but we also try to focus on the Savior as much as possible.

In our baskets, we've asked the Easter Bunny to bring things that help our children understand or learn more about Jesus or that will help them make Sunday a more reverent day (in addition to the candy, because, let's be real, the candy is just awesome, too).

But we also do other things as well, such as this Easter Egg Advent Activity. It's such a simple, easy way to teach our children about Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. Our kids love participating and learning a bit more. You can make it as simple or as elaborate as you want. The trick isn't in how fancy it looks, but that they learn about Jesus.

I honestly cannot remember or find where I originally found this idea (if it's yours, let me know!). So I just typed it up and you can find instructions and the printout here.

A couple of other ideas for trying to keep Easter focused on Jesus is this FHE lesson from A Year of FHE, with printables for both young and older kids. We also love making these Empty Tomb Rolls or Resurrection Rolls. They are yummy and easy, and another very visual way to explain how important Christ's empty tomb is.

What are some of your Easter traditions? I'd love to hear!

Eclipsing the SON

NOTE: Elder Gary E. Stevenson spoke about this very thing in General Conference this October! Click Spiritual Eclipse to read his more eloquent and much better thoughts on being eclipsed spiritually. 

Were any of you able to view the Solar Eclipse on Monday? My little town was right in the path of totality, so we were among the lucky ones to view the total eclipse right from our backyard. It was phenomenal! I don't think I have words adequate enough to describe how unbelievable it was. Whoever invented the word "astronomical" probably did so right after seeing a total solar eclipse.

Don't mind my sub-par phone eclipse photos. I did the best I could. :)

My mom, who was also here for the eclipse, kept saying "I can't believe how dark and cold it got when the moon covered the sun!"

While I was watching during totality, I was immediately struck by a spiritual parallel, that started with the question, "do I ever let something come between myself and the Savior?"

It made me realize that even little things (as the moon is minuscule in comparison to the size of the sun) can "eclipse" our view of the Savior. They can cause the light we see by and the warmth we feel to be changed. Our very perceptions can be changed (in my neighborhood, a few dogs started going crazy when the sun was fully eclipsed).

I've been thinking a lot about those things that we allow to "eclipse the Son" in our lives. Maybe things like fear, anger, procrastination, holding a grudge, getting our priorities mixed up are all things that can "eclipse the Son" in our lives. What do you think can cause you to eclipse your relationship with the Savior and Heavenly Father?

I know that when we keep ourselves in proper alignment with the Savior and remember to look to Him, we will always be able to see things clearly and feel the power that comes from His Atonement. 

Jesus Loves Me

Yesterday I finished reading the book, "Eliza: The Life and Faith of Eliza R. Snow" by Karen Lynn Davidson and Jill Mulvay Derr. It's a great book, an easy read, with an inspiring subject. Eliza is truly a person to emulate and I loved learning more about her. One of the things I loved reading was her poetry.

I really enjoy poetry. I'm no English expert and there is a lot of poetry I don't understand, but I still enjoy it. I have a few volumes of poetry on my shelf that I read from time to time. But one particular volume is dear to my heart. It is a one inch, three ring binder and is bursting at the seams with poems--that I wrote. I began writing poetry almost 20 years ago. The very first poem in my binder was written in 1997. I began writing poetry as a means of expressing my innermost feelings. Most of the poetry in this binder has never been read by another person.

I apparently go through bursts of writing, as there are clusters of poems all composed in the same year or two period and then there are breaks of time where no poems exist (at least not in my binder). I've recently begun writing poems again and I've decided to share some of these new poems on this blog, in addition to a few of my old ones.

To begin this poetry label, I thought I'd share my very first poem. I was only around ten years old when I wrote this poem! My notes included with this poem say, "This is the first real poem I ever remember writing. I was about 10 years old, and it was late at night when I was overwhelmed by a feeling of love! This poem is the result of that night, when I felt the love of my Savior, Jesus Christ!" Aside from a few small edits, this poem is as it was originally written.

Jesus Loves Me

Jesus loves me and I love Him!

He died for us to be with Him once again.

If He did not love me then He would not have come,

and died for us to go to the place we long came from.

Now because of Jesus' love, we can always do what's right

and live with God again in His heavenly love and light.

With His example for all of us we should all love too.

So let us try to love each one as much as He loves you!

(C) Jessica Harwood, 1997

Temples & Covenants

As I said in my last post, Dan and I attended his niece's sealing in the Rexburg Temple just a couple weekends ago. It had been a long time since I'd been to the temple! Our temple has been under renovation for a year and a half, and I've had a nursing baby until just recently, so driving to another temple and waiting and doing the work there just didn't feel like it was in the cards for me for awhile. In fact, we realized the Sunday before the niece's wedding (she was married on a Saturday) that my recommend expired at the end of August. Of course her wedding would be only three days later! I scrambled and called and texted and managed to get last minute appointments with members of my bishopric and stake presidency. I was feeling so happy to have that recommend renewed! Not only because it meant I would be able to attend the sealing but because I just felt so peaceful, so assured, so happy to have that recommend in my hand.

The questions asked in a temple recommend interview are the same at both the ward and stake levels. I suppose these questions could feel redundant; after all, when you go in for your stake appointment, you've only just been asked the same questions by the bishopric. But I love every single question in that interview. As I answered the questions being asked to me (during both interviews), I felt an overwhelming warmth spread through my chest and an incredible happiness in my soul. It was like I was bearing my testimony to those men, telling them that I do believe in God, my Heavenly Father; I do have a testimony in the Atonement of Jesus Christ and Him as my Savior; I do support and sustain the prophets and all the leaders God has called. I wish I had the words to describe how wonderful it felt to say YES! I do have a testimony! Each interview lasted fewer than five minutes, but each time I felt a witness of the Holy Ghost and a reaffirmation of my testimony. It was a beautiful experience for me.

At our niece's sealing, I again felt the spirit so strongly! Oh, how I love being in the temple! The sealer took the opportunity to talk to the couple (and everyone else) about the covenants and ordinances we make as members of the church, with the covenant of baptism being the first. He mentioned that, in the temple, the floor where we perform proxy baptisms is the very bottom, symbolizing that baptism is the bottom rung of the covenant/ordinance ladder, the first step we must take on our journey back to God and the Celestial Kingdom. Then he talked about how every other ordinance and covenant we make is built on one another. The order of the ordinances and the wording of them became so much clearer to me in that moment! Because of the sacred nature of the covenants and ordinances in the temple, I won't go into details about those things, but it was a very clear experience for me. Each ordinance is necessary, vital, as we move up the ordinance ladder, but then it isn't truly complete without the next ordinance. And every single ordinance, every thing we teach and learn as members of the Church, is to get us to the top floor, to the ordinance of the Sealing. Family is the ultimate goal. Every single thing leads us to families and the creation of our own family. Everything! What a powerful, beautiful truth this is! Every single thing we do in life, everything God wants for us and asks of us, leads us to the ultimate happiness--because there is truly nothing that brings more joy than our families.

Fear and Knowledge

Elder Nattress shared with us a story of asking the brethren a question at an area meeting he attended. He asked them, "What can we teach the youth of this world, with everything going to crazy and spiriling downward?" {this question is paraphrased ... I didn't write down the exact question word for word}

After asking this question, Elder Hales stood {I believe that's who he said was there} and said, "I'd like to answer that questions. I would teach the youth to love their Savior; I would teach them who they are; and I would teach them about the sacrament."

I thought this quote was so amazing, because it immediately gave me three things to thing about in regards to my testimony of them and my ability to teach my own children someday about them. I wondered if my own testimony was strong enough to teach these concepts to my children so that they can be strong, and also so that I can be strong.

Then after sharing that thought from Elder Hales, Elder Nattress said:

"You'll never see fear in the eyes of the brethren because they know who they are and they know our Savior."

This is so powerful! I may not be an apostle and I know I have much to learn in this life, but this thought was so powerful to me and really made me realize just what a testimony of these two things alone does for a person. I don't want to be afraid of things going on in the world - I don't want to worry all the time about things I can't control. I know how I can combat that fear: faith. But this thought really helped me to understand just how faith keeps us from being afraid. If we have a strong testimony of our Savior and His mission & Atonement and we understand and have a testimony of our relationship to our Heavenly Father, then fear just won't be a part of who we are - just that alone strengthens me and helps me to not be afraid.