4 days till Easter....

JOHN 18:12-40

¹² So the soldiers, their commanding officer, and the Temple guards arrested Jesus and tied him up. ¹³ First they took him to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest at that time. ¹⁴ Caiaphas was the one who had told the other Jewish leaders, “It’s better that one man should die for the people.” ¹⁵ Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest’s courtyard with Jesus. ¹⁶ Peter had to stay outside the gate. Then the disciple who knew the high priest spoke to the woman watching at the gate, and she let Peter in. ¹⁷ The woman asked Peter, “You’re not one of that man’s disciples, are you?” “No,” he said, “I am not.” ¹⁸ Because it was cold, the household servants and the guards had made a charcoal fire. They stood around it, warming themselves, and Peter stood with them, warming himself.

¹⁹ Inside, the high priest began asking Jesus about his followers and what he had been teaching them. ²⁰ Jesus replied, “Everyone knows what I teach. I have preached regularly in the synagogues and the Temple, where the people gather. I have not spoken in secret. ²¹ Why are you asking me this question? Ask those who heard me. They know what I said.” ²² Then one of the Temple guards standing nearby slapped Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded. ²³ Jesus replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?” ²⁴ Then Annas bound Jesus and sent him to Caiaphas, the high priest. ²⁵ Meanwhile, as Simon Peter was standing by the fire warming himself, they asked him again, “You’re not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it, saying, “No, I am not.” ²⁶ But one of the household slaves of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Didn’t I see you out there in the olive grove with Jesus?” ²⁷ Again Peter denied it. And immediately a rooster crowed.

²⁸ Jesus’ trial before Caiaphas ended in the early hours of the morning. Then he was taken to the headquarters of the Roman governor. His accusers didn’t go inside because it would defile them, and they wouldn’t be allowed to celebrate the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked, “What is your charge against this man?” ³⁰ “We wouldn’t have handed him over to you if he weren’t a criminal!” they retorted. ³¹ “Then take him away and judge him by your own law,” Pilate told them. “Only the Romans are permitted to execute someone,” the Jewish leaders replied.³² (This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction about the way he would die.) ³³ Then Pilate went back into his headquarters and called for Jesus to be brought to him. “Are you the king of the Jews?” he asked him. ³⁴ Jesus replied, “Is this your own question, or did others tell you about me?” ³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate retorted. “Your own people and their leading priests brought you to me for trial. Why? What have you done?” ³⁶ Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.” ³⁷ Pilate said, “So you are a king?” Jesus responded, “You say I am a king. Actually, I was born and came into the world to testify to the truth. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true.” ³⁸ “What is truth?” Pilate asked. Then he went out again to the people and told them, “He is not guilty of any crime. ³⁹ But you have a custom of asking me to release one prisoner each year at Passover. Would you like me to release this ‘King of the Jews’?” ⁴⁰ But they shouted back, “No! Not this man. We want Barabbas!” (Barabbas was a revolutionary.)

Activity: Game -True or or a Lie (False) = You tell me something and the rest of us will tell you if it is true or false. After the game talk about how Jesus said if we love the truth we will recognize what He says is true. Talk about some things that Jesus said about Himself and the prophesies about Him and if they were/are true. Elijah liked this game especially since we have already been discussing the difference between a lie and the truth anyway!

Art Project: Make a rooster picture with a piece of paper, leaves, scissors, and glue. Talk about what Jesus said Peter was going to do and what He did. Talk about why the reasons why Peter lied and denied he knew Jesus. We know the truth about Jesus and we should never deny it even if we face some of the same things that Peter faced.

For those of you who are doing "EASTER !" banners or garlands you may be wondering where your "t" art project is it will come on Friday in the form of the cross...

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love and joy... 9 days till easter!!!

remaining in HIM = true joy

I know He is the source of joy... the creator of it.... so of course only He would know how to truly attain it and He said... live in ME.... then you will be more than happy..you will have joy... contentment despite any circumstances... peace despite the storm... I want to live that way ....with every breath... IN HIM!

John 15:1-17(One of Jesus’ messages the week before his death and resurrection)

“I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. ² He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more. ³ You have already been pruned and purified by the message I have given you. ⁴ Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. ⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. ⁹ “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. ¹⁰ When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. ¹¹ I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ¹² This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. ¹³ There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. ¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command. ¹⁵ I no longer call you slaves, because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me. ¹⁶ You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. ¹⁷ This is my command: Love each other.

OUR ACTIVITY/ART PROJECT FOR THE DAY.... share the JOY!!!

How to make Empty Tomb Eggs:

PART #1: You will need - eggs, tack or pin/possibly exacto knife, and container. Poke a small hole on one end of the egg and poke a larger one on the other end. Put your mouth around the small end and blow like you are blowing up a balloon and put it over your container so that all the yoke comes out in the container (you may need to break the yoke with the pin to be able to blow it out.) Let dry or dry with blow dryer on cool mode. Must be dry before dying.

PART #2: You will need – food coloring, ½ c water per color using , dipping containers, tbsp of vinegar per color using, for special effects you will need- decoupage and funky paper, white crayon, and/or tape. Mix water, vinegar and enough food coloring till you reach your desired color. Start dying with light colors first then go to dark. Dip the egg in the dye for at least 30 sec. For special effects you can color a pattern with white crayon first then place egg in dye the pattern will show up or put tape around it before dipping it - it may bleed a little through the tape but still looks cool. Let dry or dry with blow dryer on cool mode.

PART#3: “To be cracked open on Easter morning" You can print this label below or make your own and glue it on egg. Inside the egg we inserted a paper with the easter story on it(content at end of this post). After we printed it we had to fold and roll it up very tight to get it in the egg. But it will a nice surprise on Easter morning for some very special people.

PART#4: Give them out or make up a little Easter basket and bless people that may not really know the Easter story. See my hubby helping the boys along their assembly line... though Jeriah, i think, was eating more than he was helping.

We gave them away to lots of special people and we even left 3 as Trail Magic for our Appalachian Hikers that pass through this area. :)

Easter story that we stuffed in the EMPTY TOMB EGG:

Just like this egg is empty of life so was a man’s tomb over 2,000 years ago and that empty tomb changed the world. You see, there was a man, like you and me, that lived here on this earth long ago. He was different than us though in that He really loved everyone even if it hurt Him. He did everything that God asked Him to do and nothing that God asked Him not to do. He healed the sick, blind, even brought people back to life. Everyone knew He was special. Some religious leaders were mad at Him. They plotted to kill Him yet He seemed to know it was going to happen and was okay with it. Three days after they brutally killed Him, He came back to life. When His friends came to cry over His dead body the stone in front of His grave was rolled away and His grave was empty. Nothing could destroy Him, not even death! The secret about this man is that He was God’s plan. You see since God created people we have all done things against Him… acting like we don’t need Him even though He is the ALL POWERFUL creator God and He made us to need Him. He created us to have a relationship with Him but because of our pride and the things we do against Him we can’t. He is perfect and we are not. So God came in the form of a man to this earth so He could know what our life was like, the hardships, the temptations, the heartache, the hope. He knew we could never earn our way to this relationship with Him. We could never be perfect. So He, being perfect, died where we should have so that we could have a relationship with HIM, OUR CREATOR. This is the story of Jesus. It is a wonderful story and history proofs this story is true. Through Jesus everyone has a choice… we can choose to follow Him and be His friend, or choose to do life on our own. So the question is do you want to be YOUR CREATOR GOD’S friend and fulfill the purpose He created you for, or do you want to try to be boss of your own life and act like Jesus never came? The decision you make effects not only this life but the one after your earthly body is gone. I share with you this story because Jesus is real and through Him I have a friendship with God. Please read the account of Easter in these parts of the Bible… 2 Peter 1:16-21, Colossians 1:15-22, Romans 3:17-23,31 , Romans 6:23, John 13:1-17, MATTHEW 26:17-25, Matthew 26:36-56, JOHN 18:12-40, John 19:1-27, Luke 23:32-43, Matthew 27:45-66, Matthew 28:1-15. This may sound crazy… but if you so dare, ask God if this is true to show you and help you see Him as He really is. Be prepared I know He will.

sheep.... 10 days...

Easter children DVDs: There are definitely others out there but these are the ones i have or have watched.

The Greatest Adventures ever Told: The EASTER story

*** This is a pretty accurate match to the Gospel of Mark. We really liked it... i am just not so keen on the " 80s hollywood/brad pitt" look given to Jesus... they could of made the character a little more Jewish looking...other than that very accurate and the kids liked it.

Read and Share DVD Bible

**** This is a great little person version in very simplistic story format. All of these videos in the series are good for little little ones.

Greatest Heroes and Legends of the Bible

*** I am about 70% pro on these. I really like that i have 15 videos in one package.. and the boys really like watching them and they are about 90% biblically accurate and 10% what might have been historically... which for children's material is understandable when trying to story tell. We actually haven't watched the Death, burial, and resurrection one yet... waiting till tomorrow night to watch it as a family. :)

if you order the set of 15 you will have to go to the set up menu first and get yourself on English audio.

WHAT WAS IN OUR EGG TODAY?....

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Matthew 25:31 -46 (One of Jesus’ messages the week before his death and resurrection)

³¹ “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. ³² All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. ³⁵ For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’

³⁷ “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸ Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? ³⁹ When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ ⁴⁰ “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

⁴¹ “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. ⁴² For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. ⁴³ I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ ⁴⁴ “Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ ⁴⁵ “And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’ ⁴⁶ “And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”

Activity: Think of someone that has a need together and help meet that need (make a dinner for them, get clothes together for their children, etc.) Together with your child prepare the gift and tell them that when we do this for that person we are really doing it for Jesus!

Art project: To make a sheep do the following: you will need - cardboard tube, cotton balls, some black wire, black crayon, glue, and scissors. cut out shape of sheep, poke wire through for feet and ears, color face black leaving eyes, and glue cotton balls on the outside. When we choose to believe God is who He says he is and to follow Him we become His sheep (His followers) and He becomes our Shepherd (our leader). In the story what was Jesus saying that His followers did? “For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. ³⁶ I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’” When we show love to others we show love to HIM!

pretty good for a 3 1/2 year old, ey?

Jesus' hardcore message... 11 days till easter

Now this next lesson is a little hardcore for a 3 1/2 year old... but i want my kids, from a young age, to know the difference between religion and truly following and being Jesus' friend. And not just knowing about Him but know that they can know Him personally and what that looks like.

Plus they are Jesus' words and He did say them days before He died and rose again... so we know they are important. And they help us understand the religious leaders that played such a big role in His crucifixion.

OUR PRIDEFUL RELIGION

Matthew 23:1-12, 23-28 (One of Jesus’ messages the week before his death and resurrection)

¹ Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ² “The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. ³ So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. ⁴ They crush people with unbearable religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. ⁵ “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. ⁶ And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. ⁷ They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’

⁸ “Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. ⁹ And don’t address anyone here on earth as ‘Father,’ for only God in heaven is your spiritual Father. ¹⁰ And don’t let anyone call you ‘Teacher,’ for you have only one teacher, the Messiah. ¹¹ The greatest among you must be a servant. ¹² But those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! ²⁵ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! ²⁶ You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. ²⁷ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. ²⁸ Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Activity: Dress up dinner. Have the kids (and you too!) pick out a costume and where it to dinner. Talk about who they are pretending to be and what that person does. Then talk about the story and how the Religious leaders were pretending to know God but they really didn’t. Jesus wants us to really know Him and be like Him. They were stuck up in their traditions and trying to be good in their own eyes that they missed the whole point… and ultimately missed the predicted Messiah = Jesus.

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Art Project: You will need Sharpies and a mug or cup. Have them draw pretty spring things on the out side of the mug. After they are done on the inside place some mud. (I sit it at the dinner table and it was Elijah surprise..."HEY...there dirt in there!!" - E) Talk about what Jesus said... that the people were pretty on the outside but dirty deep down on the inside. God looks at the inside of our heart… why we do what we do and what we do when nobody is looking… that we need Him for our insides to be clean.. we need his help to live honorable. Then wash the cup out together and drink out of it at your dress up dinner.

a dozen eggs till easter

OUR HUMBLE KING (as predicted 600 years before Jesus’s birth)

Matthew 21:1-11

¹ As Jesus and the disciples approached Jerusalem, they came to the town of Bethphage on the Mount of Olives. Jesus sent two of them on ahead. ² “Go into the village over there,” he said. “As soon as you enter it, you will see a donkey tied there, with its colt beside it. Untie them and bring them to me. ³ If anyone asks what you are doing, just say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will immediately let you take them.” ⁴ This took place to fulfill the prophecy that said, ⁵ “Tell the people of Israel, ‘Look, your King is coming to you. He is humble, riding on a donkey, riding on a donkey’s colt.’” ⁶ The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. ⁷ They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt, and he sat on it. ⁸ Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹ Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” ¹⁰ The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. ¹¹ And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Activity: Even though Jesus is the King of the world and universe he was born like we were from a mommy and in a stable, a place where animals ate. He is a very humble King. Talk about things that kings rode in the time of Jesus to enter a town and talk about what Jesus rode on… a humble donkey… we are taking the boys to go see a live donkey at a local farm.. but if you can’t do that then this you tube videos can help the kids understand what a donkey is. Talk about what it means to be humble… Jesus knew who he is, GOD, yet He served us and put others before Himself... He was more concerned about others than Himself.

This Sunday (Palm Sunday) we are doing some things to remember what happened that day long ago. We are going to cut branches and lay down our coats on our porch shout what they shouted long ago “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” I want the kids to picture the story so they won't forget our humble KING!

I know you might think I am crazy… but well…. I am crazy in love with my Creator! If you read this blog and you don’t really know Him… maybe just about Him ...ask God to show you Himself and to help you to see HIM as He really is, not only in your head but your heart too…. and I know He will. Because He has been loving you since before time and been pursuing a relationship with you since you were in your mother’s womb. :)

Art Project: JESUS BANNER cut some old material in a large rectangle and write the name of Jesus in pencil and have them paint the letters in. Or you can use fabric glue and scrap material to make the letters. (Great to hang on your door or on a cross outside your home the weekend of EASTER.)

Food: Animal Crackers…the horse looks a lot like a donkey!

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14 days

Galatians 4:1-7

¹ Think of it this way. If a father dies and leaves an inheritance for his young children, those children are not much better off than slaves until they grow up, even though they actually own everything their father had. ² They have to obey their guardians until they reach whatever age their father set. ³ And that’s the way it was with us before Christ came. We were like children; we were slaves to the basic spiritual principles of this world. ⁴ But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. ⁵ God sent him to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. ⁶ And because we are his children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, prompting us to call out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷ Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.

Activity: Night Tag (Outside or in a clean house- can get dangerous). Rules to the Game: All of us are in darkness and the “Abba or Daddy” has to find us in the darkness if he finds and tags us then we are on His team (His children) and we can go hunt for the other people in the darkness together. After the game is played a few times. Talk about how it fell to be in the darkness all alone and then how it felt to be on “Abba’s” team. Talk about the relationship that God has for us… he wants to call us his children. Even though we don’t deserve it.. He still loves us that much!!

Art Project: 2 colors of paint and blank sheet of paper. Have them put one single hand print on the sheet of paper. Talk about how everybody lets the other people that do not know God tell them what to do and not do. We kinda make them our daddy or our boss and we are trapped. We live without God, alone, because we are not good like He is, we can’t be good like that, so we live like slaves to those other people BUT because God loved us so much He sent his son Jesus to buy our freedom. It cost Him His life. He loves us that much. Jesus bought us from those people and those bad things “the world”. And when we choose to follow God He makes us His children. God adopted us. Take your hand in the other color paint and place it over their hand on the paper making a heart. It is because of His great love that we can now be his son or daughter.

I inserted our story here…. Like our little baby sister or brother is trapped in place where they are alone and they need us… so we are doing everything we can to get to them and bring them into our family and they will be just like you and Jeriah are…daddy and mommies for life.

Food: It is hard to describe adoption with food if you have any ideas please comment them below!... i think the best way to describe this verse is simply to adopt... then they will get it. :)