HAPPY Easter! : )

i feel like this has been my best Easter yet!  i have lots of great memories of candy, baskets, eggs, primary activities, egg hunts, dinners at grandma's, tv specials, etc.  i wouldn't trade those memories away, but i'm grateful that i've started to grow up enough to appreciate Easter for what it really is.  Jesus Christ has always been part of Easter to me, but as a child those talks, lessons, and even watching Easter Dream were all things just to be gotten through or endured so that i could dig around the fake grass to find the "good" candies : )

here we are at the temple this last saturday!  we enjoyed a really nice endowment session then went to the interstake center on the temple grounds right after for an afternoon performance of "Lamb of God."  it was a beautiful musical representation of the Savior's final days, the Atonement, and Resurrection.  complete with a full choir, soloists, narration, an orchestra, we really liked it!

i saw a link on facebook from LDS Living that was something like 4 ways to.. ok, i just looked it up for you : )  it's, "4 Easter Traditions to Bring Your Family Closer to Christ."  i liked their suggestions and felt like will and i had already pretty much been doing those things, so i felt good about it and thought something like, "yeah, no wonder Easter has been so good this year!"

a long time ago, like 1 1/2 to 2 years ago (that kind of long time ago : ), a good friend said something about how her family did this thing where they started at Christmas and went through Easter following the Savior's life.  they did it for family home evening and it included reading scriptures/looking at pictures/watching videos/etc.  so then this last Christmas season i remembered that and was interested so i asked her about it.  she sent us her basic schedule and some notes that she used for teaching their young son.  we were excited about it, so we started using it right after Christmas and each week in family home evening read scriptures and watched Life of Christ Bible videos to go along with it.  sometimes we'd stretch it out and do more throughout the week as part of our reading.  this probably goes without saying, but it was REALLY nice!  especially these last few weeks leading up to Easter as we've read about the last weeks and days of the Savior's mortal life.  i found myself all throughout the beginning of april so excited to get to Easter because i knew what was coming!

along with our devotionals about the Savior's life we've had our "normal" music, but a few other things, too.  a few times we've watched Music and the Spoken Word, there was General Conference music, and we've probably heard the Mormon Tabernacle Choir cd (Consider the Lillies) that's in the car 23523 times now.. : )  it usually just runs on sundays and when we're driving to/from the temple, but we haven't changed it out for a while, so we've heard it a lot.  there are many nice songs on there most of which are about Christ.  my favorite one on there is I Believe in Christ.  i'm always hoping that we'll get to track 13 while we're in the car!  (i know i could skip... : )  my favorite verse in it right now is the fourth:

I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did an online campaign called "Because of Him."  (with a hashtag : )  i think that verse means a lot to me right now because i know that because of Him everything will be made right in the end.  every promised blessing will come.  everything that is hard now can be and will be made "light" because of Him.  because i know that i will be resurrected just like our Savior and i can live with my family forever and have eternal joy and increase i can be strengthened through my challenges now.  because our Savior lived a perfect life and submitted His will to the Father and atoned for my sins and shortcomings i can be redeemed if i choose to follow Him.

it's still the Easter season!  it's not over!  the signs of spring and renewal are still all around.  these reminders of rebirth and God's love for us are abundant and i'm so grateful!  keep celebrating Easter!  keep gratitude and faith in our Savior strong in your heart!  this is what it's all about!

a couple days ago i read a thing or two online where the writers said they liked Easter better than Christmas.  i don't think i would have understood that most of  my life.  now i do.  i completely understand it!  Christmas will always be special and i will love it for many reasons, but the JOY of Easter is what it's all about.  it's about eternal families LIVING happily together with our souls and perfect bodies reunited living in Celestial glory in the presence of our loving Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ.  i know this is true and i am so grateful for our loving Heavenly Father and His perfect plan for us, His children!

In a Christmas message in 2000, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, "There would be no Christmas if there had not been Easter.  The baby Jesus of Bethlehem would be but another baby without the redeeming Christ of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the triumphant fact of the Resurrection."


so... i'm not saying don't have fun family traditions!  i love traditions!  we've enjoyed eating our "easter" candy and we dyed eggs.  just keep in mind what it's really all about!  it really is a joyful holiday - much more than i understood as a child!  i found this while preparing for a primary lesson i subbed on sunday...

HAPPY Easter! : )