Passover!

So much happens on the Thursday before Easter! I usually am pretty overwhelmed on what to do this day because there is just so much to do!! So this year I decided to keep the boys home from school in the morning so we could just take some time to focus on Jesus and just truly experience Him!! We started out our morning working in our Prayer Garden that we dedicated to Jesus! We talked about how Jesus went to the garden to pray! How He pleaded with the Lord to take this from Him! How He just needed time to talk to His Father! How the disciples fell asleep three times when Jesus needed them to be alert and pray for Him! So we decided that our prayer garden would be a place where the boys could plant whatever flowers they would like and help keep it up! It would also be a special place for them to go and pray or just sit and talk with God during times of happiness, times of stress, of sadness, confusion, just time to be close to Him! We put our stepping stones that we have made over the years and then we put our Jesus stepping stone in the very middle dedicating our garden to Him!

The boys then helped me fill up some easter eggs for friends! We talked about how this was a way for them to serve me and their friends by helping me! Just like Jesus came to serve! His prime example that He showed us was by washing the disciples feet!

After that we sat down and we had the "Last Lunch!" I normally do a big last supper with our family, but we had some dear friends in town from Florida and were having a big cook out for them that night! I knew I wanted to do a last supper some how with the boys and it just came to me to do a last lunch!!! I think it might have been my favorite thing this week to do!! We all sat down on the floor like Jesus and His followers probably did! I took 3 egg cartons and put 12 easter eggs in them and filled the eggs with different things that reminded us of Jesus or God!! I put animal cracker in one to remind us of Noah and the Ark and how God always keeps His promises, even keeping HIs promise for a Savior, A King to save us all, even if it meant His son had to die on the cross for our sins, He kept His promise! Then I had one full of goldfish! I asked the boys what story they thought of in the bible! Jantzen thought it was when Jesus helped them catch fish! It was actually for when jesus fed the 5,000 with a fish and loaves of bread!! We then tried to smash 1 of our goldfish into 5,000 pieces to see if we could feed 5,000 off of 1 fish!! Needless to say we did not get close!!! But it was a great example of what a miracle it was!!! Grapes were in another egg! It reminds us that He is the vine and we are the branches! That we need to remain in Him!! I had graham cracker in one egg that reminded us of His body that was broken for us on the cross! We drank a grape juice box which reminds us of His blood poured out for our sin. The eggs symbolized the new life that He gave us when He died on the cross! I'm sure I'm leaving something out, but you get the point! It was just such a sweet time to just sit and talk with the boys and eat our "Last Lunch" together!! We watched a cute little movie about Jesus and His life while we ate!! It was a precious memory I will always hold dear!!

"He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” Matthew 26:39

Planting our seed that we planted into pots the first week of lent that reminded us that we were made out of the dirt of the ground!!! Jaxson's seed went crazy!!

Here is Jantzen by his apple tree!

Jaxson was really getting into planting!!

Jett was excited to put his stepping stones out!!

The boys in our prayer garden we made after planting and putting the stepping stones in!!!! We need plants desperately!!

"After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, “Do you understand what I was doing? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right, because that’s what I am. And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you."

John 13:12-15

Filling the eggs for me!

"And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” Matthew 26:26-28

Getting ready for our Last Lunch!!

Openning up an egg!

Jett would open the eggs then dump the food out on the ground!

Jax loved it!!

Smashing up a gold fish into almost 5,000 pieces!! =)

Jantzen and an animal cracker!

Jaxson and the mini graham cracker broken to remember His body broken for us!

Jett's eggs!!

Jaxson's seeds!!

The roots were crazy!! I love it!! So many great analogies that could be used here!! I love teachable moments!!!

Jesus said, “The time has come for the Son of Man to enter into his glory, and God will be glorified because of him. ³² And since God receives glory because of the Son,^[i] he will soon give glory to the Son. ³³ Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. ³⁴ So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. ³⁵ Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

John 13:32-35