Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is the Thursday of Holy Week and Holy Week (or Passion Week) is the week before Easter. In the last few years, Easter has become more and more of a celebration in my heart and therefore in my home. I have tried to decorate and anticipate Easter in the same way that we do Christmas. It is so important to us to teach Isaac the importance of Easter just like we do for Christmas. Christmas is when God came to earth in the form of a baby but Easter is when Christ died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin and when He miraculously rose from the grave, just the way he had said. HE IS RISEN! Our SAVIOR is ALIVE!

So back to the point of this post. Everyday this week, we have tried to follow the week Christ had in Jerusalem as laid out in the Bible. I have a handy dandy map in my NIV Study bible that has the day of the week and verses to read that correspond to what Jesus was doing. Well, Maundy Thursday is when Jesus washed His disciples feet to show His humility, celebrated the Passover supper, The Last Supper, and when Jesus shared communion with His disciples. Luke and I thought we would spend our evening in the same way Jesus did. So here is how our evening went. We used Matthew 26 as our guide through the night and in all we did, we read in the Bible beforehand.

First I made a Passover dinner. Now this wasn't the full supper, with the matzha balls and ceremonies, just a really simple one that followed some of the simple rules. I made roasted chicken with herbs, honeyed carrots, and roasted potatoes. I used a book on family devotions and celebrations for Easter to help guide me. We also had lemonade to drink but that's just because that's what we wanted :)

After dinner, we as family washed each others feet. We read the Beginner's Bible version of it to Isaac first before we did. Here are some pictures. Isaac really was helping. Daddy washing Isaac's feet: Daddy and Isaac washing Mami's feet: Mami and Isaac washing Daddy's feetFinally, we took communion together. I made this with flour and shortening, but most importantly, no yeast. Though Isaac didn't eat and drink, he sat with us and Luke read from the Bible and explained what it was. It was a great time to share the gospel with Isaac. In Matthew it says that after they did this they prayed and sang a hymn together. So we finished by singing "Jesus Paid it All". My favorite verse in this hymn is

"And when before the throne, I stand in Him complete; Jesus died my soul to save, my lips shall still repeat. Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow."

It was a sweet sweet time in our family and we are excited to continue this tradition for years to come. I'm so thankful that we can celebrate this. I'm so very thankful for a husband that leads our family to Christ and that he's so open to my desire for spiritual traditions.

And today is Good Friday, the day when Jesus breathed His last and said " IT IS FINISHED".

As a side note, people have commented to me on some occasions that Isaac won't remember, Isaac doesn't understand and Isaac is too young. All those things may be true but that doesn't stop me because here's what Isaac WON'T remember. He won't remember NOT hearing the gospel, he won't remember NOT hearing about Jesus everyday, and he won't remember NOT celebrating spiritual holidays with his family. He will say "We've always done it, since as far back as I can think". And that's what's important, and God will honor that, and that's why Luke and I are faithful to God in teaching our son.

So even if you have a newborn, infant, or toddler, don't hesitate to start teaching him just because "he won't remember". Because the last thing you want to hear is, "but why do we have to do it, we've never done it before."

Happy Easter from our family to yours!!!

For ideas on how to decorate your home for Easter in a Christ centered way, please visit my craft blog, SOMETHING WONDERFUL, and leave me a comment!

P.S. stay tuned after the weekend for posts about our recent trip to Texas and our supper club last weekend!