Good Friday Thoughts, Kids Easter Egg Hunt, and Steak Dinner

"On the eve of the cross, Jesus made His decision. he would rather go to hell for you than go to heaven without you." ~ Max Lucado

No matter what is happening around me that day, Good Friday always has an underlying feeling of solemnity and wonder for me. It's easy to want to skip ahead to the end of the story, but it's important to remember the gravity and the awesomeness of what happened before that triumphal resurrection. This is not some sanitized story of good conquering evil. This was love expressed in a real, raw, dirty, bloody, painful personal sacrifice for each of us. Jesus did not have to go through with the mocking, trial, and physical agony that He did. He did not have to endure the mental abuse of being scorned by those He loved so dearly. He did not have to die a slow, torturous death on a wooden cross, nails in His hands and feet. Nor did He have to endure the absence of His heavenly Father. When I think about it, this had to have been one of, if not the, hardest things He had to endure. To have God's Presence is to be surrounded by the ultimate love, peace, joy, and every other expression of good. To have every little bit of that removed, to know the Father could not even look upon Him, had to be a move from ultimate, holy, good to ultimate evil. The very thought makes me feel a little sick. And after all that, He descended into hell itself and took away its power over me and anyone else who will accept that gift. Why? Because, as Max Lucado so eloquently says, He made the decision to go to hell for us so he would not have to go to heaven without us. I cannot fully comprehend the enormity of this, but I am so very grateful!

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends." ~ John 15:13

God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us. ~ 1 John 3:16

He humbled Himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross. ~ Philippians 2:8

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Yesterday and today, we've spent time learning what Easter is all about and having fun too.

Today we read stories and watched videos about Easter and then had an Easter egg hunt.

We had some really good conversations about Easter and what it means. Three- and four-year-olds comprehend more than we realize sometimes.

They had so much fun finding the eggs that Michael had hidden for them.

After we finished our Easter egg hunt, we played outside for a while. The kids are steadily excavating this old stump.

This is how we walk inside for lunch.

Chris cooked us a delicious dinner of steak, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob.