Easter Activity - 16 SYMBOLS with 16 QUESTIONS

1. PRINT - Free PDF on cardstock
2. CUT  - out around the Eggs
3. BUY -  a big Egg & candy
4. Enjoy time with your family talking about Christ!😊

**for Easter of 2024 I am offering this printable free - Enjoy!

Click on this link or below to download your PDF

Easter Symbols by Valerie on Scribd

EASTER MUSIC: Easter Challenge

This Easter let your home hum with the hymns of Easter. Join me in listening to more Easter music throughout the month!  Not too hard eh? 

I decided to buy a new CD to help me out.  I LOVE IT and highly recommend it!!!  Daniel Beck's tenor voice is gorgeous.  I love the rich tones.    I think his song "Gentle Savior" is my favorite.

And this Classic beauty is from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in their CD  "O Divine Redeemer"

Another Family Favorite is Kenneth Cope's CD "Greater Than Us All"

Putting Christ Back into Easter

Sometimes I feel that EASTER turns into Bunny and Candy Egg overload, so I was excited to find this great idea and free printable here.

I love the pictures and its clear visual way of telling the story of Jesus.

I think this book mark is a simple, but great idea for not just me but my older children too.
I don't see a printable bookmark  so I intend to make one and include it in this blog post in the next week.  :)  stay tuned .....

He is Risen, free printable

It's Easter!  

This is a free printable to help start your celebrating:)

He is Risen

Easter

 Use this activity sheet as you turn your thoughts toward Easter. 

This is great for you and your children.

Resurrection.3 Fold Worksheet

Thanks to the blog http://www.theredheadedhostess.com/holidays/easter/understanding-the-resurrection/   she is fabulous - she gets me thinking.  Plus look on her site for the original version - I tweeked it for my purposes.

EASTER READING: Easter Challenge

How are you Preparing for Easter this year?

As Easter hops in I decided this month I want to read a book about the Atonement of Jesus Christ.  What better way could I catch the true feeling of Easter this year? 

 

I Challenge You to Join Me in reading, not only the Scriptures, but a book about the Atonement of Our Savior.

 

My Book? 

The INFINITE ATONEMENT 

by Tad R. Callister

I bet at least 5 different people have told me I should read this and it has been on my "to read" list for quite a while.  So this is the Month I plan to seize the opportunity!:)  You can purchase the beautiful new Illustrated copy shown below or purchase the Non-illustrated version. 

 

 

What book did you pick? 

Please Let us Know in the Comments!

PUZZLE HUNT

 

This Easter Puzzle Hunt is Fun to do alone -

or mixed in with all the candy filled Eggs!

 

I found this great puzzle of Samuel the Lamanite a Book of Mormon Prophet at Deseret Book Store.  I was so happy to find it only had 12 pieces. 

Thus I plan to scatter in a few candy filled eggs and do a mini hunt this Monday for our Family Home Evening Activity.  After the hunt is over, treats devoured and puzzle assembled it will be a great opportunity to discuss the prophecy that Samuel the Lamanite gave about the Savior's Birth and then his Death and Resurrection.

Here is a PDF of simple instructions:

Easter Puzzle Hunt by

Easter Craft

I am so happy March is finally HERE!!!:)  I found this cute craft to do with my kids and thought I would share the link!  Click Here.   So cute!!

Day 8 - Easter Sunday, Jesus' Resurrection & Appearances

When Sunday came, and Christ was Resurrected all our fears of death were extinguished.

He broke the bands of death. He was Resurrected and now we too can be resurrected.

There is hope. Hope of a perfect body once we are resurrected, Hope of life after death, Hope of seeing our Eternal Father and His son Jesus Christ again. Christ has overcome the world!

He will not forget or abandon us. He has engraven us upon His hands.

I am thankful for my Savior. My heart sings with joy because of Him! I’m Thankful for all He did during His life and especially during those last 8 days! He suffered all things, because of the Love He has for me and for you!

 And now we have Hope, because of Him!

He is Risen! He is Risen!

Tell it out with Joyful voice.

He has burst his 3 days prison;

Let the whole wide earth rejoice.

Death is conquered, man is free.

Christ has won the victory!

He is Risen! He is Risen!

He hath opened heaven’s gate.

We are free from sin’s dark prison,

Risen to a holier state.

And a brighter Easter beam

On our longing eyes shall stream!

Hymn Book pg.199

Bunny Tails

This idea came from EIGHTEEN25.blogspot.com!  Click on the link and there is a free download!

I used mini bags of popcorn instead of marshmellows - the ideas are limitless!  Bunny tails could be taffy, mints, etc.!

Day 7 - Saturday, The Tomb is Sealed and Guarded

Matthew 27:62-66

Saturday morning the Chief Priests and the Pharisees went to see Pilate.

They told Pilate that Christ had said, “After 3 days I will rise again”. They asked Pilate to make sure this would not happen. They did not want His disciples to come and take His body and say He had risen from the dead.

Thus Pilate gave them Roman Guards and the Priests and Pharisees went and made sure the tomb was sealed and set the guards to watch it.

Saturday was sad and quiet. Only the guards kept watch. So much had happened, yet Christ was dead. It was the second day of His death. He had prophesied that, “After 3 days I will rise again”. Perhaps there was hope. Hope for a brighter tomorrow. Hope for the Resurrection.

Day 6 - Friday, Jesus' Trial and Crucifixion

Captured - Tried - Crucified - Buried

Friday was Awful, from Sunrise to Sunset. For Christ the day was Terrible in deceit, Unbearable in pain, Demeaning, Humiliating, Hurtful, Long, and Lonely. That Friday was “The Longest Day”.

Who has suffered more, patiently bore more, and willingly submitted to more than we will ever know?

From Christ’s agony in Gethsemane to His Death on Calvary He allowed it all to happen because He loved us.

The greatest commandment of all is to LOVE the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and like unto it, thy Neighbor as thyself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

Clearly we can do great things when we are filled with LOVE.

With LOVE, “all things are possible” (Mark 9:23). Through Christ’s LOVE we see how great things can be accomplished. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)

Peace is Possible.

Patience can be Plentiful.

And Love can Linger in the hardest of Lives!

Day 5 - Thursday, The Last Supper, Prayer & Agony in Gethsemane

They were all there, Christ and His beloved apostles. They had been with Him for 3 years. Christ knew He was going to suffer greatly in Gethsemane that night, but still He thought of His disciples and took the time to teach them. As Christ broke the bread He told them it represented His body, and the wine, His blood.

During this Last Supper with his disciples He taught them about the sacred ordinance of the Sacrament. He knew it would be important to them, and important to us. Each week as we attend church we have the opportunity to take the Sacrament. And each week as we do let us be sure we ALWAYS remember WHY we are taking it, and what the sacrament bread and water represent.

“And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” Matthew 26:26-28

I Love the Song -

“It shouldn’t be hard to sit very still and think about Jesus His cross on the hill,
and all that He suffered and did for me,
it shouldn’t be hard to sit quietly”.   
(pg. 71 Children’s Songbook)

Day 4 - Wednesday, There is no scriptural record of Christ's Activities on this day

Today is a great day to review Christ's Entire Life.

From his sweet birth in a stable to his prophetic ressurection from the tomb.

Watch this youtube, it is beautiful!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oteno81QzzQ

Easter Candy Bar Wrappers

Easter Morning, as a fun surprise, I thought I'd put these on my children's breakfast plate ! 

Buy snack size candy bars and print this download, taping them shut around the bar!

Easter Candy Bar Wrappers

Day 3 - Tuesday, Parables & Teachings

Christ spent most of this day teaching the people and his disciples. Some of the Parables we know so well were taught during this day: The Parable of the Ten Virgins, the Entrusted Talents, the Two sons, the Wicked Husbandman. Also we find teachings, such as the Great commandment, the Widow’s mite, and more. Jesus also laments over Jerusalem. He filled this day with as much as He could. He taught and gratefully we have those teachings today in our Holy Bible.     Matthew 21 – 26, Mark 11-14, Luke 20-22, John 12:37-50

One of my Favorite Teachings is found in Mark 12:41-44:

• As Christ sat and watched how the people cast money into the treasury of the temple He beheld a poor widow. “and she threw in two mites”. (hardly a cent)
• After she had done this Christ called His disciples to Him and taught them about giving all we have to the Lord, not our extra, but our all. “but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living”.

This is a beautiful story of a sweet poor woman, a lonely widow, who gave all she had to God. Obviously she was not poor in spirit. She was strong and knew what her priorities were. She was a great example to all around her and a model for women everywhere! She knew the secret to happiness; that it was not in what we have, but in what we give!


Money is not the only thing we have to offer to the Lord. What more could we give?
• I think of what I give to the Lord. I give some of my time, my energy, my service, my love, BUT do I give my all? How much more could I give? I think of alms for the poor, service to others, time spent teaching and helping others, loving others, how much am I willing to give?
Our Savior is the greatest example of giving our all
• He gave His life that we might live again. He loved us so much that He was willing to atone for our sins. He died that we might live!

Day 2 - Monday, Cleansing the Temple

I.
When I read of Christ cleansing the temple I thought of Paul as he said, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God?”
1 Corinthians 3:16



A. How do we Cleanse our Temples?

• Christ gives us the answer to this vital question as he finishes out the week. He died, that we might live again. Through the atonement, his suffering and death, we can repent. Repentance will cleanse our soul of all unrighteousness. 
•  “The invitation to repent is rarely a voice of chastisement but rather a loving appeal to turn around and to “re-turn” toward God. Repentance is a blessing to all of us. The Savior is there, reaching out to each of us, bidding us: “Come unto me.” We can repent. We can!” - Elder N.L. Andersen, Matthew 11:28-30

II.
 As Christ was cleansing the temple he called out, “My house shall be called the House of Prayer”
Matthew 21:13


A. How do we become a House of Prayer?

• Do I hold a prayer in my heart? Does my body house a prayer each day? If we went around with a prayer in our heart would we act the way we do? Would we be a little bit better? I think that perhaps the people there in the temple during Christ’s time would have acted differently had they been housing a prayer in their hearts.

B. Because of Christ’s Prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, we can all be cleansed. Our prayers now have meaning because of His prayer that day.

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Ephesians 2:19-22

Day 1 - Palm Sunday

"The Sunday before Easter, often called Palm Sunday, reminds us of Christ’s entering Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. We picture Him riding a donkey, with crowds scattering palm branches along His path.

Many people think that palm branches were used because there were so many palm trees in that part of the world, but there were more reasons than that for choosing them. The palm branch was the emblem of Judea and appeared on the coins of that land, thus symbolizing one of the riches of that country. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, it was when the trees were in bloom, so in covering the way with palm branches, the people were offering a symbol of luxury.

It was a symbol of necessity too. To the Jews, palm branches represented a gift from God because of its many uses in their lives. The palm was so important in that area that when countries there went to war, the first thing they did was cut away the palm branches, causing their enemy to suffer the loss of food and livelihood (jobs).
This important tree has many different species (kinds of trees), ranging in size from less than ten feet (3 m) to over one hundred feet (30 m) high. The date palm supplied dates, of course. The coconut palm supplied both coconut and coconut milk. The sap of the sugar palm was dried, beaten, and ground into very fine sugar. Its leaves could also be boiled and used as a vegetable. The trunk of the sago palm supplied a strong starch that was ground into flour and made into unleavened bread.

Palm trees had almost no waste parts. Their coarse fiber was used to make brooms, mats, and baskets; their fine fiber was used to make sewing thread, and their heaviest fiber was used to make strong ropes for ships. Palm oils have been made into both butter and soap. Coconut shells, too, were used. Fine bowls, cooking utensils, even tools were made from them. The timber of some palms was resistant to rot and salt water and was especially good for making boats.

The seeds of palms were boiled into a medicinal drink or were dried and eaten as nuts. If they were allowed to dry a long time, they became as hard as rock and transparent, and made durable beads and trinkets. The palm’s yellowish-white flowers had an odor similar to that of violets, and they were made into perfume. The lovely, waxy flowers also were worn by the women as decorative headdresses.

Strewing palm branches at Jesus’ feet was, then, a symbol of the giving up of worldly goods, both necessities and luxuries. "

By Dorothy D. Warner, “Palms for the Lord,” Friend, Mar 1996, 26
_______________________________________________________________________

 
 

When think of palm Sunday I also think of the Palm of our Hand.  Christ has engraven us on his palms.  With His hands He worked to teach us, set a perfect example, and healed so many people. 

With His palms He was nailed to the cross and died for us.  As Christ entered the city on Sunday He also entered into the last week of His life before the resurrection. 

The palm tree branches have much symbolism.  But how much more meaning was had upon His palms.  With His palms are we saved.

"I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands".

Isaiah 49:16

Attributes of Christ

At this Holiday Time I think of the statement from Pres. H.W. Hunter:

"We must KNOW Christ better than we know Him;

We must REMEMBER Him more often than we remember HIM;

We must SERVE him more valiantly than we serve Him."

Using this list take time to look up these attributes of Christ in the Scriptures and learn more of Him, think more of Him and feel more of His Love.

Attributes of Christ

You've Been Egged

Great Neighbor Service Idea!

I found this great idea at  http://eighteen25.blogspot.com/search/label/easter

   This is such a fun way to surprise someone you care about!

• Take a couple dozen eggs and fill them with candy and little toys. Then take a couple strips of paper and write little notes for each member of the family you are egging -  just asimple message telling them why you think they are awesome.  Add the slips of papers in the eggs.  Now take your eggs and scatter them all over their yard.(if they don't have a yard you could just fill a basket and put it on their doorstep).  Take your you've been egged sign and tape it to their front door.  Now for the real fun part - ring that doorbell and run as fast as you can! :)



You've been Egged.neighborservice