Category: Easter

Posted in Easter, grandparenting

A resurrection worship craft

Posted on by William Douthwaite

We didn’t make it to church with the three granddaughters last Sunday. But we did a worship craft, which kind of counts, right?

I got out the stack of construction paper, crayons, glue sticks, and scissors. “So,” I said, “Let’s make a bible story craft.” One granddaughter immediately said, “Yes. We need to make one showing the cave, the stone, and Jesus who is risen.”

Great idea. We started by choosing a background color.

What’s next? “We need a dark cave.” I folded the paper over a few times and cut out the black shape of a cave entrance.

“Now we need the big stone.” I didn’t have any gray paper, so I cut out white circles and gave everyone a gray crayon.

Next is Jesus. “He has to have a white robe and a red sash.”

I asked, “How do you know he had a red sash?” They just shrugged. I cut out a Jesus and a red sash.

“What else?”

“Mary, of course.”

I cut Mary out of some pink paper, with an orange face, brown hair, and a blue scarf. Perfect.

The tomb was in a garden, so we added a bush, a tree, and some flowers.

And an angel. “Why do we need an angel?”

“The angel told them Jesus wasn’t there.”

“Oh. That’s right.” I cut one out. “But where’s the halo?”

“You can draw one in.”

I think the three-year-old’s, five-year-old’s, and seven-year-old’s worship project turned out great.

I did notice that the younger you are, the more glue stick you apply to each piece. Her pieces weren’t going anywhere!

Posted in Easter

Bunnies

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I know it’s not not the main thing but I’ve never known an Easter where the bunny hasn’t been a major player. Having said that, I was surprised to see more bunnies on my walk this morning than ever. I thought they would all have the day off.

So the question is, how did the Easter bunny get a leading part in the celebration?

From what I’ve read, both hares and eggs were old Germanic symbols of fertility and new life. When the Christian celebration of Easter replaced pagan spring festivals, it absorbed those symbols. An egg breaks open to reveal new life, just as Jesus’s resurrection broke the power of death to give believers new, eternal life.

Somehow, the story evolved so that bunnies brought eggs, candy, and toys to the nests, and eventually baskets, of well-behaved children. I remember dying real hard-boiled eggs for Easter. But those have mostly given way to a wide variety of egg-shaped jelly beans, chocolate eggs, candy-filled plastic eggs, speckled egg-shaped malted milk balls, and every sort of candy you can imagine. And who doesn’t love chocolate bunnies, filled with marshmallow, peanut butter, or creme fillings?

And the bunny? He was alive and well when I was in Texas last week. This one wasn’t as creepy as most. And I’ll bet he got the day after Easter off, too.

Posted in Easter

Peeps!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

On my way to the back of Walmart to get what I came for, I saw this amazing sight: an entire aisle devoted to Peeps. An entire aisle!

All the colors are there. Pink, yellow, blue, and purple are represented. But look at the flavors.

I’ve only eaten traditional Peeps. None of these sound appealing to me. But I have not tried them, so I should reserve judgment. But none of these flavors tempt me.

The first Peeps were hand-piped in 1948 by the Rodda Candy Company in Lancaster, PA. Just Born purchased Rodda in 1953 and automated the production of Peeps. Peeps are the number one non-chocolate Easter candy. The Just Born factory produces 5.5 million Peeps per year.

Peeps retail stores just couldn’t cut it, the last one closing in 2019. But don’t worry. There are plenty at Walmart!

Posted in death, Easter, Resurrection reflections

Spices and grief

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

“But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared” (Luke 24:1).

I want to know more about the spices. If I open my spice cabinet, I find paprika, dill, cumin, nutmeg, sage, rosemary, and an assortment of peppers.

That’s not what the women brought to the tomb. The traditional burial recipe was a mixture of aloe and myrrh. It was a salve that honored the deceased by fending off the smell of decomposition.

I remember the purveyors of spices in the markets in Jerusalem when we traveled there a few years ago. The colors and smells were amazing. The blends were enticing. The varieties seemed endless. I wanted to take home some of each.

Spices can cover up the smell of death. But they can’t touch sadness or grief.

Posted in Easter

A park filled with Easter gatherings

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Just a few of many families gathered to celebrate Easter

A busy Easter morning at my son’s church was followed by a nap and a walk along a part of Lake Ray Hubbard just blocks from our Airbnb in Rowlett, TX. Every time we drove by Lakeside Park, lots of folks were sitting on the bank fishing. But the crowds really turned out for Easter Sunday afternoon.

As we came down the hill at the far end of the park, we saw dozens of shade canopies lined up along the river. Each was surrounded by tables and folding chairs, propane and charcoal grills, drink coolers, and serving trays filled with food. Latin music from portable speakers blended with the laughter of children and barking of dogs as families gathered to eat and celebrate Easter afternoon.

Many kept an eye on fishing lines in the water. Young teen couples walked hand-in-hand down the path. Children’s heads were littered with brightly-colored confetti from cascarones. I passed small soccer games, corn hole competitions, families posing for group photos, snoozing babies, Easter egg hunts, and kids on scooters and bicycles.

After our walk back and forth along the length of the park, we headed back to our place and met my son for supper at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. When we returned after dark, most of the families were still there celebrating. I really enjoyed watching this Easter tradition in a Dallas community where many had originally come from Mexico.

Posted in Easter

Easter on the road

Posted on by William Douthwaite

For the first time in forever (forty years) we didn’t spend Easter at home. Retirement gave us the freedom to travel to Dallas, Texas, to spend Holy Week and Easter Sunday with my son and his family.

Flights were expensive so we did the two day drive. After a longish first day and an easy second day, our four Texas grandchildren were waiting for us at the curb on Wednesday afternoon. It’s only been three months since we last saw them after Christmas, but they’ve grown so much!

Our Airbnb this time was a nice little townhome just five minutes away. We only need a comfortable place to sleep since we spend most of our time with family – and this week, at worship.

What a treat to worship at the church where my son has been pastor for over ten years. The sermons, special music, family, and people we’ve gotten to know there made Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter sunrise and Easter morning worship a joy. My son preached for the service of darkness on Friday and at sunrise on Sunday morning.

Flanked by singing, drawing, coloring, snacking, praying, and wiggling grandchildren, each worship occasion was especially meaningful. How I loved sharing the somberness of Good Friday and the joy of Easter morning with them!

In between worship, we made small resurrection gardens, visited the Fort Worth zoo, played lots of Lego, and ended the weekend with supper at our favorite Mexican place.

Easter on the road with family was especially good for our souls this year.

Posted in Easter

The Lilies are blooming!

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It’s Easter in my garden. The lilies are blooming! I know Easter Sunday was April 9. But each spring, the lilies in my garden are late arrivals. I don’t mind. Technically the church season of Easter lasts seven weeks, so they get a pass.

I’ve only planted eight of these lilies. They’ve multiplied over the years. I did a quick count. I will get over thirty blossoms in the next week or so. Beautiful white blooms announcing, “He is risen!”

I’ve always thought that the blooming Easter lily was a reminder of the empty tomb of Jesus. But they are also a picture of the Revelation 7 saints dressed in white. Jesus said they remind us that God will provide, so we don’t have to be anxious about what we wear.

The rising sun, singing birds, ocean waves, stars in the sky, and the lily are reminders of God’s presence, power, promises, and provision.

Posted in Easter

Cool take-home craft: A resurrection garden

Posted on by William Douthwaite

He is risen! He is risen, indeed!

As part of my resurrection celebration, I got to help out at an Easter Egg hunt at the church we’ve been attending. The children who attended got to hear the Easter story, eat lots of treats, run around and find Easter eggs, and slide down the bounce house slide a couple of hundred times.

And they got to make this cool craft to take home: a resurrection garden.

First, fill a large flower pot base with potting soil. Place a small flower pot on its side and cover it with soil to make a nice hill with a cave.

Next, make a nice path to the cave with small white rocks. Add some moss on top of the hill and spritz it with water to hold it in place.

Third step: sprinkle some grass seed on the rest of the dirt and spritz it with water. Hopefully, it will grow up nice and green.

Finally, add three small wooden crosses to the hill and add a large stone rolled away from the tomb.

And there you go, a resurrection garden for Easter. I was so impressed, I made one of my own to bring home. My grass hasn’t grown yet, but it made it to our home decorations for our family gathering this afternoon.