Easter Tree

Somehow, year after year, Easter always creeps up on me. But it surprises me differently than Christmas does. Usually when I realize it's Easter time, I don't think "Oh man! Where did that come from? I'm running out of time to do everything I've planned to do!" Instead, I think, "Umm...what do we do now?"

I don't know why I'm more into Christmas than Easter. To be honest I don't think it's about being "into" either of them! Christmas seems to be much more commercialized, and maybe that's why I plan for and anticipate it a month ahead of time. Easter, on the other hand, sort of just happens, and our family never really made a big deal out of it. We used to meet up with extended relatives and share a meal together, but over the years it's become less significant, and unfortunately in my mind now it is often just a nice long weekend.

But I want it to be different. 

If I am intentional about trying to put the right focus on Christmas (namely, celebrating the birth of Christ), then why am I not as intentional with celebrating the true meaning of Easter? They go hand in hand - the birth of Jesus, and his death and resurrection.

So I'm in the same frame of mind right now as I was back in December. What traditions can my husband and I initiate in our family that can make Easter deep, meaningful, and celebratory? I don't actually care too much if December and April are the "real" dates of Christ's birth, and the Passion. I think it's great that there's a time carved out in the year anyways where Christians can gather together and celebrate with intentionality. And hey, these are the two times of the year where the most people go to church, even those who don't normally attend! If we don't share the true message of the Gospel now, when will we?

Anyways, being here in Germany, I'm discovering one cultural tradition: Easter Trees! People take "Frühling" (Spring) branches and hang little decorated eggs on them. It was definitely different to see all different sorts of these on neighbors' lawns, kitchen tables, etc., but I liked the idea enough to make one of my own...
  

Ta-da!

I made the 3-D paper eggs by myself using this online tutorial  (click here).






















Maybe one reason I don't decorate as much in the spring is because I'm not a huge fan of light pastel colors - pink, yellow, etc. Usually I go more for dark, rich colors (notice our brown wall!) But it's still fun to have a little brightness in the house. 

I made 7 eggs for my tree, so I thought I'd blog about 7 promises/reasons for hope. Mogi's parents have chickens out back, and it's nice to be able to get fresh eggs all the time. It's amazing how you can feed chickens all your leftovers, and basically anything, and in turn they produce food for you! A genius system! But it's a cool picture of what God does - he takes all our crap, our pain, our sin, and turns it into something useful. Eggs also symbolize new life...which is what Easter is all about!


So, with Easter weekend coming up, here's my reflection on 7 things that Christ's death and resurrection accomplished:


1) Forgiveness and Freedom from the punishment of sin. "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23) Christ died so that we wouldn't have to! Our debt is paid! This is the most basic principle of Christianity, and I know I overlook it too easily. It is a powerful truth!

2) Freedom from sin. Not only are we saved from the wages of sin...we are saved from sin. "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free...." (Galatians 5:1). Instead of being a "slave to sin" as the Bible puts us, we are now slaves to righteousness. And ironically, that is the most freeing thing ever! Christ gives us grace upon grace, but that doesn't mean we can use it as a license to do whatever we want. (Don't even get me started on that - my favorite topic! I'll save it for another post.) Suffice it to say, sin doesn't rule our life anymore. We aren't bound by its temptations and the destruction it brings.

3) Eternal life. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) Not only is the punishment that we deserved dealt with, but we have the promise of a life forever with God. When I was young I tried to think about how long "eternity" is. My brain hurt after awhile!

4) Strength for this life. Life as a believer in Christ isn't just about the future - it concerns today, too. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin." (Hebrews 4:15) Because Christ didn't stay dead, but rose from the grave, his life-sustaining power is available for us today. He knows what we're walking through and wants to help!

5) Purpose. "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10) Being created "in Christ" means that our lives are  also now resurrected...restored. We have a purpose to fulfill! Our lives are not meaningless; they were intentionally designed by our Maker.

6) Healing. Christ's death brought about spiritual healing, yes, but he also died so that we don't have to deal with sickness and death and weapons of the enemy like depression, bitterness, generational curses, etc. "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

7) Victory.  "The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work." (1 John 3:8) The "Résumé" of Satan is to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But Jesus came so that we could have life, and life abundantly (John 10:10). Putting our faith in Christ means He has authority over our lives. We are his children, and no one can snatch us out of His hand. Through Christ we are "more than conquerors" because we know His love for us is unchanging (Romans 8:37).

{So, my friends...Happy Easter! May you rejoice in the reality of the forgiveness, hope, freedom, life, purpose, victory, strength and healing that is available in Christ!}

Questions for discussion:

- What are meaningful Easter traditions in your family?

- What does Easter mean to you?

- Who is Jesus to you?

- Are you living in the abundance that Christ died to offer you? (If you think you're not, leave a comment, or write me an email - I would love to pray for you!)

Traditions

Sunday lunch at Oma's after church: roast beef with homemade noodles and salad. That has become a tradition for us since moving to Germany. It is great to spend time with family on Sunday afternoons (and not need to cook!) Of course it isn't complete without coffee and cake too, and maybe a game of Uno or singing together. We've already built such great memories!

With the Christmas season coming up, other traditions come to mind too. Placing everyone's Christmas stockings out on the couch on Christmas Eve. Family coming in from out of town. Helping my mom set the table with our fancy dishware. Going to a church service. A girls' sock exchange. Playing with my nieces and nephews...and their new toys.

Now that I'm married and we're spending Christmas in our own house, we've been considering what type of traditions we want to establish. It's kind of odd to think about. How do you make traditions? They seem to be one of those things that just "are." One of those things that has always been, and will continue carrying on. But I know how easy it is for traditions to become meaningless. Often churches get criticized for being "too traditional" and not open to anything new, or stuck in their old ways. But I know the same thing can happen in families, or in the lives of any of us personally.

I heard a quote once: "Tradition is the living faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living." And I think this makes a powerful point! Traditions in themselves aren't a bad thing––at one point, someone started them and it was a meaningful, symbolic expression of their faith (not just in a spiritual sense, but an outworking of what they believed to be important). The problem is when we adopt these traditions and they are not alive to us anymore. Maybe like going to church, or reading your Bible. Activities that once had a deep importance can easily be swallowed up by routine.

In the Bible, especially the Old Testament, God asked his people to establish some important traditions.  Actually, he commanded them to celebrate. Exodus 12 describes how the Israelites were to celebrate Passover, in order to commemorate the day the Lord freed them from the Egyptians. Very specific instructions were given, and God clearly said, "This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance." Exodus 23 talks about three annual festivals that were to be celebrated: the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Harvest, and the Feast of Ingathering.  These festivals were to carry on through the generations in order to honor the Lord and remember what he had done. Exodus 12:26-27 says, "And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’”

Symbols and traditions are powerful, but they can be misunderstood or not used to their full potential if we don't understand the meaning of them. Thus the Lord instructed his people on how to teach their children and pass down traditions. Two years ago Mogi and I visited a Messianic Jewish synagogue for a church service, and it happened to be over the weekend of Purim (corresponding to the story of Esther and how the Lord delivered the Jews from the evil plot of Haman).  This was one of the most alive churches we've ever been to! The meaning of what they were celebrating seemed just as real to this congregation as it would have in Esther's day. It was powerful to witness, and we couldn't help but be drawn into the celebration as well. This is what I call living faith! Yes, it's a routine, and yes, it's been going on for ages, but those who participate in the traditions today understand the significance and it still impacts their lives personally.

So I want to be intentional in what we do around Christmas time. I don't want unhealthy things to become traditions, nor do I want the season to pass by without significance, or memories. One thing we did this last week that we would like to carry on in the coming years is the celebration of Advent––the four weeks leading up to Christmas, symbolizing the anticipation that was in the air before the birth of Christ, and now anticipation for his Second Coming.

We gathered together as family, and Mogi read some Scripture as we lit the first Advent Candle:

A German *tradition* is to make your own Advent wreath (Adventskranz), so last Friday a few friends invited me to join them, and they taught me how to do this homemade craft. It was fun! It caught the creative spark in me, and so this week I've been doing other decorating.







I wanted to share a few of the ideas I've been working with, and I'd love to hear yours as well! Please feel free to post pictures or links or leave comments about what your traditions are, or ideas for affordable crafts. Unfortunately it is so easy to get caught up in consumerism during the Christmas season, so we've decided to spend less and be creative with what we already have. Here are a few of my creations (and again, please feel free to share with others you think would be interested in this topic by hitting one of the buttons below for Facebook, Twitter, or Email).

A simple display on top of our bookshelf: made from twigs from the forest, pine cones found outside, berries from our tree, cinnamon sticks, and a candle I already had.

I used cardboard from a cereal box, scissors, glue, a pen, and a stamp to make these stars.

The only thing I had to buy was a roll of wrapping paper for 99 cents.

And I used these to fill this vase! Sand from the back yard, again twigs, pine cones and berries, with my little cardboard creations. Oh, and ribbon.



This is sitting on the corner of our stairway, and hopefully provides a bit of a festive feel when you enter the house.

And then for another shelf I purchased mini lights and the little white decorative balls, again using twigs and ribbon.









My husband has even been grateful for these little things...apparently he always wanted to marry someone who was creative (which I didn't know until yesterday!) So I'm thankful for his encouragement :-) I think making homemade decorations will also become one of our Christmas traditions that our children can participate in one day.

So these give a bit of an idea of how we're starting off the season (even though fall is just ending and we don't have the snow that Alberta has right now!) But I'd love to know your thoughts! How does your family celebrate Christmas? Or even beyond the "Christmas season", what are meaningful traditions that you've experienced?

Praying that by paying attention to our traditions we can come to know Christ in a deeper way,
Kristyn