Where is Our Hope?

This week is what is commonly referred to as Holy Week by the Christian culture. As we come to the celebration of the Resurrection of our Savior which we will be celebrating this Sunday, let’s do so with great hope and joy! This is the very reason we can sing and rejoice in spite of the things going on around us in our world and more specifically, our own United States of America.

I want to take a short time to just remind you of what this week is all about. And I want to remind you to be sure that your children understand the significance of this week to the best of their ability for their age. If they are learning from our culture, they will come to the conclusion that Easter is about bunnies, candy, eggs, clothes, etc. If they go to church, they will probably hear about the Resurrection, but will one hour in church erase all of the distractions that the culture places on this most significant day?

This is an opportunity for you as parents to point them to the Savior and away from the frivolities of the culture! That doesn’t mean that they will not hear the things that the culture would like them to focus on, but you can make a difference in their lives this week by making sure they know what we are celebrating!

One of the things you can do is to separate any celebrations you do related to eggs, candy, bunnies, etc. for this very special week. We can all remember how much fun it is to hide and find eggs and spring is truly something to be celebrated (especially if you live in Michigan where winter seems longer than any other season), but those things can be done prior to this week or after this week. We used to color eggs a week or two ahead of Easter and call them “spring eggs”. And the new clothes were just for spring and not necessarily special for Easter Sunday morning. If children are overwhelmed with eggs and candy and baskets and clothes on Easter Sunday morning, how will they learn that the real reason for the special Easter celebration is the Resurrection of our Savior? It is also helpful, if there is an opportunity, to take them to a Good Friday Service so they can get the whole picture of why Jesus came. It would be very meaningful to your young children to hear of the agony and suffering of the Savior and it will give you opportunities to explain some things at home over the whole Easter weekend!

Let’s be sure that our children are clear on the Resurrection events that mean so much to our faith and let’s make Easter Sunday morning a time of remembering what God has done for us in the death and Resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ.

“…And he (Pilate) said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with Him, Away with Him! Crucify him!’ … And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called ‘the Place of the Skull’, … where they crucified Him, …So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit. … Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices (and laid Him in a new tomb). …Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early…and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.” (Excerpts are from John 19 & 20 – NKJV) “He is not here for He is risen as He said. Come see the place where the Lord lay.”
Matthew 28:6.

Here are a couple of recipes I would like to share with you. You may even want to try them as a part of your Easter dinner.

ESCALLOPED PINEAPPLE:
3 eggs
1 stick butter – melted
1 1/3 cup sugar
1 large can crushed pineapple
4 cups cubed day-old French bread

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Put bread cubes in a greased casserole dish. Mix eggs and sugar. Add melted butter and pineapple to egg mixture. Pour over bread and bake for about 45 minutes. Serve right out of the oven.

COCONUT CREAM PIE:
Crust: 1 cup flour
½ cup butter flavored shortening
2 Tablespoons cold water
Mix flour and shortening until it resembles coarse meal.
Add water and mix to form a ball.
Press into a 9-inch pie pan and bake for 9-10 minutes at 425 degrees.

Filling: ¾ cup sugar
¼ cup corn starch
Mix the above in a pan and add the following.
3 cups milk
3 egg yolks
Mix milk and yolks and add slowly to sugar mixture.
Cook this mixture over medium heat until it boils and thickens. Cook for one minute more stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and add: 1/2 cup of coconut
1 ½ tablespoons butter
1 tsp. vanilla
Pour warm filling into pie crust and top with meringue.

Meringue:
3 egg whites
3/8 teaspoon cream of tartar
Beat on high for one minute. Add:
6 tablespoons of sugar beating after each addition

Spread meringue over filling. Sprinkle with ¼ cup coconut.
Bake completed pie for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool before serving.

Have a very blessed Easter and next week we will get back to our focus on prayer and my plan to “stand in the gap” for our election.