More than Fuzzy Bunnies & Brightly Colored Eggs

As I was finishing up buying all the goodies for the kid's Easter baskets the other day, I brushed off the desire to buy Logan an Easter book to put in his basket. After all, he would just eat it & we still have a few really good board books left over from the older kids. I filled their baskets with the usual candies, marshmallow peeps, bubbles, crackers, & toys.

Then as I made my way back around Walmart tonight, it hit me like a ton of bricks. They ALWAYS put out a cardboard display near the front of the store displaying whatever holiday is coming up. Both sides are usually loaded up with books, coloring books, board books, books, books, books.

That cardboard display was there & it was loaded with books just as it always is....BUT, the main side, you know, the side that everyone sees had Diary of a Wimpy Kid & various other humorous books.

Wait, did I miss something? I literally stopped & looked around. I was looking for the Easter book display. I didn't see another display. I walked to the other side, the back side, the side that hardly anyone sees unless you are deliberately looking. Oh, ok, THERE were the Easter books. Kinda...

There were a handful of Bibles, a book on Heaven, & that was about it.

My heart sunk. I felt almost betrayed. This is the horrible death & the resurrection of my savior we are talking about! Why was it not important enough to get 2 sides of the display? Why does it not deserve a better selection of books to give our children?

Unfortunately, this is the world we live in!

My kids know why we celebrate Easter...don't they? I have never lead them to believe there was a little bunny who hopped over to our house & left goodies. I have never stressed how important it is to dye or hunt eggs.

Yes, we do still enjoy hunting for eggs. Yes, we do still like to share a basket full of little trinkets. Yes, we do still get all dressed up in sparkly new clothes. Yes, we do still eat dinner with the family. But none of these things truly matter. They are all fun, but NOTHING can take the place of the love on Calvary's hill!

As you celebrate Easter this year, spend a little more time in thankfulness to the only man who loved you more than anyone else ever could. The only one capable of taking your sin away just so you could live in Heaven with Him for all eternity. 

This is what our Calvary's Hill looks like today on Good Friday.
The grass is growing nicely & the body of Jesus has been wrapped in
grave clothes, placed in the tomb, & the stone has blocked the entrance.

Calvary's Hill

Have you seen this floating around the internet?

I thought it was one of the coolest ideas I have seen in a LONG time!

So, of course, we had to try it!

We made a quick trip to our local hardware store in search of all the necessary items. The instructions said to use terracotta, but they were out, so plastic would have to do! Hey, it was cheaper anyway! Then we went to dig in the rock piles for just the right rocks. And finally off to the mulch pile for some rich dirt.

Let the creating masterpiece begin!

Fill the saucer with about 4 cups of dirt. Put a little moss over top of the dirt. Set the pot on its side in the dirt. Place a handful of rocks on both sides of the pot to keep it from rolling. Make mud (that's always fun at our house!). Cover the top and sides of the pot with mud. You will need to mound it up to make it stay.

Sprinkle quick growing grass seed over the wet dirt. You might want to push the seed down a little bit. Then loosely cover the grass seed with more dirt. Make sure you water it! Place your small rocks around the opening of the pot. Find small twigs to make your crosses. Tie them together & plant them on top of the hill. Place your big rock partially covering your tomb. 

Now we wait for grass to grow!