"'Jesus is alive.'"
- from The Story of Jesus: for young children retold by Heather Amery
We've had such a fun week celebrating the festivities & colors of Easter, but that's not what Easter is all about to me. In our house Easter isn't about a story of a bunny, it's about the story of Jesus. It's hard, though. The colors & the mascot make the bunny & candy part of Easter more fun & easier to teach. How do you teach a two year old about Jesus being beaten, nailed to a cross, dying, & rising from the dead? It's not easy, at least not for me.
When you were born, a dear friend sent us a book as a gift. I've cherished The Story of Jesus: for young children since. I cherish it partly because of who sent us the gift & the sweet words she wrote on the inside cover. I also cherish it because it has given me a way to teach you about Jesus since you were born. I can teach you about His love all day, but this book includes stories of His love & His hardships & struggles.
I love watching your brow furrow in concentration when we read the stories of Jesus stories together. I love that you ask questions. I hope you always will. I hope that as you grow, you always know that Jesus is the reason for this season.
I love you so,
Mommy
* Readers, how do you balance the commercial & religious sides to this season? *
Thanks for that book recommendation Julie. I've been going through this same struggle lately. Some of the books I've been reading to S are a little more graphic than I'd like. I'll have to check this one out!
ReplyDeleteThe book does talk about Jesus being beaten & people being mad, but I think it's pretty hard to take everything out. I think it's as minimally graphic as possible. I read it as lightly as possible & encourage Em to ask questions. I also like Bible Stories: a touch & feel book. That book doesn't include stories about Jesus, just bible stories. It's done in a very light way, though.
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