Easter Reflections

This week, I am in total “chill” mode. Since our children are home on Spring Break, my husband and I took time off this week to have some good quality time as a family. This time together is precious and priceless to me because, if you work in ministry, you know that preparing for Easter keeps you very busy. Now that things have settled down somewhat, I’ve been reflecting on the flurry of activity I’ve experienced over the past 10 days.

Here’s a peek into what my world has looked like recently:

For the past several months, we have been busy preparing for our church’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. This year, I provided oversight for the Registration Team. As a team of nine, we welcomed over 120 families and over 200 children to this highly anticipated event. This year’s event included four activity areas: games, 4 “Journey to Easter” stations, refreshments and the actual Easter Egg Hunt. It was a lot of work but seeing so many faces, especially new ones from the neighborhood, made it all worthwhile.

Good Friday was the next highlight for me. My entire family and I (16 of us) attended my parent’s church because my mom was participating in the service. The scripture passage for the evening was Isaiah 53:1-5. Five different members of the church leadership (including my mom) took one of the verses and shared their gained and personal insights into their assigned verse. My mom did a fabulous job – she made us proud! The evening was also special because I served my 5-yr old niece her First Communion. I will never forget sharing that special moment with her.

By the time Easter Sunday rolled around, I was in overdrive mode. I had tidied classrooms, recruited additional volunteers to serve, hung banners, and set up various activity stations for our elementary and preteen students. After church, we hosted a family dinner for 20+ family members at our home.

While the season was busy, we are now thankful to take some time for much-needed rest at one of our favorite vacation spots. School and work resumes next week, but for now, we rest.

Are you taking some time for rest this week? What restores your soul?

Ideas for Lent and Easter

Lent is upon us and Easter is right around the corner.  If you’re looking for Lent and/or Easter ideas for church, home or school, be sure to visit my Lent & Easter board on my Pinterest page.  You can access the board here: http://pinterest.com/kathierphillips/kidmin-lent-easter/

Have you given up anything for Lent?  What do you have planned to make the Easter season come alive this year?