A Week to Remember & Believe

 

Every year we can the kids and I like to make Passion Week a special week in school.
This year each of us took a day to prepare a devotion, song, craft or anything they thought would be meaningful for Easter week.  I love seeing how each of our personalities come out and we learn from each other.  It helps all of us to remember and believe.

On Good Friday we decided to celebrate a Passover meal and read Jesus' last supper.
We did this years ago as a family and Emalai really wanted to do it again. 
She still remembers from 5 years ago!  You don't forget meaningful things.

What a family!

Easter Sunday!

Youth choir

Josh did a beautiful job leading us in communion.

Dedication of children.
This is a beautiful thing especially when new believers dedicate their children to the Lord.
We had 24 dedications on Easter.  I have conflict with it every time.  There are more people I don't see in church, mothers but no fathers, and almost all of them not married...are the parents believers?  I hope the leaders deal with more of this than I understand, but I question how do we do this?!  What is right?  What would Jesus want His people to do?  Is He glorified?

We also rejoice that one man came back to Jesus on Easter Sunday!
And the girls and I decided as part of our devotions this week to visit and invite to church a couple unsaved friends.  We were thrilled they joined us on Easter and the welcomed them with a lot of love.  The families of these friends were so thankful we invited their parents and that they came.

What a lot to celebrate!

And baptisms!
Makai was so cute looking on.  He was quite troubled at one point when his friends were baptized.

I am very thankful for the many baptisms that took place on Easter.  It is always beautiful.
I did find it a bit thrown together though and that troubles me a little.  We strongly want and believe in the local church leaders to lead this church, so what is our place to help them.  The church leaders have said kids should be 13 years old or older to be baptized but some there were little ones this time.  It makes me wonder why, who changed it.  Are they really do the teaching before baptism?  What is taught?  We need to keep praying for strong, mature, and wise leaders for God's church to lead by God's truth.  Nevertheless, I praise God today for baptism - a sign that we are God's.

When baptisms were done Makai went for a swim!
He loved it and so did the kids watching him.

Our family and neighbors also watched Site & Sound's Jesus.  It is an amazing production and very meaningful.  I am touched every time by the love of Jesus, His grace and power.  A few years ago we watched Jesus and the scene where He goes to free the demon processed man made me bawl.  Jesus goes to rescue the one, He calls him by his name and true identity and calls him to return to Him and be free.  Beautiful.  It was at that time that we were praying for our loved one to be touched by Jesus.  Now three years later, as we watched Jesus again it was our loved one who was bawling at the same scene knowing she was the one.  Oh thank you Savior!!!  What an Easter.  He still lives, still loves and still is setting people free!