Spring is springing in the northern hemisphere! This season is exciting, as we watch leaves bud, vegetation push up through the ground, and early Spring flowers bloom bright. Images of new life dot the landscape like paths of bread crumbs leading us to the full display of life that Summer brings. What a joy!
In Northeast Ohio, however, our early Spring can feel fairly elusive. The chilly air and overcast skies of Winter still cling close, creating a little battle of wills between the seasons. When we think about it, the environment honestly feels perfectly timed with the Christian calendar’s Lenten season. Lent is that season when Christians prepare their hearts for Easter, and Easter is that day when we celebrate life and life to the full! Jesus is not in the grave. The crucifixion the disciples saw, the one that killed their leader and teacher, left them feeling so confused. Wasn’t Jesus the Son of God and God the Son? How could He die? What life awaits them? As they stood at the crossroad of the death they saw, and the life that was blooming within the ground, the cold, overcast emotions of the moment must have loomed large. It had to feel like a winter of their souls.
The Good News is that cold, gloom, and death gave way to new life on Easter! The tomb was empty because Jesus overcame death and is alive. Like Winter giving way to Spring and Spring leading to the full bloom of Summer, the light of Easter shone brightly. And every Easter since the first is a celebration of that glorious life for all who take refuge in Christ. He died to pay for all of our sins, and he rose to conquer death and to pave the way for all of us to have life with Him forever. Hallelujah!
Lent is the time to prepare our hearts for that celebratory, victorious day. Not only can we look forward to the celebration of life with anticipation, but we can remember the path that led to Christ’s death while we sit securely in the knowledge of who and where we are today, because of Him. But how do we do that? The answer is so many ways! We thought we would share some of our favorite rhythms and approaches with you so that you might try a few yourself or perhaps be encouraged to start something similar but with your own unique touch.
Ways to prepare for Easter
Easter devotionals are a wonderful tool for retracing Jesus and His disciples’ journey toward the cross and the new life He was preparing for them and us. Some of our favorites include:
- Uncovering the Love of Jesus: A Lent Devotional by Asherita CiuCiu,
- New Morning Mercies by Paul David Tripp,
- Preparing for Easter by C.S. Lewis,
- He Chose the Nails by Max Lucado,
- 40 Days of Decrease by Alicia Britt Chole
- The Digital Fast: 40 Days to Detox your Mind and Reclaim What Matters Most by Dr. Darren Whitehead
- The Case for Easter by Lee Stroebel
Fasting and Prayer Journaling have allowed us to connect with God on much deeper and richer levels. A helpful tool for prayer this year has been the Lectio 365 Prayer focus on Lent, as well as a meditative focus on one Psalm per day.
Playing Resurrection Eggs with the children in our lives is always a fun way to explore the Easter story together. Additionally, we have enjoyed reading the book, A Tale of Two Kings: God’s Story of Redemption by Gloria Furman.
Watching movies or television series can be a helpful tool for bringing Biblical narrative to life. Some of our favorites are The Passion of the Christ movie, The Chosen TV series, and more recently, House of David on Amazon Prime.
Hosting a Seder Meal or Passover meal not only helps us to better understand the final dinner that Jesus shared with His disciples before dying on the cross, but also how He became the perfect Passover Lamb.
Leading your family through a foot-washing ceremony also ties in with Jesus’s last supper with His disciples, and helps us to understand service to others, which Jesus taught by example.
Creating a wreath for your front door in the colors of royalty, accompanied by a cross; making up Easter baskets for your favorite children that include messages and mementos of Easter, or baking “The Tomb is Empty Resurrection Cookies” are all sweet ways to point others toward Jesus.
You can find the recipe and instructions for the Resurrection Cookies by clicking here.
Hosting Easter-Dinner is another way to embrace the beauty of Easter and to share it with those you love. Sue adds special touches to her meal, such as decorating the table with Easter placemats (He is Risen) and Adornamentsâ (ornaments of the names of Jesus); decorating the table mainly in white, including flowers and brand new candles; providing Easter crafts that share the story of Easter with children; enjoying an Easter playlist; playing a song and reading a devotional together; and then having an egg hunt. It is a fun day full of celebration. We are new creations and we want to celebrate that!
How about you, friend? What are some of your favorite ways to prepare for and celebrate Easter? We’d love to read and share your ideas. In the meantime, may we prepare our hearts for that beautiful day when we all can proclaim, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!”
— The Sublime Soiree © March 31, 2025
