Tag Archives: easter

Believe Again: Easter Hope for Everyday Faith

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Unbelief

Sometimes, we’re really hard on Thomas. I mean his nickname is “Doubting Thomas,” so it’s kind of warranted. But it’s interesting that it wasn’t just Thomas who doubted. The disciples also doubted.

After his resurrection, Jesus appears first to Mary Magdalene.

After Jesus rose from the dead early on Sunday morning, the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. She went to the disciples, who were grieving and weeping, and told them what had happened.  But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn’t believe her.

Mark 16:9-11 NLT

Mary Magdalene told the disciples that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, but they didn’t believe her. Next, Jesus appears to two of his followers as they travel. He walks with them and talks with them. They hurry to tell the others, but they don’t believe them.

 Afterward he appeared in a different form to two of his followers who were walking from Jerusalem into the country. They rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them.

Mark 16:12,13 NLT

Stubborn Unbelief

Jesus told them exactly what would happen, and they had eye witness accounts of his resurrection. Yet, they chose not to believe. When Jesus finally shows himself to the disciples, he rebukes them for their unbelief. Not only does He call it unbelief, He calls it stubborn unbelief.

Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their stubborn unbelief because they refused to believe those who had seen him after he had been raised from the dead.

Mark 16:14 NLT

Failing to Believe

How did the people who got to actually see Jesus and hear his teaching and know Him personally doubt in the end? If their faith wasn’t strong enough; there’s no hope for my faith.

So much in the Gospels comes back to belief. Jesus healed or didn’t heal based on people’s belief. All of his healing and his teaching kept coming back to belief.

It’s not so different in our lives all these years later. God wants to work in our lives, but He still does that work according to our belief or unbelief. I wonder if far too often, God doesn’t do something in our lives simply because we fail in this area of believing.

Choose to Believe

As we celebrate Good Friday today and Easter on Sunday, it’s a good time to reflect on what Jesus did for us. But let’s take it further than that. Let’s choose not to be like the disciples who missed what was in front of them. Let’s not let the struggles and difficulties of life make us doubt God’s goodness and love. The same Jesus who died on the cross and rose for us is the same Jesus who is still walking beside us today. Let’s believe in his goodness and trust that the same God who rose from the dead is the same God who will take care of me today.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, When Everything Changed for Mary, and She Could Hope Again or check out Matt’s book, Six Days to Sunday, an Easter devotional.

Kids’ Easter Basket Ideas

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Easter baskets

Our Tradition with Easter Baskets

Easter is only a few weeks away, and that means Easter baskets! We have a tradition in our home that we keep every Easter. It’s actually a tradition passed on from my childhood, and that is candy trails. Every Easter, Matt and I prepare four different candy trails, one for each of our kids. Each child lines up behind their starting point and follows their trail, picking up the candy along the way, until they reach the end of their trail. At the end of their trail, they find their Easter basket.

We’ve had lots of creative hiding places over the years—the trunk of the car, outside under the deck, inside a cabinet, in the dishwasher, in a closet, down in the basement, in the dryer, etc. It’s such a fun tradition and one the kids look forward to every year.

Kids’ Daily Journals

Each year, most of us feel the pressure of finding special things for our children’s Easter basket besides just candy. One of the things we recommend are our Kids’ Daily Journals.

The Kids’ Daily Journal is a tool to help your child learn to pray, read, and apply the Bible even at a young age. The Kids’ Daily Journal is perfect for ages 5 to 12 for both non-readers and readers. 

Journal Features:

  • Section for daily prayer: your child will have a chance to write down something they’re thankful for, something they’re confessing, and what they’re praying for
  • Record daily Bible reading: your child will record what they read in the Bible
  • Daily application: you child will draw a picture of what they learned and/or write a few sentences about what they learned.
  • 6 months of journal entry pages
  • Large spacing for young writers
  • Creative drawing space for non-writers
  • Designed for parent-guided journaling for the non-reader or self-guided journaling for the reader.

If you’re looking for a little something special to put in your kids’ baskets this year, be sure to check out our Kids’ Daily Journals!

What else to put in?

What else could go really well with a kids’ journal? You could add any of the products below and help your child build their own morning time basket.

  • Bright colored pens
  • A new Bible
  • Highlighters
  • A book
  • Stickers
  • Book marks
  • Notecards
  • Post-it notes
  • Note cards

For More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post, 12 Ways to Make Easter Special at Home. I wrote this post during Covid, but the ideas are still applicable.

You can also check out Matt’s book, Six Days to Sunday: Turn Setbacks into Comebacks.

When Everything Changed for Mary, and She Could Hope Again

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With Easter this weekend, I decided to pull an excerpt from my husband’s book, Six Days to Sunday. We drop into the scene where Mary has just been to the tomb and realized it’s empty.

Mary’s Sorrow

Mary stands outside and weeps (Jn 20:11). Peter and John go back to the room to report their findings to the others. Mary stays put at the tomb and looks for herself. But when she enters, she sees something Peter and John didn’t see—two angels. “Why are you crying?” they ask.   

“They’ve taken Jesus,” she says.   

She turns and sees a man standing in the entryway of the tomb. “Why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” he asks.   

She turns back to where the grave clothes are lying. “Friend, if you’ve taken his body, please tell me where you’ve put him, so I can care for his body myself,” she says, thinking the man is the caretaker of the garden cemetery.   

Jesus Calls Her Name

Mary is distraught, looking at the place where she thought she would find Jesus’ body. She’s lost in thought and then hears something so strange, yet so familiar… something she’s heard a hundred times and longed to hear once more, something she thought she would never hear again.   

“Mary,” Jesus says. In an instant, she recognizes his voice. She turns. “Teacher!” she exclaims.  

It’s that moment of shock when the hair stands up on the back of your neck. Your brain sends a rush of emotion and feeling from the back of your brain, down your spine and through your fingertips, and down to your toes.   

the resurrection

Mary has her Hope Restored

Hope was restored. It wasn’t over. It wasn’t a dream. He was alive. He spoke to her. “Don’t touch me just yet. I need to go to the Father. Go back and tell the disciples what I have told you.”   

Mary’s faith comes back. Her heart swells. Her confidence is restored. If she had any doubt about Jesus before, one word sent those doubts and fears fleeing, never to return.   

She runs to the disciples to tell them the news. “He’s alive. Jesus is alive!”  

“What are you talking about? Are you sure you saw him? This can’t be true.” The disciples were stunned in disbelief. How? How in the world is Jesus alive? And then they ask, “Are you sure? How do you know? What did He say to you?”   

“He said just one word. He called my name,” she said.   

Mary has her Faith Restored

The first step to restoring your faith happens when Jesus calls your name. How does he call your name? It’s him calling you in a sunrise. It’s Jesus calling you in the downpour of a rainstorm. Hearing his voice in the coo of a newborn. It’s the laughter of a child, the smile of a man standing with a sign asking for help from a dirty roadside, the touch of a hand, a hug from a friend, the kiss of a loved one. It’s Jesus calling you.

He says, “I know you. I haven’t forgotten you. Of all the people I could be reaching out to, I choose you. I know you lost hope in me, and I know you didn’t understand. You got hurt, and you lost faith. I saw the pain in your eyes and the hurt in your heart. But I’m here. I’m calling you. I’m calling your name because I know you. I know your name, and I am here for you.” 

Our faith is restored when we simply choose to hope once again.

For More Encouragement

If you enjoyed this post, check out When Your Pain Paves the Way for a Miracle, my blog post about Mary that I wrote last year at Easter.