Easter Blessings

I want to wish each of you a very happy and blessed Easter weekend. I would like to share a beautiful Easter song with you that was written by my friend, Mary Buford. This song expresses the true joy of Easter morning.

Words and Music by Mary M. Buford. All Rights Reserved.

Easter Dawn

When Mary sadly trod the garden path

That Easter dawn,
And looked within her Savior's tomb
And found His body gone.

She started back in great dismay,
And through eyes dimmed with tears;

She thought she saw the gardener there,
And brought to him her fears:

"My Lord is gone...I know not where...
But, Sir, if you would know;
Where He is laid, please tell me now,
That to Him I may go."

One word He spoke, her name, t'was all,

But then she knew! SHE KNEW!
Oh, glory of the lighted mind! Oh, love that shatters fears that bind!
Oh, wonder of God's grand design! All He foretold comes True!

"HE LIVES!"
The bells of all the years of Easter mornings ring!
And joy abounds like Mary knew,

In hearts where Christ is King!

"HE LIVES!"

Indeed He conqured death for all who come to Him.
Oh!, now we see Thee, Lord of Life;

Our eyes no longer dim.

From Cana to Gethsemane, we meet our risen Lord.
From valley deep to mountain steep, we're lifted by His Word.
And, Oh, those precious moments when, like Easter morn anew,
We meet with Jesus once again, in those who love Him too.

The Legend Of The Easter Egg

CI would like to share with you a children's book that I recently read. The Legend of the Easter Egg, by Lori Walburg, is a fiction story about the meaning and orgin of Easter Eggs. A legend is defined as "a story handed down through the years and connected with some real events, but probably not true in itself". This book was illustrated by James Bernardin and was published by Zondervan, a Christian publishing company.

The setting of the story appears to be a farm in the late 1800s. A young boy is sent away to stay with John and Mary Sonneman while his sister recovers from scarlet fever. The Sonnemans own a candy store so Thomas feels like he has died and gone to heaven. He helps John work in the store and on Good Friday he goes to church with the Sonnemans. Thomas listens to the story of Jesus's death. Mary Sonneman explains to Thomas that "just as a chick breaks out of an egg, so had Jesus broken free of the tomb of death. Easter eggs remind us that Jesus conquered death and gives us eternal life."
On Easter morning, Thomas fills a basket full of colored eggs and walks home to see his sister. Lucy is recovering and Thomas is anxious to tell her about his faith in Jesus, his hope for new life and the Easter eggs.
There is a page in the back of the book that explains the traditions and symbols of Lent and Easter.
I think this is a wonderful book to share with children. Children will hear the story of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and learn the meaning of new life through the symbolism of the Easter egg. Parents and teachers will want to share the entire Easter story with their children after reading this book. This is a great story to read at Easter or anytime of the year.

Lori Walburg also wrote The Legend of the Candy Cane.