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It’s Tuesday of Holy Week! After Jesus cleanses the temple, he moves to the Mount of Olives where he speaks about the destruction of Jerusalem and the end of the age. Holy Monday and Holy Tuesday of Holy Week are set aside for spring cleaning so keep cleaning and preparing for Easter. Traditionally, Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week have been used for accomplishing the bulk of the work for Easter day. Easter Sunday is the most important feast day and is a time for joyous celebration so as little work as possible was supposed to be done on that special day. Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week were set aside to get the bulk of the work out of the way. The cleaning, cooking, and ironing were done by Wednesday so that the rest of Holy Week and Easter could be enjoyed with no distractions. Ways to celebrate: Read Matthew Matthew 24-25 as a family. Who is Jesus speaking to? Why do you think he is telling them these things? Like Holy Monday, it's time to spring clean! Assign chores to each family member, put on some good worship music, and clean your house! If you have some things that you can make in advance for Easter, go ahead and make them. I make casseroles during these days and put them in the freezer. I set them out to thaw on Holy Saturday and simply pop them in the oven to make on Easter Day.

Today is Holy Saturday. Jesus, the hope of so many people, had been brutally murdered and buried on Good Friday. The anguish his followers must have felt. The shock. The devastation. The man that had radically changed their lives, that they believed was their Savior was gone. The disbelief and utter horror they must have felt on Holy Saturday. Yet we know now, through holy scripture, that this is the day Jesus descended to the land of the dead where the Gospel message was preached. Jesus’ saving works continued and the world had no idea. This is why on Holy Saturday we are suspended between two worlds - the world of darkness, sin and death and the new world of light and resurrection. We remember the anguish the followers of Jesus felt on this day but it is hard to contain our excitement because we know what tomorrow holds - the most glorious day of all - the day that Our Lord Jesus Christ rose from the dead and defeated death forever! Ways to celebrate:

Today is Maundy Thursday Maundy Thursday marks the beginning of the holiest days in the life of the church - the Triduum. The Triduum begins at sundown on Maundy Thursday and ends at sundown on Easter Sunday. During these last three days, we walk with Jesus to his death and then to his glorious resurrection. Starting with Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus’ words, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends”. Because of his great love for us, Jesus laid down his life so that we might live with him forever. Like the old gospel song says: “What a friend we have in Jesus!” Beginning at sundown on Maundy Thursday, the church remembers how Jesus observed the Passover with his disciples. The Passover meal was pivotal in the lives of the Jewish people. It celebrated their deliverance from slavery in Egypt and how God acted mightily on their behalf. At the Passover, God established the Old Covenant with the Jewish people and promised to be their God. After Jesus celebrated the Passover meal, he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” In the midst of the celebration of the Old Covenant, Christ announces the beginning of the New Covenant which is sealed by his own blood. Through Christ’s death, ALL people who believe in him are made part of God’s family. Maundy Thursday is actually a solemn feast day because it celebrates the beginning of Holy Communion and the New Covenant. We also remember how, after the institution of the New Covenant, Jesus washed his disciples' feet and told them to follow his example by serving others. Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” This new commandment is where Maundy Thursday gets its name. “Maundy” is from the Latin mandatum which means “commandment”. Finally, on Maundy Thursday, we remember Jesus’ agony in the garden of Gethsemane, his betrayal by Judas, his desertion by the disciples, his trial, and how he was mocked and beaten.

Today is Spy Wednesday. It is the day that we remember when Judas agreed to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. Read Matthew 26:14-25 What must it have been like for Jesus to be betrayed by one of his closest friends? Lord God, your Son, our Savior, was betrayed by one of his closest friends and gave himself up to be whipped and spit upon: Help us to joyfully accept the hard things in our lives because we are confident of the glory that will be revealed; through Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

Easter is this Sunday! It is the biggest day of celebration in our Christian year. Since feast days are a time for joyous celebration, no work is supposed to be done at all. How are we supposed to rest on Easter Sunday? That seems impossible with all of the ironing and Easter basket filling and cooking that needs to be done! Well, traditionally, Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week were set aside for getting as much as possible done. All of the cleaning, cooking and ironing were all done by Wednesday so that the rest of Holy Week and Easter could be enjoyed with no distractions. I love this tradition, especially for us moms, where it seems like Easter brings more work and stress than normal. Years ago, I started doing this and it really changed my life. We don't get everything done but we get enough done that we are able to more fully participate in Holy Week.

Happy first day of February! This month is filled with so many special days in the liturgical year! We start with Candlemas where we celebrate the presentation of Jesus in the temple and we end the month with the beginning of Lent which is my favorite season of the Church Year. Follow along as I share the history, recipes and traditions for these special days in the life of the church.

Palm Sunday is almost here! It is the day when we, as Christians, remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey. When the people heard that Jesus was coming, they spread their cloaks on the road and palm branches that they had cut in the field. They waved their branches and shouted, “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heaven!" To celebrate this special day, decorate your home with this sweet Palm Sunday Mobile that you can easily make with your children. All you need are simple supplies that you already have in your home and yard. Set aside some time, read Matthew 21:1-11, put on some worship music, and make the Palm Sunday Mobile. Before you go to bed on Saturday night, let your children help you choose a place to hang the mobile. These tangible reminders of the special day we are celebrating add so much depth and beauty to our lives. I hope this Palm Sunday Mobile is a blessing to you and your family! Palm Sunday Mobile Green construction paper Glue Twine Hole punch Red ribbon Stick Scissors Starting on the narrow side of the paper, fold an entire sheet of green construction paper accordion style. When you are finished, fold it in half. About 3/4 of the way up the stack, cut in a curve to the tip of the other side. Unfold the stack and punch a hole where you see the crease in the paper. Take a 12-18 inch piece of twine and tie one end through the hole and knot. Glue the interior strips together. Make as many palms as you want. Place your stick down and tie the palms at varying lengths along the stick. Take a long piece of twine and tie each end to the ends of your stick. Hang on a nail in the wall. Tie the red ribbon in a simple knot and hang it on the nail.

For Christians, Easter is the most important celebration of our faith. It marks the resurrection of Jesus and his triumph over sin and death. Easter Eggs have become a popular symbol associated with the holiday. But what is the significance of Easter eggs for Christians? An Egg-cellent History Early on in the history of the church, the egg became a powerful symbol for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Just as a chick hatches from its egg and emerges into new life, Christians believe that Jesus emerged from his tomb on Easter Sunday, having conquered death and bringing new life to all who believe in him. In many Christian traditions, eggs are also associated with Lent, the 40-day period of fasting and reflection leading up to Easter. During Lent, Christians give up certain foods, including meat and dairy products. Eggs were traditionally included in this group of foods to avoid since they were seen as a rich and luxurious food that should be set aside in favor of more modest fare. However, while eggs were not being consumed during Lent, chickens were still laying eggs. To keep from wasting the eggs, people would hard boil them and keep them until Easter Day. On Easter Day, they would bring their eggs, along with all of the other foods that would be used for their Easter feast to be blessed by the priest. They would bring all of their food in a basket, where we get the tradition of the Easter basket. Having your Easter foods blessed was a way of expressing gratitude for the abundance of God’s blessings and also served as a way to sanctify and consecrate the foods that were to be eaten on Easter Sunday. There was even a special prayer prayed over the eggs: Lord, let the grace of your blessing come upon these eggs, that they be healthful food for your faithful who eat them in thanksgiving for the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you forever and ever. Amen. Since eggs were a powerful symbol to Christians of the resurrection of Jesus and since they were finally able to eat their eggs on Easter Day, eggs were a central food in the Easter feast. Many traditions were created around eggs: food made with eggs, decorating eggs, egg hunts, and chocolate desserts shaped like eggs to name just a few. Easter Eggs to Dye For Decorating Easter eggs is a long-standing tradition in many Christian cultures around the world. Depending on the country, Christians decorate eggs in a variety of ways, including painting, dyeing, and embellishing them with various designs and materials. One popular way to decorate eggs is to dye them. Depending on the country, specific colors have different symbolic meanings. For example, in the Orthodox Christian tradition, eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ shed for our sins. In other countries, spring colors are used such as green, yellow, and light blue to represent new life. Eggs can also be painted with intricate designs and patterns often with religious symbols such as crosses. In some cultures, such as in Ukraine, eggs are dipped in beeswax and then etched to create intricate designs before dyeing them. They can also be decorated by carving intricate designs or using a technique called etching. This involves creating a design by removing the shell’s outer layer using acid or a sharp tool. These eggs can be kept for family Easter baskets but are often given as gifts and are highly valued for their beauty and symbolism. Overall, the practice of decorating eggs for Easter is a way for Christians to celebrate the joy and renewal of the Easter season. The many different colors and techniques used to decorate eggs reflect the long-standing history and rich diversity of Christian cultures around the world. I still have such good memories of buying PAAS Easter egg-dying kits at the grocery store and then setting up an egg-dyeing station on the kitchen counter. We’d line all of the dyes up and dip our eggs repeatedly until we had the depth of color or the design we were hoping for. That night, my mom would take the dried Easter eggs and place them in our Easter baskets filled with Easter grass and assorted Easter candies. It was always such a joy to wake up and find my Easter basket waiting for me! If you’d like to incorporate the tradition of decorating eggs in your home, why not try decorating your eggs naturally? You can use vegetable discards or spices to achieve the most beautiful colors! Your children will love being able to make the dyes themselves and you can also try making red eggs which boxed dye kits usually don’t have the dye for. Recipe for Natural Easter Egg Dyes Note: The color of the dyes will depend on how concentrated the dye is, what color egg you use, and how many times the eggs are immersed in the dye. You can dye about 4 eggs per cup of dye. Ingredients: Boiled and cooled white eggs. (You can use any color of eggs but it will change the outcome). Olive oil Vinegar salt Per cup of water use the following: 1 cup chopped purple cabbage for blue eggs 1 cup red onion skins for red eggs 1 cup yellow onion skins for orange eggs 2 tablespoons ground turmeric for yellow eggs 1 bag Red Zinger tea for lavender eggs Combine the water and whatever ingredient you are using in a saucepan. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and raise heat to a boil. Turn down heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes. Allow liquid to cool. Once the liquid has cooled, strain. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to every cup of strained dye liquid. Dip your cooled, boiled eggs into the dye as many times as you want to get the desired color. Brush or rub the dyed eggs with olive oil to get a nice sheen.

Tomorrow is St Patrick’s Day! One of our favorite foods that we eat on St. Patrick’s day is this amazing Irish Soda Bread. It’s fun, easy to make, and absolutely delicious with its crispy crust, currants, and orange zest. Enjoy! Easy and Delicious Irish Soda Bread 4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for currants or raisins 4 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon baking soda 1½ teaspoons kosher salt 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch diced 1¾ cups cold buttermilk, shaken 1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten 3 teaspoons grated orange zest 1 cup dried currants or raisins Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and mix on low speed until the butter is mixed with the flour. With a fork, lightly beat the buttermilk, egg, and orange zest together in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture. Combine the currants or raisins with 1 tablespoon of flour and mix into the dough. It will be very wet. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and knead it a few times into a round loaf. Place the loaf on the prepared sheet pan and lightly cut an X into the top of the bread with a serrated knife. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. When you tap the loaf, it will have a hollow sound. Cool on a baking rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

With the celebration of Epiphany, a whole new season begins, Epiphanytide. Epiphanytide is not so much the end of Christmas as a continuation of Christmas. We began the Christmas season with a revelation, the revelation of God to His people in the birth of Jesus Christ, and throughout Epiphanytide the revelations of who Jesus is will continue until we begin the season of Lent. So, what is Epiphanytide, and what is this mysterious word “epiphany”? Epiphany is from the Greek word “epiphaneia” which means manifestation. An epiphany, by definition, happens suddenly and it reveals the essential nature or meaning of something. Epiphany can also be described as an intuitive grasp of reality through something simple and striking. What are the epiphanies that the church celebrates from Christmas Day until the end of Epiphany? Well, first of all, the church believes that Jesus was THE revelation of God to us, and through that major revelation came more detailed revelations. Jesus’ birth was the revelation of God to Israel, the visit of the Three Wise Men was the revelation of God to the Gentiles, the baptism of Jesus revealed the Trinity, the miracle of the wedding at Cana revealed Jesus’ glory and the presentation of Jesus in the temple revealed Jesus as the Messiah. Ways to Celebrate Epiphanytide We receive revelations through the Father by studying his word and by spending time in prayer. Commit personally and as a family to spend time in God’s Word and to spend time in prayer. Here is a simple daily prayer guide I created to help get you started: The church gives us the opportunity to mark these revelations and celebrate them as feast days. Celebrate the special holy days of the season with your family. Read the collect and scriptures for the day, and talk about what this reveals about Jesus and what it means for our lives. Make the special foods or do the special activities. Epiphanytide is such a beautiful season. It is a time to rest and reflect after the busyness of Advent and Christmas and to really focus on the light of God’s revelation through his son, Jesus Christ. And just as we will see later in the season with the confession of St. Peter, we do not receive revelations through “flesh and blood but through our Father in heaven”. What a wonderful thing to know about God’s revelations, that they are freely given, we just have to receive them! So, here's to a season of slowing down, opening our hearts, and making space to receive all that God would like to reveal to us!

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation of the Lord. I did not make the traditional fare of waffles but I ate an amazing blackened grouper sandwich in the cute little coastal town of Apalachicola. Best feast day ever! Annunciation simply means announcement and on this day, we celebrate when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear the Messiah. “Today is the beginning of our salvation, God is come among men; He who cannot be contained is contained in a womb; The timeless enters time. A great mystery! His conception is with- out seed, his emptying past telling! So great is this mystery! For God empties himself, takes flesh and is fashioned as a creature, when the angel tells the pure Virgin of her conception: ‘Rejoice, you who are full of grace; the Lord who has great mercy is with you!’” St. John the Monk On this day we also celebrate Mary’s beautiful response, “I am the Lord’s servant... May it be unto me according to your word.” How are you celebrating today?

Today is St. Patrick’s Day! In my hometown, the day was always celebrated with a huge beer festival and being pinched if you were not wearing green. But St. Patrick’s Day is so much more than beer and green clothing! St. Patrick was a real person and his history is actually quite beautiful. St. Patrick grew up in a Christian family in the 400’s in Britain. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest. When he was 16, his village was raided by Irish marauders and St. Patrick was kidnapped. He was taken by ship to Ireland where he became a slave for six years. During this time, Patrick was forced to herd sheep for a local chieftain. He lived in isolation with very little food or clothing. Patrick turned to the Christian faith that he had been brought up in and it was the only thing that kept him going through those brutal years. As he was praying one day, an angel appeared to him and told him of a ship hundreds of miles away that was leaving for his homeland. Patrick escaped from his master and walked hundreds of miles to get to the ship. He was given passage and was eventually reunited with his family. However, after a time, Patrick began having visions about Ireland. Patrick said that he heard the voice of the Irish calling out to him, “We beg you, holy boy, to come and walk among us.” After going through a time of religious training, Patrick was made a priest and then a bishop. He returned to Ireland and shared the gospel of Jesus with the chiefs and then their clans. Patrick already knew the Irish language and their customs which helped him greatly in communicating with the people. For the rest of his life, Patrick traveled throughout Ireland, spreading the good news and converting thousands to the Christian faith. So as we celebrate St. Patrick today, let us give thanks to God that He is always with us, even in the midst of tremendous hardship and that He is able to take our sufferings and use them to help others and to bring them out of darkness into His glorious light!