What Easter Means to Me - Ruth L. Snyder

By the time you read this post, our family will be in Three Hills spending time with my mom, my sister Becky and some of her family, and my brother Peter and some of his family. We are looking forward to face-to-face conversations (as opposed to Facebook and text messages), special food, and more than likely a competitive game or two. (My Dad lives in a special facility in Camrose due to his advanced Alzheimer's. My other brother lives in England and is not able to join us.)

As I think back to past Easter celebrations, I'm thankful for these memories:

• Decorating eggs
• Discussing the story of Jesus' death and resurrection
• Making our special candy Easter egg recipe: we coloured the fondant yolk yellow, wrapped it in white fondant and then dipped them in melted chocolate (see the recipe below)
• Visits to a farm where we were able to jump on a trampoline and go swimming
• Attending church together as a family
• Finding eggs that had been hidden by my parents or grandparents
• Enjoying a special Easter dinner, with lots of dessert
• Singing special songs like He Lives, Because He Lives, He's Alive

Now that I'm older, I realize what a rich heritage I have. There are still people in our world 🌎 who have never heard the name of Jesus. There are others who have only heard it as a swear word. Then there are those who attend church on Christmas and Easter 🐣 but don't understand the power of the cross. This makes me sad. It must break God the Father's ❤️ heart to know that His innocent Son suffered the penalty for all sin, and yet there are many who will never experience His forgiveness. They will never know what it is like to live an abundant life (John 10:10).

Easter means:

• There is hope, no matter how dark and desperate the situation. On Friday everything seemed hopeless, but praise God, Jesus arose on Sunday. There is the hope of salvation, the hope of life in this world, and the hope of an eternal home in Heaven.
• There is peace. Jesus Christ paid the price so that I could be reconciled to my Heavenly Father. I am no longer His enemy. In the world there will be war and difficulties, but I can have peace in the middle of it all.
• There is love. Jesus demonstrated the ultimate love when He laid down His life on the cross for me. Most of us would have difficulty laying our life down for anyone except a family member or close friend. Jesus gave His life for me when I was his enemy. Because Jesus loved me, I can love others. I cannot do it without allowing His love to flow through me.
• There is joy. The disciples shed many tears during Jesus' trial and crucifixion. They wondered how things could have gone so wrong. Then Sunday came. The angels said that they were looking for Jesus in the wrong place - He wasn't dead! They rejoiced. I rejoice also. I choose joy when I don't understand, because I know who I serve - the King of Kings.

As you celebrate Easter this year, I hope and pray that you have experienced a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the reason for Easter. If you haven't, I would be happy to connect with you and share what He has done for me. Send an e-mail to ruth at ruthlsnyder dot com. If you do have a personal relationship with Jesus, share what Easter means to you in the comments below. Today is Friday, but Sunday is coming!

You may also enjoy this Easter post I wrote last year on my blog: Hope in the midst of darkness.

Fondant Easter Eggs

Fondant Center:

2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk                 1/2 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla                                                     1 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar                            1 cup coconut

Cream butter and add salt, coconut and vanilla. Pour in sweetened condensed milk and stir until smooth. Add icing sugar (mixture is dry). Knead 5 minutes or until smooth, but not sticky. Put in a long roll. Take 1/3 of mixture and add yellow colouring and knead it in. Put in long roll and divide into 24 portions. Let set in air. Divide the other 2/3 of mixture into 24 portions. Roll yellow pieces into balls (yolk). Flatten white pieces and wrap them around the yellow portions to make "eggs". Put in fridge on a flat tray for several minutes. Remove from fridge and reshape any that need it, then return to fridge for several hours.

Chocolate Dip

8 oz semi-sweet chocolate

1/3 bar parafin wax

Place chocolate and wax in the top of a double boiler on low heat, or melt in a microwave. Stir until thoroughly combined. Remove from heat. When the mixture has cooled slightly, remove "eggs" from fridge and dip them 1/2 way using tongs. Dip and let set for a few minutes and then dip the other side so that the "eggs" are covered in chocolate. Return to fridge.

Frosting

2 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups icing sugar

Beat first three ingredients together. Add icing sugar and beat until stiff. Use frosting to decorate the chocolate covered eggs.

Suggested decorations:

• Make a border around the egg
• Make a lattice pattern on the egg
• Write a name on the egg
• Make flowers

A blessed Easter to you and your family from our family!

Ruth L. Snyder resides close to Glendon with her husband, five children and a husky/malamute named Olaf. She enjoys writing articles, devotionals, short stories, and Christian fiction. She is a member of The Creativity Coaching Association, The Christian PEN, and serves as President of InScribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship. Ruth loves her job teaching Music for Young Children and private piano lessons. She also enjoys speaking about what she’s learning in her walk with God, as a parent, and as a writer. In her spare time, Ruth enjoys reading, crafts, volunteering, photography, and travel. Find out more at http://ruthlsnyder.com.