Christ-centered Scavenger Hunt and Other Easter Traditions

Childhood Memories

I grew up hunting for Easter eggs with my fellow Sunday school students or sometimes at a cousin's house, but we didn't really get visits from the Easter Bunny. I don't feel deprived now and I didn't then. Instead of looking forward to getting a fancy new dress or more candy than I could eat (which only sometimes happened in the spring of my childhood, to me Easter meant a time to gather with family and friends in gratitude for the new beginnings given to us by Christ.

2018 annual Easter egg hunt at a CT park with friends

2017 Easter egg hunt in Indianapolis
with Hansen cousins & their friends

Helping younger cousins serve as
we all learned a fun new skill

                                                                         Traditions Then and Now

One of the best things about new beginnings is review what we know and learning something new, whether that's a scripture story or a skill like napkin folding and setting the table! This gratifying, emerging tradition is one I hope to continue for years to come and not limit to Easter celebrations alone.

Now that I am a mother myself and given that we often are away from home on Easter in order to be with family, I have been more mindful than ever of the traditions that keep this holiday special for me and my family. We have loved participating in a wide variety of Easter egg hunts and potluck feasts over the past few years. Recently, Victoria gets a small basket with maybe 4 eggs filled with candy, but there's a scriptural scavenger hunt to find it. Last year's clues were based on different names of the Savior and where they might be found in our home: Bread of Life, Living Water, etc. Below are this year's clues.

1. Mary poured this on Jesus’s feet. He said she was anointing Him for His burial. (John 12:2-8) Where does Mommy keep hers?


2. People ______ palm branches and laid them in the streets when Jesus entered Jerusalem. (Matthew 21:1-11) Where do we see Daddy wave?


3. As part of the very first sacrament Jesus broke this, blessed it, and then shared it with His disciples. (Matthew 26:26) Where do we keep ours?


4. Some of the Pharisees paid Judas Iscariot ______ to betray Jesus. (Matthew 26:14-15) Where does Victoria keep hers?


5. The Roman soldiers made a _______ of thorns and pressed it onto Jesus’s head. (John 19:2) Where does Victoria keep hers?


6. The soldiers gave Jesus this to drink on the cross as a medicine. (John 20:1) Where do we keep ours?


7. The marks caused by these helped Thomas identify the resurrected Jesus. (John 20:25) Where does Daddy keep his?


8. ______ were used to prepare Jesus for burial. (John 19:40) Where does Mommy keep hers?


9. What remained in the tomb after Jesus rose? (John 20:6-7) Where do we keep ours?


Mom's answers/where to hide the clues: Perfume in the bathroom, back/dining room window, bread in the fridge, money in the piggy bank, crowns in the top costume drawer, vinegar under the kitchen sink, nails by/in Dad’s toolbox, spices in the kitchen, and clean sheets in the linen closet

We have also enjoyed making resurrection rolls with friends in Illinois and in Connecticut. We look forward to doing so again this year with a couple of my piano students. I still haven't decided if we'll have a fish and honeycomb dinner for just the three of us or a traditional all-you-can-eat spread and try to invite friends.

What are your favorite traditions, edible and non-edible? I'd love to hear them!

One fun thing we did in Illinois that isn't religious whatsoever is that for several years we enjoyed helping walk and feed the Valencic's bunnies at the Winfield Village park. Oh and it turns out that Victoria isn't a fan of Peeps candy: ha ha!

Going to Yale? Guess Not Yet

A few short weeks ago I received a rejection letter from Yale's School of Music. Initially my husband and I wondered if this decision stemmed from a missing letter of recommendation. I sent a request for confirmation at the urging of several friends who expressed more frustration and sorrow than I've yet to feel about it. I am surprisingly at peace not knowing what future projects await me. I did receive a courteous and personal response that very day, assuring me that my recordings were judged even though I was missing a letter of recommendation (I emailed the recommender in question and he says he sent it, but maybe it was sent too late for consideration and therefore marked as un-received?)

If you'd like to listen to my audition recordings I have uploaded some of the recordings to a playlist. This playlist will continue to grow.

Philippians 4:6 has several different translations and I find them all illustrative.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. (NIV)

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (KJV)

[a]Be nothing careful, but in all things let your requests be showed unto God in prayer and supplication with [b]giving of thanks. (1599 Geneva Bible)

Footnotes:
Philippians 4:6 The third is, that we be not too careful for anything, but with sure confidence give God thanks, and crave of him whatsoever we have need of, that with a quiet conscience we may wholly and with all our hearts submit ourselves to him.
Philippians 4:6 So David began very oft with tears, but ended with thanksgiving.

I love finding links between anxiety and prayer in the scriptures. I have always had a testimony of prayer and that has helped to soften my depression and anxiety even in the worst of times. But my testimony didn't prevent these trials. So I needed to deepen my understanding.

The Light of Hope

In the past couple of days I've testified multiple times of feeling hopeful and lighter in every sense of the word. 

Just hours before my brother's arrive home from a full-time mission, I had a beautiful lunch with the two sister missionaries here. We watched the press conference announcing the new first presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While several questions were asked and answers were given, what I'll remember most are the promptings I received and the wonderful discussion and testimony sharing I enjoyed this afternoon. We discussed the tangible (and intangible) blessings of the sacrifices made by those we love and most especially the Atonement of the One Who Loved Most. I felt His peace and forgiveness today and I thank those who helped to make it happen. #sharegoodness #grateful #PrinceofPeace #tone

Isaiah 40:31 "But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not be weary, they will walk and not be faint." #soap #sharegoodness#goodthingscometothosethatwait

When we are overwhelmed and disappointed that "all we can do" is obviously not enough, the Lord can and will bear us up as on eagle's wings. This goes beyond rekindling our hope; he promises to grant us strength to keep going! I never realized the second half of this promise.

How Can I Keep from Singing?

I kind of want to go to grad school still. I like Yale's Early and Sacred Music program best but their graduate school just rejected me. I have learned from the year of preparation and will continue to sing and sing well.

On the one hand I feel more free to pursue other interests now. But I also have less extrinsic motivation to continue with my music. I pray the Lord will inspire me to find reasons to keep challenging myself and to continue to grow in my abilities as a singer so that I can better deliver the messages He has placed within me. 

I feel like the verse in Isaiah is saying don't worry and don't be too hasty to take action. Just stand still and let God take care of it, because you have done and are doing all you can (whether it be the future of my master's degree, the possibility of getting pregnant, or whatever else 2018 has to offer.)

The atonement of Jesus Christ has truly lifted me up on eagles wings.