Easter Sunday was soooooo beautiful! Such a perfect day. Warm and sunny. A wonderful break from the bitter fight spring and winter keep having in Utah. Our little family was able to have a nice Easter together without too much glitz and glamour. Such a wonderful day and way to celebrate the most wonderful day over 2000 years ago when Jesus Christ rose from the grave and opened the way for every person to live again.
So, how does the Nielsen family celebrate Easter? Yes, the beloved bunny makes a visit. But he takes a backseat to the real star of the day: Jesus Christ. Yes, we hunt eggs and gorge on goodies, but not before we take time to honor and show our love for our Savior Jesus Christ. We find the best way to do that is to attend and worship in His true, living and amazing Church on the Sabbath day and draw close to Him as we renew the covenants we made with Him. We listen to inspired speakers that testify of Him and offer words of encouragement, edification and enlightenment. We attend Sunday school, primary and other classes where we learn and discuss His gospel so that we may strive to understand and live it more fully each day by the power of the Holy Spirit. Faith in Jesus Christ brings a power, peace and happiness into our lives that cannot be found or replicated anywhere else.
It makes days like this even sweeter and brighter and happier.
(Please take a moment to read a few more thoughts at the end of this post. And follow the links to learn more about this topic that consumes my heart.)
The kids clean up pretty good. Here they are all dressed up for the day...
Do my kids know how to smile for pictures? Pose for pictures? Stand together for pictures? Open their eyes?... no... the answer is obviously no. Yep, daddy was in charge. And I publish these with the hope that next year will be better.
The fabled bunny certainly hit our house hard.
If you can't see all the eggs it is because they were so well hidden.
The expert huntress put her extra years of hunting experience to good use. She was the clear winner.
Porter just liked getting to participate.
I am so thankful to know that because Jesus Christ broke the bands of death, we have promise and faith and hope that death can have no permanent power over us. Families can be reunited forever. All of us will experience death in this life but because of Jesus Christ, all will live again. How thankful I am for my testimony of Jesus Christ and his gospel. How thankful I am to be a member of His Church. My life has purpose, meaning and potential. My family is stronger and closer because of the eternal ties that unite us together in love and happiness. The gospel of Jesus Christ gives me an eternal perspective that breaches the temporary moments of this life and reaches into the glories of eternity. It enables me to face the trials and ordeals of this life with hope and happiness. How thankful I am to know Jesus Christ. He is my Lord, my king, my Savior, my exemplar, my brother and my friend. He is the only way. Any other way is madness. I feel his pure and eternal love for me and each and every person. No one is perfect. Only God. We are all weak and flawed in so many way in this world but we are loved by God so much that He would do anything to bring us home to Him again- even suffer and die to pay for our debts. Because of His perfect life, He was the only person that could be the perfect sacrifice and reconcile us to our Heavenly Father. Though we are incomplete, God loves us completely. Though we are imperfect, He loves us perfectly. Though we may feel lost and without compass, God’s love encompasses us completely.
I testify that He lives! He loves us! He is involved in the details of our lives. He wants us to know Him. He is there for us. If we reach out to Him, he will help us, heal us and bring us home to Him.
