So Much Bigger than the Bunny Giveaway!

We were given a family devotional for Christmas, to do with our kids.  We’d always done family devotions (or family commotions, as we tend to refer to it as) but this book made it more structured.  Our kids absolutely loved it.  As I was looking through it one night I thought, “Hey, I could do this!”  and immediately the Lord began to impress upon my heart what He wanted me to do.

Josh and I feel that, as parents, we have a high calling from Christ.  He has entrusted us with His children, for a time, to raise them to love Him and be used by Him.  They are not ours.  I don’t know about you, but just saying that motivates me to step it up!

In 2008 we began to celebrate “Holy Week” as a family, with specific daily activities and devotions.  You may be wondering what exactly “Holy Week” is, like I did before we began our traditions.  It is the week leading up to Easter.

Each year I got more and more into it, reading about the symbolism behind specific Easter activities and I wanted to bring that to life for my kids!  I mean, what greater story of our Faith should be passed on to our kids than the one of our Savior conquering death for us!  So, that is how this book came to be.

It is a 7-week family devotional that begins the week of Ash Wednesday, which is March 9 of this year, and leads all the way up to the Lord’s glorious resurrection.  I have generalized many of the activities so that you can fit it to be age-appropriate for many different ages at the same time.

First of all, I have included a small section for parents to read to help them communicate Jesus’ death to little ears in an age-appropriate way.  Death can be a scary thing, but cannot be left out of this beautiful story of Christ’s love for us.

Each week includes:

a section for the parent to read before you get started,

a Bible verse, which is topic-related to the lesson that week,

a short explanation to teach your children where this specific lesson/activity originated,

a topic-related activity to do together (don’t worry, they are very simple and most of them require no prep work) and discussion questions.

There are a lot of uncommon words that may surface, such as, Lent, Passover and Temptation, so I created a section for you to refer back to that will help explain these things to young children.

I also have a  resource section that will refer you to other websites, giving additional activities, my blog, so you can see first-hand how we have celebrated with our own kids, and also my personal favorite, a couple of kid-friendly resurrection songs we made up with our kids!

If you think that 7 weeks is just too long for you, I have created “The Fast Track”, located near the back of the book, for those families who just want to celebrate “Holy Week.” It is laid out in a day-by-day format to give specific activities and lessons for each day of the week leading up to Easter.

Tasha is GIVING AWAY 2 COPIES this week to two Cafe Family Counter Readers!

You can be entered up to four (4) times for the “So Much Bigger than the Bunny!” Giveaway.

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Come back and let us know you’ve shared this giveaway with your friends so that you will be counted accordingly.

“So Much Bigger than the Bunny” Giveaway runs from today, February 28, 2011, through Friday, March 4, 2011. Two winners will be selected at random and announced on Saturday, March 5, 2011.

These make WONDERFUL spring gifts and can be found at  Amazon.com or Barnes~n~Noble.com

My prayer is that this devotional will be a tool for families to begin communicating about their faith together and making this Easter season come ALIVE for you and your children!

Tasha is the wife of worship leader and songwriter Josh Via, and the mother of three beautiful children.  They are in the process of adopting another little girl from Uganda.  Tasha works as a stay-at-home mom and worship leader/musician.  They reside in Raleigh, NC and she keeps up with her daily happenings of life as a self-employed wife, Christ-follower, musician and homeschooling mom on her blog at Afraid of Failing.

Lori MacMath

Lori's daily mantra includes praying, "I will take it Lord, ALL you have to give," and a commitment to live out Colossians 3:17 daily. It's her prayer that the energy that fills her spirit be with her till her dying breath! She lives in the Deep South with her husband of 21 years and her 3 children, where she seeks daily to be creative and use the gifts the Lord has given her. With the heart of an artist and a spirit to live intentionally missional, Lori strives daily to see Him in all that surrounds her. Encouraging women on their daily walk with the Lord is her passion! She attends Vintage 242 church where she is active in women's and children's ministries. Lori can be found daily at her own personal website, "All You Have to Give." http://www.allyouhavetogive.com

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