Passover 2011

This week I've really been thinking about my Savior and how grateful I am of His love for us.  In honor of Him, I wanted to acknowledge Passover (remembering when he caused the curse of death to  "passed over" His people, the Israelites, and brought them out of Egypt from underneath the bondage of Pharaoh).  So the kids and I enjoyed preparing our 2nd ever family Passover seder a few days ago.

We used the above book from our local library.  In the back were some easy recipes for our passover meal.

Ny helps to stir the meal for the matzah ball soup.

Our main Passover dish consisted of lamb, parsley for dipping in the salt water, an egg, and charoset.  We didn't have the bitter herb, so we reused the parsley  dipped in a bitter sauce instead.  Our side dishes (or just-in-case meals) were dinner rolls and wild grain rice.  Because we are not orthodox, nor are we Jewish, we didn't keep "kosher"- in case you were wondering about the dinner rolls!

Last year we created our own matzah.  This year it's store bought and surprisingly tastier.

Our humbly simple Passover meal completely set with a Haggadah printout (to help us follow along with what to say).

This year our meal is at a smaller table in a smaller home...and yet there was something so beautifully rich and grand about the entire process- from cooking and singing songs about the exodus with my kids to finally setting the table and sitting down to pray and  eat as a family.  My husband told the story of the Israelites' suffering and deliverance out of Egypt- with passion, I might add!  The kids loved it.  When it was Z's turn, she asked "the questions", and although Ny is not the youngest she had a turn at the questions as well.

Z finds the "afikomen"- the matzah wrapped in cloth which is hidden for the kids to find.  When they find it, they get a prize.

The main thing I wanted our family to get out of this special time together was to have the story of God's rescuing power be at the forefront of my children's minds as we are lead into the Resurrection weekend.  I want them to understand how important we are to our Lord- enough for Him to bring us out of Egypt.  He did this by delivering us through the power of the Cross-ultimately.  Today, we can be rescued out of our "Egypt" because of His submission to God's will by laying down His life on the cross.  For us.  It's too much for me to understand, but I receive it.  I can hardly fathom it, but I believe it.  And I want my kids to know as much as they can possibly understand at their tender ages of 3 and 8, that God loves them dearly.  Enough to "pass over" their sins and offer them true, everlasting life.
Again, as I mentioned earlier, I enjoy occasional fellowship with my Messianic brothers and sisters, but we are gentiles, not claiming a jewish identity.  So, we don't get all the "rules" just right.  But we celebrate Passover in the spirit of honoring God. 
I look forward to Sunday, the day we will remember Jesus and how He was resurrected from the grave.  It's a day of rejoicing-- it makes me very happy.  Reason?  Because I know that in Him I can have life too.  It's as though my life is wrapped in His, covered in His.  Whatever mistakes I've made are covered with His cloak of forgiveness.  Whatever needs I have- He's got me covered.  Where I falter, He lifts me up.  When I am confused, He takes away the cloud of confusion and brings clarity.  When I feel sad, His presence brings me joy.  When I want to throw in the towel and call it quits, the Lord gives me a renewed energy that I can't even explain.  It comes from Him.
Happy Passover, and Happy Resurrection Day.