I'm sure I am not the only person who is a little concerned with the way the general public approaches Easter as a holiday.  Each year as Spring arrives, I read alot about how frustrated, dissappointed, and even angered people are at the battle between the Easter Bunny and Jesus.  And each year, I have the same thought:  None of this should suprise us.

One of my favorite quotes is, "What one generation tolerates, the next generation practices."  Decades ago, the Chrstian community tolerated many of the practices we see today regarding Easter: Candy, eggs, bunnies,  You get the point.  The direct result was a generation of young Christians parents, like myself, who do not just tolerate these practices, but now PRACTICES them.

As Easter approaches this year, I have begun to ask myself once again, "How am I going to help my children understand and celebrate the true meaning of Easter?"  No, Christmas is not any easier than Easter to detox my family from.  But there are some clear cut methods that Christian parents, and teens for that matter, can take to "Detox" their holiday in 2010.  Here are my suggestions:

1. Start with changing your vocabulary.  Instead of Easter Sunday, try RESURRECTION SUNDAY.  Its gets straight to the point.  Try it a few times and you might be suprised how quickly your friends and family catch on.

2. Don't just celebrate Easter Sunday,  Celebrate HOLY WEEK.  That's right, there is a whole week you can teach your family about.  The events leading up to resurrection Sunday are amazing and should be told and retold each year.

3. Slow down on the eggs, bunnies, and candy, and try redirecting the festivities to a more family oriented share time.  There's nothing wrong with playing charades with the life of Christ.  Try a website or family devotion books for some new and fun ideas.  You might be suprised how creative you can be when it comes to teaching and celebrating this time of year.

4. Don't be afraid to plan a devotion for the adult time on Resurrection Sunday.  I know, its hard sometimes to do this with other family members.  Especially if they are not used to it.  But what's the worst thing that can happen, they sit quietly and listen?  Read some scripture, talk a little bit about why Resurrection Sunday is so important to you.  And pray for the meal. Once again, the goal here is to try and balance everything else we are doing to celebrate the seculer version of Easter.

5. Finally, as Resurrection Sunday ends and everyone hits the bed, go in and sit and visit with your loved ones and do some "review."  Ask them what they think about the real meaning of Resurrection Sunday.  Ask them how they would have celebrated it differently if they were Mom or Dad.  Ask them how they grew closer to God because of the special Holy Week emphasis.  And while your at it, be sure and open God 's Word with them and pray.

We will spend alot of time and money reinforcing the world's idea of this annual Spring holiday.  I think if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that counteracting this idea with a more focused and intentional approach to helping our family understand and experience the true meaning of the holiday is the least we can do.  In fact, now that I think about it,  its the best we can do.  If we're honest with ourselves.