How can we help kids remember Christ along with the eggs, candy and Easter Bunny? Nine years ago we started this tradition creating jellybean prayer eggs with our kids. Over the years of busyness, we forgot this tradition until I reminisced my oldest daughter’s scrapbook.
This is my 13-year-old daughter nine years ago sorting the colors of jelly beans.
Now my three-year-old {turning four next month} is doing the same thing.
Because we have the mission meal this week, we decided to have the younger kids hand out the eggs while they serve. Every month we cook a budget meal for 40 and serve homeless women and children at our local shelter. My husband and I thought this would be a great reminder to my children and a perfect opportunity to remind others of the real reason for Easter. We will also do the jellybean eggs for our small neighborhood of nine.
Once again, this is a frugal and quick idea to bless others. Brach jelly beans are a $1 at Wal-Mart. We always have a box of plastic eggs leftover from previous egg hunts. You can cut and paste the following prayer in the different colors below. I created two columns in a Word document and printed 4 to a page. I will warn you there are not a lot of yellow jelly beans in the bag so we improvise and sub orange instead when we run out.
Jelly Bean Prayer
Red is for the blood He gave,
Green is for the grass He made.
Yellow is for the sun so bright,
Black is for the sins we made.
White is for the grace He gave,
Purple is for His hours of sorrow.
Pink is for the new tomorrow.
An egg full of jellybeans,
colorful and sweet,
is a prayer, a promise and a sweet treat!
I hope this small act of kindness will bless others as it does us! Let me know if you try it out. We’ve given them out at nursing homes, restaurants, family gatherings and more. It’s a great way for children and adults to remember Easter and share it with others!
I’m reminded of the following verses to impress God’s Word on our children’s hearts. This activity is a simple way to talk about God and Easter.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9
New International Version (NIV)
5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Have you shared the true meaning of Easter with someone lately? Do you have an Easter tradition to share with us?