Good Friday lunch

A sunny day to look for flowers, rocks and sticks!

I'm sorry I didn't get to this more quickly!  We have had a very busy week.  It's been good, but BUSY!  We made our Easter mountain, and tonight we attended our church's Maundy Thursday service (a highlight in my year!).  I will not take time now to repeat detailed descriptions on our Easter mountain, but just put up a few pictures I have taken as well as the link to where I wrote about this in the past.

Decorating the Easter mountain

But before Good Friday is here, I wanted to share my plan for a special Good Friday lunch we are going to have tomorrow.  I have been trying to think of a way to make Good Friday special with a meal.  We are not often at home on Good Friday, because we tend to travel to visit family on Easter, but this year we are here, and I wanted to do something meaningful, as well as invite some friends to do it with us!  So here is what I came up with -- it's not amazingly original, but amazingly simple.

 I want to set the table using real china, silver and goblets, and as a centerpiece put our Easter mountain as well as a small wood cross and a red rose.  As we talk about Jesus dying for our sins, I will let the kids help me rip off the petals and attach them to the cross with push pins, so we can visibly see something beautiful and perfect be destroyed like Jesus was. I got this idea from Jessalyn at Desiring Virtue, and you can read her post and see her beautiful pictures here.  

For food, I will set a large tray with the following: slices of cheese, cut into a cross shape, olives (for the mount of Olives where Jesus prayed), carrots cut in points like thorns, matzo bread (which shows stripes and piercings illustration how Jesus was hurt -- also, we break it, as Jesus' body was broken), grape juice (which reminds us of his blood poured out), small tomatoes (which remind us of the stone -- you could use anything round) and a lamb cake (which reminds us of the spotless Lamb who was slain).  My thinking in making it all on a tray is that it will prevent small kids from complaining about what food they don't like, and instead focus on the descriptions.  I also thought of adding some elements of a Passover Seder like parsely and salt water, but we'll see if I get to that!

I don't plan to read a TON to the kids, but just show them the food, and pray a serious prayer of thanksgiving and maybe read one good book to them while they eat.  We are also planning to let the kids make Resurrection rolls after we eat.

Hopefully my ideas (borrowed from other people mostly) will inspire you to have good conversations with your kids on Good Friday!  If all goes well, I will take some pictures to add to this post!

Table set all pretty!

Kids eating the food -- not sure if anyone but Susie actually liked what they ate, but nobody complained.

Lamb cake for dessert -- will not win me any awards but my kids thought it was awesome.

Showing his Resurrection roll

Susie's turned out nice and open and empty! (note, after dinner, there was a bit of playtime, thus the costume)

Ellie, rolling her marshmallow.  I was impressed, she is only 2 and she did a great job!

Here are some pictures of our Good Friday lunch today!