Hallelujah! {Easter 2016}

The Church released a new video for Easter this year on lds.org. It was called "Hallelujah", and I loved its message so much. In Hebrew, Hallelujah means "Praise ye the Lord." It is an exclamation of joy, hope, and love. Our Heavenly Father's gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, is reason for each of us to shout Hallelujah daily. Christ's atonement gives us hope that we can overcome all of our failings and try again... Even if that means that we have to start over and try again every single day. Christ's death and resurrection show each of us that Christ has all power over life and death. His love and sacrifice provided the way for every one of us to live again. He conquered death, and through Him, we can live forever with our families and loved ones. Hallelujah! My family is my everything, and I want to be with them for eternity. Hallelujah!

I had the chance to teach Primary Music time today on Easter Sunday. Our regular chorister had some family problems come up and had to leave church between Senior and Junior Sharing time. I agreed to fill in for her the last hour, but was obviously unprepared and flying by the seat of my pants. The lesson that she planned was to discuss and sing songs about the last week of Christ's life including: The Triumphal Entry, Healing the Sick, the Atonement, The Crucifixion, and the Resurrection. I decided to just do my best and pray that everything went well. 

Primary is an interesting adventure because you have to keep the attention of the children and at the same time try to help them feel the Spirit. You never know exactly how a lesson is going to go, and today I felt even more unsure. At one point, we were talking about the Crucifixion, and one little 5 year old girl said sadly, "But why did He have to die?" The entire Primary got quiet and and all of the children looked at me with that same sad look in their eyes. I took a breath, knowing that this was the moment when the Spirit would teach, and told them that Jesus didn't have to die. Jesus had the power to save himself, but he loved us so much that he allowed himself to be crucified. He loved every one of us and knew that His death and resurrection would allow all of Heavenly Father's children to also be resurrected and live for eternity with their families. I told them that the crucifixion was, indeed, a very sad day, but that so much joy was awaiting the world on that Easter Sunday when Jesus lived again. We then sang, "Did Jesus Really live Again? YES, when the third day came." It was a powerful few minutes, and I am thankful that the Spirit enlarged my feeble offerings and taught the children (and me). The Spirit bore testimony that Jesus lives and loves us. Hallelujah!

And last, but not least, some pictures of my biggest blessings in their Easter best. When did they get so big and how did I get so blessed!