Here’s the newest podcast from Wise Traditions, hosted by Hilda Labrada Gore:
“What if your body was trying to tell you something about your state of health…through your blood? And not just through blood tests or ‘live blood analysis’ but via a holographic image?! Adam and Josh Bigelsen are carrying on the important work of their father, Harvey Bigelsen, the author of Holographic Blood and Doctors are More Harmful than Germs.
“Today they help us wrap our head around the message(s) that our bodies want to communicate to us. They explain the patterns that the blood uses to tell us about our health. They also go over the progression of disease and how important it is to read the body’s messages… and how you can you do so with or without a dark field microscopy instrument.” (copied from here)
If you want more information, visit the Bigelsens’ website, bigelsenacademy.com, where you can get a free ebook!
This substack here also has a summary of Dr. Bigelsen’s work. It’s so interesting how it aligns so far as I can tell, for now, with the Law of the Terrain, which I’ve blogged about here.
Did you know that 55 years today Earth Day started, in 1970?
For Earth Day, I’m celebrating in a unique way. I’m sharing this video below, called “UNearthing the CO2 Pipeline.” Please take the time to watch so you can get educated on some people’s plans for the earth. Then take action to stand for farmers, property rights, and basic science, which is that carbon dioxide is part of nature/God’s plan.
If this video below is no longer functioning, please watch the documentary over here.
This was our Sunday Easter dinner table, minus the plates, which I had over in the serving line for the food, in the kitchen. I wish I had noticed my husband’s cell phone sitting there and removed it for the photo. Oh well!
The past few days I didn’t finish adding the Emily Belle Freeman Easter videos of daily Easter Traditions. Life just got really full of all my responsibilities, so I had to drop some stuff. I was enjoying a festival of Easter with my family. I prayed that whoever came looking here for the rest of the videos was able to find them with the search function in the upper right of this page. If you still want to watch them, they are here. Easter is over, but the videos are beautiful. You can feel the Holy Spirit as you watch them any time of year.
I enjoyed bingeing on all things Easter last week. So now I’m basking in the post-Easter glow, just like I do with Christmas. Here are some of the videos I loved and learned from, below. So, if you are like me and want to keep enjoying Easter vibes, I hope you will watch these and learn and delight in the truths shared therein. I immensely loved our church service on Easter Sunday. One of the speakers was a young man who is about to embark on serving a mission in Paraguay for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He shared that Easter is an especially wonderful time for his family. He said that about ten years ago, his dad proposed marriage to this stepmom. Then a year later after that, his stepmom and his dad announced that she was expecting a baby. Up until then he had been an only child. He was so excited to finally get a sibling! Now it’s 10 years later and this Easter marks a milestone for him as he got to speak about leaving on a mission on Easter Sunday.
So his story reminded me of my story that has involved Easter. It was three years ago right around Easter that I felt super low due to a family member’s poor choices. Now here we are three years later, around Easter, and the situation has completely turned 180 for good. My own Easter miracle! It gives me hope that may more miracles are possible.
I love that in the video below, Jared Halverson says that that is part of the Easter message. We can know that Something Better is to come, because death is not the end, because Jesus broke the bondage of death. Whatever seems dead in our life right now, will somehow become better with Jesus.
Of all the videos I watched, this one below was my favorite, with John Hilton III, explaining what was involved with Jesus dying on the cross. Brother Hilton shares that it was such an important part of the atonement. It’s just so beautiful. In the video, he tells a story of a young woman with a traumatic past of sexual abuse. He says that after looking at a picture of the crucifixion of Jesus, she said that God understands her. He also pointed out that Enoch, in the Pearl of Great Price, was told in Moses 7, when Enoch was in the depths of despair after not being able to get the people to listen to his preaching, he was told to look at an image. What was the image? It was Jesus on the cross. Wow. I had never picked up on that before. It’s just amazing to think that when Moses was feeling soooo sad, he shown Jesus on the cross, not in the Garden of Gethsemane. This is something to ponder for sure.
Then this one by Lili De Hoyos Anderson, I absolutely love. Easter is especially meaningful to her after the death of her husband. She shares such tender emotions and rock-solid testimony of the hope that comes in Jesus that she will see her husband again.
Happy post-Easter days to you all! If you want to feel more of the hope that comes from Jesus, I invite you to read the scriptures (Bible, Book of Mormon, Pearl of Great Price, and Doctrine and Covenants, found here) as well as all the stories about miracles I have gathered in my Family Devotionals Ebook here, in the April section. Go here for that.
For years I’ve used “Resurrection Eggs” to tell the real Easter story, the story of the atoning sacrifice and death of Jesus, after we do an Easter egg hunt. While my children eat their candy that is inside the eggs, we open up each egg from the Resurrection Egg set, read the scripture on the slip of paper inside the egg, and relate it to the tiny object inside the Resurrection Egg. Each object relates to the story of the last week of Jesus Christ’s life, the Holy Week. My Resurrection Eggs are all blue, and I keep them separated from the other eggs, in a different bag, that comes out after the hunt is over. I guess you could mix the eggs in with the candy-filled eggs for the hunt, but I don’t. I don’t want to risk the Resurrection Eggs getting lost, which I’m ok with regarding the candy-filled eggs. Telling the Easter story with the Resurrection Eggs right after the hunt keeps the focus of the hunt on Jesus, not the Easter bunny. We don’t do the Easter bunny bearing gifts. We still do an Easter egg hunt, but we tie it back to Jesus and not the Easter bunny. Life is all about seeking and finding truth, similar to a “hunt,” and the Ultimate Truth is Jesus. “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”- John 14:6
(Years ago, we decided not to have the Easter bunny come and fill baskets for my children. We have Easter baskets, but they are just for gathering these candy-filled eggs on the hunt, not to be filled with stuff from the Easter bunny. This is definitely one way I am a minimalist mom. I just don’t like the commercialization of Easter, and too much sugar and junk. I loved getting an Easter basket as a child, it’s true, but when I grew up and discovered that the Easter bunny was just a way for toy manufacturers to make money at Easter time, I said “No thank you.” I like toys and fun stuff as much as the next person though. So if you want some crunchy, holistic mom Easter basket ideas go here.)
Anyway, you can buy a set of Resurrection Eggs of course, but if you want to make your own, here are the instructions from homeschooling mom of 12, Jennifer Flanders, over here. I love that if you don’t have the time or inclination to hunt down all the little objects to tell the Easter story, you can print the pictures of the objects and use those. I so love the tiny clay objects she made for her eggs. I fantasize about making such delightful pieces of art someday but right now it’s not going to happen. She does have suggestions for finding tiny objects around your home for the tokens if you don’t want to make them out of clay or use the paper pictures.
She has a slightly different Biblical worldview than I do, as she might for you, and she uses a lot more eggs than I do, 24, so she has one for each grandchild. You don’t have to start your Easter story clear back to Adam and Eve like she does, of course, you can start any time later, and do however many eggs you want to. An even dozen is nice because then they can all fill a recycled dozen egg container.
As a final note, blessings to the Sunday Primary teachers of two of my children years ago who created a set of these eggs and gave each of them a set. We’ve used them almost every year since then! As pieces got lost I could use pieces from the other set. Thank you, thank you, whoever you are. I’m sorry I don’t remember who you are, sometimes life as a mom becomes a blur in the cycle of mothering chores. 🙂 Thank you, and know we are using your gifts, year after year, and now the grandchildren will benefit! Thank you also to Jennifer Flanders for your wonderful Easter resources!
I just discovered this yesterday. It’s a study of the scriptures outlining Holy Week with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, one of the current apostles of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here is the YouTube summary of the video:
“Jesus Christ ascended the hill of Calvary carrying more than a cross—He bore the weight of every sorrow, every sin, and every soul. Mocked, wounded, and seemingly forsaken, the Savior of the world offered a gift beyond all comprehension. His Atonement remains the ultimate expression of divine love. Even in His final moments, Jesus Christ bore a powerful witness. And as the earth trembled and darkness fell, a Roman centurion—standing at the foot of the cross— gave one of the clearest declarations of divinity ever spoken: “Truly this was the Son of God.” That sacred truth continues to be declared today—by apostles, disciples, and the quiet voice of the Spirit to all who seek Him. In this Easter reflection, President Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles shares his personal witness of the Savior’s final hours and affirms the reality of His divine mission. He lives. He is the Christ. He is the Redeemer of the world. #GreaterLove“
I love a comment from one of the commenters of the video in YouTube: “Let us remember that not only does He love us at our lowest, He loved us at His lowest.” It’s so amazing! Let us praise Him forever and forever and glory in our Jesus!
See the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ, in 2 Nephi 33:6, where Nephi declares with power, “I glory in plainness; I glory in truth; I glory in my Jesus, for he hath redeemed my soul from hell.”
If you want a beautiful story from President Holland from when he was a little boy, and what it taught him about Jesus and Easter, go here.
Go here to learn about a book on activities, including games and crafts, for the Holy Week.
Go here for a free beautiful banner that says “He is Risen Indeed.”
Go here to my family read-alouds and traditions site for spring, and scroll down under “April” to see even more picture books and family traditions for Easter.
Go here for my list of poetry, songs, and stories for your Family Devotionals to use this spring, even after Easter!
It’s Day #5 of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday or Last Supper Thursday. (I didn’t post yesterday, Wednesday’s tradition, so go here to an old post from years ago for that).
Today’s tradition for a Christ-centered Easter involves contemplation about the scriptures that bring a witness to you of the divinity of Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit. This tradition is inspired by the disciples of Christ who walked with Him, in His newly resurrected body, on the way to Emmaus. Even though they saw Jesus right before them with their very eyes, they did not know who He was until they felt the Spirit bear witness, because Jesus quoted scripture to them. So what scriptures bring that witness to you? Does your family know what they are? Take this opportunity to talk about them, write them down, and display so your family knows. Thank you Emily Freeman and David Butler, for this inspired tradition. It’s so simple yet profound!
Want to peek at the rest of the Holy Week daily traditions and get prepped? Go here.
Want more Christ-centered Easter ideas? Go here for a simple book full of Holy Week activities for young families, go here for ideas from Lani and John Hilton III, and here for my list of songs, stories, scriptures and poetry for Easter.
If you’ve been reading my blog for very long, you know I’m not huge on crafts or high-energy decorations. It’s not that I don’t like them, It’s just that I’ve hardly had time or money to delve into such things. I’m into the more practical side of homemaking and mothering: training, educating, cooking, eating and cleaning and doing cheap, easy stuff together like singing, watching movies, and reading aloud. So don’t worry, none of these Easter ideas will involve running to the store or taking a lot of time.
1. Read the Easter story from the Bible. You can find the scriptures of the day-by-day events of Easter week here. Use the corresponding pictures from the Gospel Art Book and display on a bookcase, wall, or mantel. I love how Wendee Wilcox Rosborough, Brad Wilcox’s daughter, has authored a book about how to celebrate this Holy Week. She has given names for each of these days: Palm Sunday (the triumphal entry); Cleansing Monday (sanctifying the temple); Parable Tuesday (teaching the disciples); Betrayal Wednesday (offering and receiving forgiveness); Last Supper Thursday (the first sacrament); Good Friday (Jesus’ sacrifice); Salvation Saturday (Jesus Christ in the spirit world); Easter Sunday (life after death); and Conference Sunday (when Easter coincides with general conference).
2. Watch Finding Faith in Christ above. We usually watch this and Easter Dream (video below, mentioned later in this post) after we have our Easter egg hunt. The sweetness of the candy that I filled the plastic eggs with is a good reminder of the sweetness of the love and life that comes from Jesus.
4. Watch Easter Dream, a touching story about faith in the resurrection, featured above.
5. Listen/watch videos from BYU’s Easter Conference. I’ve been watching/listening to these while doing kitchen work. I love these! The one shown below relates a personal experience by Brent L. Top about Christ’s mercy.
9. Watch the virtual choir that the LDS Church assembled recently. My brother-in-law appears on the screen just as they’re singing the words, “And He shall reign forever…”at the 2:41 minute mark, in the lower right-hand corner.
10. Memorize the Living Christ document. I’ve been working on this with the kids for the past two weeks as part of our homeschool devotional, but we won’t be done in time for Easter. That’s OK, we will just keep going, adding a sentence or two a day, and then rememorize it at Christmastime. Study aids, with the document broken down into 12 weeks, with pictures to go with each phrase, are found here.
11. Take some Easter treats or non-edible things, even just a flower or homemade card, to a lonely neighbor and visit with them.
BONUS: Get the Easter Countdown from Montesserat from cranialhiccups.com and prepare for next year! This is her explanation of it here. I’m sorry I didn’t share this sooner. You could look it over and cram some of it in between now and Easter, like watching Bible videos, printing out the tags with the Names of Christ (featured towards the end of the document) to decorate an Easter tree, or creating the Names of Christ study booklet.
To continue the series of daily family traditions for Holy Week, today’s eyewitness accounts of the life of Jesus come from Nicodemus and Joseph.
Please watch the video above to hear Emily Freeman and David Butler share about making a testimony tree in honor of Joseph and Nicodemus. I love that it involves writing down testimonies onto slips of paper, putting the slips into little plastic eggs, and decorating the branch you cut down for Day #1, to create a testimony tree. It also involves thinking about what we can each do for the Savior in the here and now. What is the finest and best that we can give? I love these simple family traditions to focus on the Savior.
Want to peek at the rest of the Holy Week daily traditions and get prepped? Go here.
Go here to learn about a book on activities, including games and crafts, for the Holy Week.
Go here for a free beautiful banner that says “He is Risen Indeed.”
Go here to my family read-alouds and traditions site for spring, and scroll down under “April” to see even more picture books and family traditions for Easter.
Go here for my list of poetry, songs, and stories for your Family Devotionals to use this spring, even after Easter!
Today is Day #2 of Holy Week, the week before Easter. Here’s a simple tradition you can do with your family that honors Simon of Cyrene, mentioned in Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21 and Luke 23:26.
Want to peek at the rest of the Holy Week daily traditions and get prepped? Go here.
Want more Christ-centered Easter ideas? Go here for a simple book full of Holy Week activities for young families, go here for ideas from Lani and John Hilton III, and here for my list of songs, stories, scriptures and poetry for Easter.
With today being Palm Sunday, it’s the start of Holy Week! Here’s a simple tradition you can start today with your family to honor the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem onto a donkey. I love that it’s so simple yet meaningful. Watch the video below to learn.
Want to peek at the rest of the Holy Week daily traditions and get prepped? Go here.
Want more Christ-centered Easter ideas? Go here for a simple book full of Holy Week activities for young families, go here for ideas from Lani and John Hilton III, and here for my list of songs, stories, scriptures and poetry for Easter.
Tree of Life Mothering 