* long post alert. but there’s a giveaway at the end, so bear with me. plus, the message? super important…so please? read it all. and don’t forget to enter the giveaway!*

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friends. let me start by saying, i’m super happy i remembered an entire month ahead of time to talk about Easter. a small victory in the mind of a non-planner, non-looker-a-header like yours truly; since normally, i think ahead approximately 36 minutes at a time. i’m more of a live in the moment type-of-a-gal…but enough patting myself on the back for my newfound thinking ahead skills, word on the street is: Easter’s coming.

Easter of course means bunnies, and chicks, and eggs, and hunts, and lots and lots and LOTS of candy. duh.

but i’d be hard pressed if i didn’t tell you that Easter is Jesus. and likewise, Jesus IS Easter.

some of you know that. some of you may have heard it through the grapevine. some of you may choose to pretend that you’ve never heard it. or to not believe it at all. but the fact is…

…Jesus is the reason we celebrate Easter.

i desperately want my kids to know that. i want them to know the Easter story, and not just the bunnies and the chocolate and the cute, little, fluffy chicks. i also want you and yours to know the Easter story too.

so here’s the just of it, the Easter story, if no one’s ever told you. or if you’ve never had it fully explained to you. or if you just want a refreshing reminder. here it is :

Jesus died for YOU.

yep. true story.

He died for you because He loves you.

on the cross, He took on all the sins of the entire world (including yours and mine. sins we’ve already committed and sins we haven’t even thought about yet. yep. already paid for.) He took on all the pain, and the sorrow, and the tears, and the sickness, and anything bad you could possibly think of, it was all poured into Him on the cross. every tear you’ve ever cried, He cried. any pain you’ve ever felt, He felt. any injustice ever done to you, was done to Him on that cross. He paid for our sins there so that we don’t have to.

three days later, on Easter, Jesus conquered death FOR YOU. He walked out of that tomb FOR YOU. (did you catch that part? Jesus kicked death’s butt. He WALKED. OUT. OF. THE. TOMB. people SAW him. it’s accounted for. it’s documented. ** FACT: on a completely different note, did you know that the bible is the most accurate archaeological document ever discovered? the. most. accurate.** it’s real. and dude? that’s awesome.)

but…why?

so that we, too, could conquer death. Jesus paid for our sins, our faults, our shortcomings, but how do we get this free pass to all eternity?

it’s simple.

so simple in fact that the bible says that the people on earth who consider themselves “wise,” who are full of earthly “knowledge” will have a hard, if not impossible, time accepting it.

you, too, can conquer death, can live for eternity, simply by loving and accepting Jesus as your Savior. accepting the fact that you NEED a Savior. that you are NOT perfect. and that you want MORE than what this world has to offer.

and guess what? accepting Jesus doesn’t mean we have to be PERFECT. it doesn’t mean we have to parade around as saints on earth. because the fact of the matter is :

perfection is impossible.

and *NEWSFLASH* we aren’t saints. we are sinners. sinners with a merciful, gracious God who loved us enough to send His one and only Son to die for us, so that we (His treasures on earth) could have the opportunity to join Him in heaven for all eternity. wowza.

can you imagine a love like that? could you send your child to a world that sinned, that hated, that turned it’s back against you? could you send your child to DIE for said people? could you?  i know i certainly couldn’t. and that’s just a part of the reason it’s so amazing.

THAT’S what i pray my children come to know. i pray that it takes root in their hearts early on. i pray that they cling to it each and every day of their ever-loving lives…and i pray this for you too. and for your children. there is NOTHING more precious than the knowledge that Jesus loves us. despite our sins. despite our imperfections. despite our failings day after precious day. say it with me now :

JESUS LOVES ME.

to celebrate this awesome, amazing, wonderful, precious fact, i’m having a giveaway! *woot!*

enter between now and wednesday (the 26th) at noon to win a *Yes! Jesus loves me!* book template for your kiddos. you can enter by pinning this picture:

(please include something like this when you pin: *a personalized book for your children letting them know how much Jesus loves them!* thanks friends!)

you get 5 entries for pinning the picture on pinterest because it helps me so much to spread the word about the book. you can also enter by leaving a comment!

i’m giving away two templates, and between now and Easter, use the code JESUSLOVESME for 40% off your *Yes! Jesus loves me!* purchases (custom template excluded). it’s THAT important to me that you teach your kids about the love of Jesus. use the code. share the code with your friends, but first?…

try to win it of course!

cheers *

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