Posts by Rachel Schultz

The Most Beautiful, Christian Eastertime Children’s Books

March 1, 2024

The most common pitfalls in Easter books for children are: 1) violating the second commandment by depicting images of Jesus or 2) giving an unbiblical reason for Easter, or summary of what occurred at the resurrection. Books that come out into the house annually for a season are going to be pretty powerful for family culture so families should want to find good ones. This work is refining a child’s palette. A mother is helping shape an appetite for what is beautiful, as defined by God.

These are children’s books I recommend that capture the glorious meaning of Eastertide.

This list is separate from my springtime children books list, which I will compile at some point that would include themes of all of God’s lovely parts of spring: rainbows, rain storms, frogs, seeds or early gardening, bunnies, frogs, flowers, grasshoppers, caterpillars, kites, baseball, butterflies, or bumblebees.

“He is not here: for he is risen, as he said.”

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The most common pitfalls in Easter books for children are: 1) violating the second commandment by depicting images of Jesus or 2) giving an unbiblical reason for Easter, or summary of what occurred at the resurrection. Books that come out into the house annually for a season are going to be pretty powerful for family culture so families should want to find good ones.

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The Great Eastertide

February 15, 2024

How do holiday traditions start? One of my dreams is to play a part in Easter, or Resurrection Day, becoming as big as Christmas in celebration. With having a dream like this, it’s helpful to reflect on how holidays come to be. They originate from some group of people, somewhere, simply – having fun. Or, having a culture. The Germans were over there decorating pine trees to celebrate the incarnation, and now everybody in Branson, Missouri does it too. How did this happen?

In part, when people have a tradition and it looks fun, other people want to start doing it.

This is one way I define hospitality – having something people want to join in on.

I would love to see Easter built up, and expanded in its trappings. If you feel the same way, the first place to start is your household, and what you can immediately oversee.

“He has forced open a door that has been locked since the death of the first man. He has met, fought, and beaten the King of Death. Everything is different because He has done so. This is the beginning of the New Creation: a new chapter in cosmic history has opened.”
C.S. Lewis

This rest of this post is for paid subscribers only; you can become one here.

How do holiday traditions start? One of my dreams is to play a part in Easter, or Resurrection Day, becoming as big as Christmas in celebration. With having a dream like this, it’s helpful to reflect on how holidays come to be. They originate from some group of people, somewhere,

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A Case for Wintertime

February 7, 2024

This is an offering of help for Weather Complainers™ and a reminder homemakers can set the dark months’ ambiance. It has never become not strange to me when someone starts doing a little bit of Weather Complaining™. It’s the boring talk of the unintelligent and sinful. Some women nearly make disliking cold (during winter) and grieving that summer will end (during summer) their whole personality. First, stop complaining about the weather.

Second, be a great homemaker during the winter. If your children are tempted to complain (but I doubt they will be if you don’t model Weather Complaining™), mothers are a perfect person to lift the mood.

“Seasonality is good for the soul. Winter, a time of withdrawal and rest, is good for humanity. We fool ourselves by pretending we should live in eternal summer.”

Or, as Grace put it, “Wanting winter to be like summer or spring is like wanting your middle age or old age to be like your youth. Spend time embracing mortality with gratitude.”

The dark months are quiet. Welcome the lengthened evenings. I have written down some ideas of what to love about the wintertide.

  1. The peace of watchfulness
  2. Snow reflects bright and cheery daylight inside the house
  3. Down-home pleasures like closing the curtains at nightfall
  4. Experimenting cooking ambitious and exquisite entrees
  5. Creating clean and comfortable places for resting
  6. Good blankets
  7. Meaningful work to do, quiet but not idle
  8. The calm
  9. The practice of death and resurrection
  10. Learning to like times of trial
  11. A long reading list
  12. Reading aloud through a book
  13. The ease of shelter
  14. Warm-toned lightbulbs in table lamps and as many candles as you can afford
  15. Snowy walking
  16. Comradery
  17. Folding warm laundry
  18. Knitting a scarf for each of your children
  19. Reading poems
  20. Keeping a light against darkness
  21. Making soups
  22. Music playing, my daughters and I love listening to our favorite songs by The Andrews Sisters in the wintertime while we deep clean a room
  23. Wearing the love of my family like a crown
  24. Homestyle baked treats
  25. The keeper of the home is friendly and available to talk

“It was so wonderful to be there, safe at home, shelter from the winds and the cold. Laura thought that this must be a little like heaven, where the weary are at rest.”
Laura Wilder, The Long Winter

This is an offering of help for Weather Complainers™ and a reminder homemakers can set the dark months’ ambiance. It has never become not strange to me when someone starts doing a little bit of Weather Complaining™. It’s the boring talk of the unintelligent and sinful. Some women nearly make disliking cold (during winter) and grieving that summer will end (during summer) their whole personality. 

READ MORE

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