About Me

Van Walton

Fun Facts about Van Walton

My favorite smell: The way the earth smells after it rains.

My favorite sound: The first notes of a grand symphony.

My favorite way to relax: Sitting anywhere outside - on my front porch, on my deck, or by the lake, early in the morning with my first cup of coffee.

My favorite birthday dessert: a Peach cobbler baked by my husband. He’s my fave chef!

I will not eat: Avocado. They turn my stomach into a volcano that never erupts.

Technology I couldn't live without and why: My laptop - it takes me anywhere I want to go.

One thing that makes me smile: My sons' faces!

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My Resources



My book, From the Pound to the Palace, is available for $10
from Proverbs 31 Ministries.


Pound to Palace


My book, Little Halos, is available for $5.99 from Proverbs
31 Ministries.


Little Halos


Proverbs 31 Ministries












Links




Sponsor a Child in Jesus Name with Compassion

Thursday, March 20, 2008

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Looking for something the entire family will enjoy this weekend? Watch the old, old (1956) movie, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, directed by Cecil B. DeMille, wiith Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, and Anne Baxter. . You might want to watch it in two sittings because it is long, but you and your children will learn many, many lessons about the meaning behind Easter - not Easter with eggs and bunnies, but the real meaning behind Easter - Jesus's betrayal, crucifiction and resurrection and why Christians remember this Holy Week as a time of commemoration and celebration.

What is the significance of this day – a day in the life of Jesus, the One whose life we remember during Holy Week?

Two thousand years ago Jesus, like every other good practicing Hebrew person, traveled to Jerusalem to celebrate a very holy day on the Jewish calendar: Passover.

For anyone who has watched the Ten Commandments you will remember the scene in Egypt when Moses and God collaborated to convince Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go.

Who were the children of Israel and why were they in Egypt?

Joseph – the one with the coat of many colors, had been sold to Egyptian slave tracers by his brothers. His brothers played a bad trick on him. But God… He was watching. A loving Father, God turned the bad deed into a good outcome. Years later when there was a famine in Israel (not called Israel yet) Joseph’s dad, Jacob, sent his sons to Egypt to buy some food. The brothers were united and Joseph invited his family to stay in Egypt until the drought was over.

Fast forward many years (400+). The descendants had become slaves to the mighty Pharaoh. They wanted out!

God called on Moses to do His work – lead Jacob’s descendants out of Egypt and back to the land God had promised Abraham so many generations ago. By the way- the reason the children were called the children of Israel is that when God called Jacob to be the father of 12 tribes, he changed his name to Israel.

The way God decided to get the Pharaoh’s attention was to send plagues and “turn up the heat” until Pharaoh had no other choice but to let the people go.

Do you remember the last and convincing plague? The angel of death arrived in the land taking the first born male of every family. But God… He was watching and told the children of Israel what they could do to avoid death.

He told them to slay a perfect lamb and wipe its blood on the doorposts. Then the angel of death would PASS OVER the homes that had been “protected “ by the blood of the lamb.

Finally Pharaoh relented and let the slaves go.

Thus began the celebration of remembrance: Passover.

Now, thousands of years later Jesus and his disciples were in Jerusalem to celebrate and remember God’s everlasting promise. “I will never leave you.”

Passover is celebrated with a meal, a meal where each portion signifies Jesus life, death, and resurrection. During the Passover meal, called the Last Supper or Holy Communion, Jesus spoke with his disciples giving them a new commandment. He said, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35 NIV).

The word “Maundy” comes from Latin, meaning , “it is commanded.”

Jesus came to exchange ten commandments for two commandments. He came to make the way to God straight.

LOVE GOD LOVE EACH OTHER

7 comments:

Celly B said...

Wow, Van, I never knew that about the origin of the word Maundy. What a great idea of viewing the 10 Commandments during Easter weekend!
Speaking of other great viewing pleasures, we received one in the mail today! Will, Emily Anne, & I watched The Pound & the Palace this afternoon, and EA requested a repeat showing. What a wonderful story, and Renee and her sons did such a fabulous job with the voiceover work. I am looking forward to further exploring all of Air's great questions and scripture references in the future.
Thank you again for such a treat! I plan on posting about The Pound and the Palace on my blog soon.

Laura said...

Hello, my dear friend! Thank you for that beautiful history lesson. I love to remember the origins of our celebrations. I witnessed the Holy Spirit working in my son last night after we read the story of Jesus' arrest in the Bible. HE AMAZES ME! The Lord announced His presence to a nine year old last night! It was awesome.
I received my DVD of From the Pound to the Palace yesterday! Thank you, friend! I will donate it to our preschool, along with the book, but we will have to watch it first. Little Jeffrey was so excited when he saw it sitting on the counter this morning. He loves the book.
Have a blessed Good Friday, Van!
Laura

Jodie Wolfe said...

Hi Van,
I'm praying you have a blessed Easter holiday with your family.

Blessings,
Jodie
"Pearls"

Charlene Kidd said...

Van,
I enjoyed the great information. I too did not know the origin of Maundy. I have to wait until the audit is done before I can pick up my DVD. That is fine, we will be in Florida all next week.
Happy Easter,
Charlene

valerie said...

Hi Van,
It's so nice to meet you!
Thank you for leaving me such a sweet comment. We just got home this evening from our trip to NYC.
It was awesome. It is pretty crazy there.....much different than the life I live here in Oklahoma that's for sure.
We were blessed with God's favor, protection and blessings throughout the trip and we made some wonderful memories.
We visited St. Patricks Cathedral yesterday on Holy Thursday. It is beautiful & was very special.
Thanks again & yes, my luggage was big and easy to spot. :)
In the next day or so I'll post about our trip & have pictures.
Have a blessed Easter!
Valerie

valerie said...

Hi Van,
It's so nice to meet you!
Thank you for leaving me such a sweet comment. We just got home this evening from our trip to NYC.
It was awesome. It is pretty crazy there.....much different than the life I live here in Oklahoma that's for sure.
We were blessed with God's favor, protection and blessings throughout the trip and we made some wonderful memories.
We visited St. Patricks Cathedral yesterday on Holy Thursday. It is beautiful & was very special.
Thanks again & yes, my luggage was big and easy to spot. :)
In the next day or so I'll post about our trip & have pictures.
Have a blessed Easter!
Valerie

Anonymous said...

I am greatly impressed with this website. You have done a beautiful job w/the pic's etc.