Poofy bangs, colored eggs, and all things Easter.

I know that overly religious entries are not what you have come to expect from me, but, seeing that Easter is this weekend, I just couldn't help but throw in a shout out to JC (I promise I'll try not to go overboard). And, for you fellow past Illinois FFAers out there, I'm not talking about Jim Craft.

Next to Christmas, Easter is probably my favorite holiday. Aside from what it means spiritually, I have so many happy childhood memories surrounding the Easter holiday.

I remember singing songs with my Sunday school class at church. I remember standing on a stool in the kitchen with my mom, helping her hard boil and then color eggs. I remember hunting for eggs outside with my sister while mom and dad sat on the patio and watched. I remember going to family dinners and playing outside with my sister and my cousins. I even remember the Easter my sister and I hunted for Easter eggs - and then had to go back inside and back to bed because we had chicken pox. And, I remember getting dressed up in poofy dresses and tights and waiting on mom to put the finishing touches on my bangs, finally making them as big as my head.

Wait, I may have gotten confused. Now that I think about it, chicken pox, the girly dresses and giant bangs aren't exactly fond memories. Sorry, but I wasn't exactly crazy about dresses and tights when I was little.

Anyway, the point I'm getting to is this: all of these happy memories wouldn't be possible without the spiritual aspect of Easter that we learn about in Sunday school early in our Christian lives.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.

John 3:16-17

That's pretty powerful stuff. Still, as we tend to get wrapped up in making sure the ham is just perfect for the giant family meal, coloring a few Easter eggs for the kids and biting the ears off of chocolate bunnies, many times we forget what Easter really is about.

Instead of Cadbury Cream Eggs (which, coincidentally, make me really happy when I remember that they haven't made a new commercial in more than 15 years), Easter is about praising Jesus for saving us. It's about Jesus rising from the dead and accepting all of our sins so that we may live forever with him in the Kingdom of Heaven.

So, this Easter, I'm thankful that Jesus died for my sins. I'm thankful to have been raised a Christian with a faithful family and strong beliefs. And, I'm thankful to be able to pass some of the same memories - and the true story of Easter - on to my children someday. I'm thankful that Jesus made all of it possible.