A Good Friday Meal with your Family

 Last year I wanted our family to do something special to prepare our hearts for Easter. A friend happened to recommend a a Good Friday "walk to the cross" meal she had done before, so I decided to recreate it for our family. Essentially, it is a charcuterie board filled with items that remind us of each event that happened the night of Good Friday. It was easy to grab everything at the store, and the kids enjoyed helping me put it together. 

The meal was so special. I laid out a blanket in the living room, brought the food in, and we all sat on the floor together. I then had different people read passages of what each food represented. When all the passages had been read, we let everyone eat. It was powerful to recount the story this way, using so many of our senses to experience the story. 

At the last minute, I decided to read the passage where Jesus washes his disciples feet. I put on worship music (we love the song "The Blessing" but this year I'm going to put on a really special song called "Jerusalem" by CityAlight). We all took turns washing each other's feet and worshipping together. Watching my children serve one another in this way was a gift. 

You'll need a towel to put under the bowl or basin with water. This year I just dumped out one of my kids toy containers, and we used that to wash each others feet in. 

All in all it was a really special bonding moment for our family to concentrate on what Jesus did for us, and how we can respond to others. I highly recommend it. 

I wanted to share the food items and verses with you. They are in the order that we read them according to the Good Friday story: 

Chocolate Coins- Judas’ betrayal, Matthew 26:14-15
Olives- Jesus’ agony on the mount of olives, Luke 22:39-46
Hershey kiss- Judas’ betrayal kiss, Luke 22:47-48
Toothpick with cheese- sword at Jesus’ arrest, Luke 22:49-53
Chicken- Peter’s Denial Luke 22:55-62
Water- Pilate washing his hands of responsibility for Jesus’ death Matthew 27:24-25
Crackers with peanut butter & pretzels- Jesus’ crown of thorns John 19:1-3
Pretzel Stick Cross- the crucifixion John 19:17-19
Salt & vinegar chips- Jesus was offered vinegar John 19:28-30

The great thing is that it was easy to grab these items at the store, and then it took very little time to prep (and the kids loved helping). I hope you will consider having a special night as a family:) Hope this is encouraging....