An Easter Celebration

This year Easter and my mom's birthday fell on the same day. Unless my mom lives well into her 100s she will never again celebrate her birthday on Easter (and hasn't before now either!). It seems to have become a tradition for my family to join us for Easter and so this year we carried on the tradition. My parents, and my sister and her crew joined us for church followed by lunch and birthday celebration.

The church service was phenomenal! I was so proud of David!!! He was nervous, this being the first Easter in our new church but things went really well and he did GREAT!!! Most importantly, the Spirit of the LIVING God was there and so palpable. The songs chosen for the congregation and choir to sing only added to the whole worship experience. We also did something that was new to all of us. A couple in our church were given a hand-hewn hickory cross. The wife did her research and learned that for the first 1000 years Christians had a tradition of putting fresh flowers on a cross on Easter Sunday to signify rebirth and Christ's resurrection. So, that's what we did! They provided a huge array of fresh, spring flowers and everyone was asked to take a flower and put it on the cross at the front of the sanctuary before they sat down. It was so beautiful!!!! And it was such a neat reminder of what we were celebrating. It was a wonderful, stress-free service. Again, we were reminded how things are done in a healthy, well-functioning church. God is so good!!!!

After church we went to our house and us women got lunch going. David and my dad fired up the grill and my BIL, Jamie wrangled the kids! Due to days of rain (including Sunday) we had an egg hunt in the house this year. The kids thought that was great fun! :) Lunch took a bit longer to prepare then was expected (I had a meltdown, which I'm sure will be hilarious AFTER the baby is born and I'm not so full of extra hormones!!), but we finally managed to eat! :) We ended with cake and gifts for my mom to celebrate her! It was a wonderful day and I'm so thankful for my family. Hope you enjoy the photos below! :)

Our cutie! She was not too in to getting her picture taken on Sunday and she was NOT into having anything done with her hair! :) 

Yes, I'm sunburned. 

Cousins!

The Abrusci's

My parents

Isn't Riley a hoot?

Enjoying their bounty!

And, just 'cause she's cute!

THE Story of Love Part II

Matthew 28:1-10 (English Standard Version)

 ¹Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ²And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴And for fear of him the guards trembled and⁽ became like dead men. ⁵But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." ⁸So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me."

Holy Week

This week is Holy Week. It's the week between Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem and his crucifixion. Tomorrow will be Good Friday (the day Christians observe the crucifixion) and Sunday will be Easter, the day we celebrate Christ's resurrection. I have not wanted to breeze through this week just marking days off the calendar and getting from 1 activity to the next. I have wanted to spend time thinking, contemplating, meditating on what this week is about. What must it have been for Jesus? How must it have been for him being treated like a king one day and a short week later being nailed to a cross like a common criminal? And the whole amazing thing about it is that he knew this was all going to happen and he still did it. "What love the Father has for us. A love beyond all measure..."

As a pastor's family it's hard sometimes to remember that this is indeed a very holy time and not just a time to get through services so we can go home and be a family again. And yet, it's also somewhat easier to be constantly thinking about it. As my husband prepares for the Good Friday and Easter Sunday services I pray for him. I pray for him to hear the words the Lord wants him to share. Easter is a very big Sunday where people who don't usually attend church come. It is the pivotal celebration in Christian faith. For without the Resurrection we would have no reason to follow Christ.

I love Easter. I love it more than Christmas. I love it because it's simpler. I love it because of what it means. I love it because I know my Savior loves me so much that he chose to die a horrendous death for me. I love it because he didn't stay dead but rose again so that I (and you!) might have eternal life. I love that I get together with my family, who also share in the knowledge of this saving grace, and I love that we'll be together in heaven one day. I love that we don't have to rush around like rats in a maze buying this, that and the other just to make sure it's a great holiday. I love Easter. It's not nearly as commercialized as Christmas and so to me, has kept a lot of its sanctity.

I hope as this week is winding down you have been able to take a moment, or several moments, to think about what this Holy Week means. What does it mean to you? If you do not know Jesus as your Savior and don't know where you'll spend eternity might I encourage you to either let me know or find that person you know beyond doubt is a Christian and talk to him/her? My prayer for you is that you don't go another Easter without knowing the saving grace Christ has for you and truly know what Easter is all about. If you do know Christ as your Savior make sure to take time and think about what this week was for Him. What it means for you.