Easter 2011



Early Easter Morning





I think I need "the cloud", between Jack and his silly faces and Em not looking.



Some of my tulips.

Sunday's Coming

As I sit and contemplate the events of this week 2000+ years ago, I am in awe.

To understand these events: the Last Supper, the betrayal, the denial, the judging, the beatings, the cross, the death, and the resurrection; I find it necessary to understand it was part of a bigger plan. A redemptive plan.

You see God created this perfect place (The Garden of Eden), knowing full well that in giving two humans free will they would choose to sin. One thing I know about God is that He knows all things and thus knew that sin would come into His perfect creation.  Yet He still created.  He still gave Adam and Eve free will.

So in order to restore and redeem His creation, He set into motion a plan filled with a "never stopping, never giving up, unbreaking, always and forever love" (taken from "The Jesus Storybook Bible, by Sally Lloyd-Jones). This plan was a love story in which God would himself come to Earth (His creation) and He would get rid of sin and provide a way for restoration to occur with His beloved children.

In this day and age, it is so easy to overlook the magnitude of the events of this week so long ago. We have the big picture. We see the whole story, how it played out and so we skip to the happy part of the story.  Yet we all to often fail to live in the pain and joy of the story. You see this story is yours and mine. We would not have a chance in this world without the pain and joy of this story. This is not a story just about the disciples, or the guards, or the Pharisees, or the people of Jerusalem.  The events took place for you and me because He loves you and me. 

As I mentioned above, I believe that all too often we fail to live in the pain of the death of Christ. We fail to understand what we have been saved from. Death is often too commonplace in our minds, everybody is going to die at some point you know. We just hope for it to be quick and as painless as possible. Our perspective remains far too temporal instead of eternal.  Thankfully we have a choice regarding our eternity due to His pain and suffering on the cross. He paid for our death and eternal condemnation.

I also believe that we fail to live in the joy of His death and resurrection. Oh on Easter Sunday we stop and sing a few extra songs, we listen to the Good News, we say the words "He is risen, He is risen indeed", we may participate in Holy Communion, but then we walk out the doors of our churches and by Monday we are joyless and defeated once again. (Does that sound familiar?)  He is risen! We are free. Free from sin's control in our lives. Free from shame and guilt. We are free to enjoy a life filled with power and joy--the abundant life. No, it's not pain free, it's not easy, in fact it is often harder and more painful, but it is endured with the freedom and love and grace that can only be experienced because of the resurrection.

One of my favorite verses in scripture in regard to living as a Christ follower is this:

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain the resurrection from the dead."  Philippians 3:10-11

Often we like to fixate on the first part of that verse. Knowing Christ and the power of his resurrection. I know for many years I did just that, I never went further. Then one day it struck me that without death there is no need for resurrection. So unless I can share in Christ's sufferings and become like Him, then I will never know the power of the resurrection.  Imagine power in your life that can raise the dead!! How would your life look different? What would you be willing to do and face in light of that power? There is no fear in love and His love was shown in His brutal death on a cross. But the story doesn't end there. You see perfect love cannot be wrapped in linens and put behind a stone, it is not dead. Perfect LOVE is living and personal, and so He arose and when we choose to accept His love for ourselves, we have access to the power of His resurrection.

We need to reflect during this Holy season but we need to remember in our lives that Sunday is coming. He is alive and so are we. We can live in power. Not just during Easter, but each and every hour of each and every day. For you see, the ultimate Sunday is coming, when we will see Him face to face. Praise God!

Egg Hunt

The field before the helicopter drop.

People waiting for the hunt to begin. (Jack-blue coat, Stephen-tan/blue coat, and Emma-red coat all to the right with Aunt Kim.)

The eggs dropping from the helicopter. This was really cool!

Jack, Emma and Aunt Kim watching the magic show.

Alex worked the entire time as a balloon animal creator. His instructor was very impressed with how well he did at balloon making, as well as at his ability to connect with little kids.

Aaron helped out all day as well. Here he is taking a break with bunny Em.

Even the Director of Children's Ministries needs her picture taken with the bunny.

Part of the activities offered in the auditorium. We also had another bounce, games, and face painting.

God Wins!

I think often times as Christ followers we feel guilty when we struggle with our emotions. Or with fears. Or with frustration at how the sinfulness of this world seems to be taking over.  I know I do.

Over the past week, we have heard some difficult news that as adults we have wrestled with and then having to tell our children has made it all the more painful.  I have cried out to God. I have gotten angry. I have gotten bitter at times.  And then in the midst of my tantrum, I am reminded to lay it at the cross. To give it up. To stop trying to fix it. To surrender to the One who knows all things.

No matter what circumstances we are asked to face we are told to be content. To have no fear, for He has overcome this world and all the troubles in it.

I was struck this week by how fatalistic we can be, even as Christians. And yet we have the amazing blessing of knowing the end of the story. We have been given the final chapter. We, who know Christ, are more than conquerors.  God wins! When all of this life is said and done, we get to live in the presence of God for eternity. And the devil will be sent packing FOREVER! Sin will be gone. Evil will be gone. Sickness will be gone.  Because, GOD WINS!!  Take hope. Be joyful. Don't lose sight of the ending.  He Wins!

Picture Update

Spring has Sprung! I love the flowers that are making an appearance all around our home.



My lone tulip at this time.



 Stephen is really enjoying soccer. His team is undefeated so far!



Excited to be on the field!



The kids should look stunning on Easter. They all participated in the shopping trip and helped choose what they would wear.

Updates

We are busy busy busy.

Stephen had his first soccer game this last Sunday afternoon, which as you might guess makes our Sunday's very busy. His team won. We honestly don't know what the final score was as his team was quite dominant. He is really enjoying soccer again and he knew a few of the boys on his team from school, so it seems to be a good thing.

The girl's team that I coach is doing really well too. We face the challenge of having only 13 on our roster, which means we have only two substitutes per game. Well, last Friday I only ended up having 11 girls able to play. This meant they would have to play the entire game with no subs. They won decidedly 7-4. It was a great game. The ref for that game complimented me on their conditioning and ability to outplay the other team for the entire game. (I was pretty proud of them too.) Yesterday we played our first regular season home game, and they won again, 5-2. The winds yesterday were a huge factor in the game as there were balls that when put into the air seemed to hit an invisible wall or go in the opposite direction. I lost my coach's visor off my head a few times. I am ready for some spring like weather that sticks around.

Alex and Jack have enjoyed running lines for home soccer games for me. They like to chase after the ball and pass it to the girls as needed.

Emma is as busy as ever. We have been trying to teach her to be still and not to feel the need to talk so much. She would talk all day if we let her. We are trying to teach her respectful boundaries and yet allow her to be heard. Some days my ears are just tired. (My mom used to tell me that too.)

Work is busy for me. The Easter Egg Hunt is about a week and a half away. There are lots of details to work through and things to finish up, but no matter what...the date is getting closer. I am excited about the day, but quite honestly I am also looking forward to not having this event be so consuming. My office is overflowing with bags of candy and eggs and it is beginning to drive me a bit crazy.

Aaron is doing well. He has been doing a lot of extra things around the house over the past few weeks. He has basically taken over the laundry and cooking in addition to making sure the kids are taken care of. I am so very blessed. It is wonderful to have a partner in this life that steps in and fills the gaps during certain seasons of life. While I do miss cooking and taking care of my family, I know that soon I will be available to do that again and in the meantime things are being handled just fine. I thank God for Aaron!

Well, that is life in our household lately. Busy but good!