What Easter Really Means.....

  Piper has her Easter egg hunt today at school and boy, she is so excited! The greatest thing about this Easter that is different than previous years is that Piper is beginning to understand (as much as a 4 year old can) what Easter is really about. Last night as we were saying our prayers at bedtime, she said, "Thank you God for Jesus dying on the cross for me and then letting Him wake up and be alive on Easter." I had to hold back my true excitement over what she had just said. My 4 year old gets that because of Jesus her life can be different than the worlds.
  Now I know we love the cute, cuddly side of the bunny and peeps, but the true reality is that Jesus Christ died a horrible death on a cross to cover not only my sins, but yours too. Have you ever really thought about how awful it was for Jesus to be betrayed by his closest friends, beaten, spit upon, whipped, and forced to carry the very cross he would soon hang from? Until this year, I really don't think that I ever really sat and truly tried to understand the suffering that Jesus went through before he even made it to the cross to die.

photo credit

   I have been reading Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin Jr. It is like a daily devotion that walks you through Jesus' last 40 days on earth. In this book, Walter does a great job of getting you to put yourself back in Jesus' time and truly become part of the picture so long ago. If you do this, a whole range of emotions will overcome you. The great part is, is that no matter how awful it was, I know how the story ends.
  It started with a baby born to a virgin that was named Jesus. He came to walk the earth to suffer and die for the sake of saving all of us who do not deserve it. His blood was shed to cover our sins. The beginning of the end was Jesus being raised from the dead and walking out of a grave to leave behind an empty tomb. Doesn't that give you goosebumps and get you excited....well it should!

Questions you could be asking...
Who Jesus is to you?
Do you believe that when people die they will spend eternity in either heaven or hell?

The Bible says...
in Romans 3:23 "All have sinned."
in Romans 6:23 "the wages of sin is death."
in John 14:6 "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
in Mark 1:17 "Come, follow me," Jesus said.
in Romans 10:9-11 "if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
  If you are willing to surrender your life to Christ what you need to do is simple. Believing that Jesus died on the cross to save you and rose again on the third day, ask God for forgiveness of all of your sins. Invite Him to become a part of your life and ask Him to change you so that you may be a living witness to the change only HE can bring.
  Guess what? If you just said that prayer than you are now a child of the Most High King. A son or daughter of God. You now have your name written in the Book of Life and will spend eternity in Heaven with our precious Savior. Oh, I can't wait!

well, I will leave you this week praying that you will stop and ponder what Easter is truly about and celebrate the risen Lord!

Wait, Reflection, and Transformation...

This week has been a very emotional week and seems like it is never going to end.  It has been a week themed with the words reflection, transformation, and wait.
These are the definitions for reflection that caught my attention in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

1.  the production of an image by or as if by a mirror

2.  the action of bending or folding back

3.  my favorite: a transformation that involves reflection in more than one axis...

 same dictionary...transform(ation)

1. to change the outward form or appearance of

2. my fav:  the operation of changing 

 

So, you are probably wondering where i am going with this.  

  

This week the reality of losing my grandfather became clearly evident due to his declining health.  I have struggled all week with my true emotions toward his death.  I love him like every grandchild loves their grandparent, but for the first time in my adult life, i haven't looked at the situation as a true loss.  Some of you probably know where I am heading with this, but for those who may not, let me explain.  My grandfather is a child of the One and Only...God.  So as my grandfather has an ailing heart, diabetes, and multiple other conditions here on this earth, i know that the moment he takes his last breath here on earth he will be with his Father and be precious in His sight.

Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints Psalm 116:15

 So, literally my Pops will be transformed into perfection.  No longer in pain, no more suffering, no more sickness period.  Just like Pops was transformed when he called out to Jesus and asked for forgiveness and was made new spiritually, he will now be made new and transformed forever in Heaven.  For those of us left behind, we wait.  Wait until the day comes when we too will see Jesus.

from the same dictionary...wait 

1. to remain stationary in readiness or expectation

2. my favorite: to look forward expectantly

As i sit here even blogging, i wait for the phone call that will be my mom or dad calling to say, "Pops is gone."  I have been going over in my mind (reflecting) all the memories that i have of him and me or my family and i can only smile.  Yes, my heart aches that i won't see him here on earth again, but at the same time is rejoicing to know that he will be standing at the gate waiting to greet me when my time here on earth is done.

  This is not the only thing that i have been reflecting/waiting upon this week though.  I have read several blogs and other things that have talked about having a healthy marriage that is defined by God (my marriage is fine, but couldn't it always be better?).  I have also been thinking about the reflection i see of myself (physically, emotionally, spiritually) and how is that affecting my husband and children.  My mind seems to run at 150mph all the time.  Normally, i think that with God's guidance, sorting out the garbage and unnecessary happens or is forgotten.  This week though, has been rough.  I have prayed this week seeking the answers to the questions, why now and why pops?  I have asked where does God see my marriage and what about how He sees me?  I have asked about school and whether it is truly God's plan for me in this season of my life.  There are several other questions that i have prayed over in the past week, but there are three themes that have been constant in everything i have read in my quiet time and elsewhere, watched on TV, and then last night at our Wednesday night service.  They are wait, reflection, and transformation.

  I am overwhelmed by the grace and the mercy that God has for us.  We don't deserve it, but yet freely He gives it.  I think that just as the new season of autumn brings new colors on the leaves, a cooler temperature in the air, and transforms our landscapes into something different, God is doing that with me too.  Transforming me to be more like Him so that when people see me, they see a reflection of Him. He is also requiring me to wait on His perfect timing....these are all processes that i am admittedly not very good at, but through God's grace, love, and mercy I will continue to run the race in which He intended for me.


and we, with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 
2 Corinthians 3:18


I began this post yesterday, Sept 16th.  It is now Friday and my grandfather passed away last night.  He has been made perfect and oh, how i long to be where he is....with my Lord!


and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.  Phil 4:7

a pic of my grandparents taken last year...