Happy Easter

We had a really nice Easter Sunday. Paul led praise and worship at the am service- he is my favorit worship leader- so I enjoyed that. (I am biased, I know) Then after church we went to my parents house. I made delicious mac and cheese and some pineapple stuffing which went great with ham. I also made a delicious new cheesecake I found in one of my grandmothers old recipe books. It was chocolate silk with a sweetened sour cream top and ganache. It was grrreat! We played Wii for awhile and then went home. We hid some treats in the yard for Zeke as a sort of easter egg hunt- too bad he had no ide until we pointed a few out to him. Silly puppy.
We then both crashed on the couch for a solid hour! Then jumped up and went to my in-laws house.

We ate some yummy desserts and had coffee while we laughed at the four dogs playing with each other. We played apples to apples and had some spirited discussion. Hilarious. I then hugged my brother in-law good bye. He is leaving for Iraq for one year and leaving his wife of one month behind. I feel saddened for them both- that they don't get to foster that relationship during thier first year. I know Sam is very proud to serve his country and I am proud of him too. I will be in prayer for his physical safety as well as his spiritual and emotional state as I am sure it will take a toll on him. I pray God grows him during this time. I also pray for Casey that she will try not to focus on the what if's but try to find comfort in God's protection. Even though they are apart- I pray God will grow them closer to Him individually so when they come back together it will be like they never left.

Overall, it was a nice Easter. It was interesting to reflect on the sacrafice Jesus made for us. Most of us had easter egss hunts and chocolate bunnys and some attended church and most did not. I feel like even for those who do attend church, we don't really realize the depth of meaning to this holiday. I imagined what it must have been like for the eleven, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and the others after Jesus died. Deep despair- He was supposed to be the hope for the world and now He was gone. How joyful it must have been to see Him again and confirm all the things they believed about Him. I can't fully comprehend the depth of the emotions that must have occured for Jesus and those who were there. I just know we often take for granted that this is not just a story. Well, I can't think of any other way to end it- since I am just rambling here.

I hope you had a wonderful Easter. :-)

thirsty

Check out this link and read the first page.

My husband is starting a class today and this is one of the books he is reading. In an attempt to be able to have conversation with him on his subjects and also learn myself I opened the book yesterday. Wow. What a great opening. If the rest of the book is as good as the first couple pages- I think I may keep reading. I also simply enjoy the parallel he has between our human bodies and the spiritual. It especially hits home for me since I have been trying desperatly to lose weight and am watching every single thing I put in my mouth. Sometimes I listen to my flesh and say "my body needs that extra bite" when it likely may not. Maybe I am trying to fill a round need with a square peg and don't realize it. What is the deeper issue? I see myself and my non-Christain co-workers struggle with life and try to replace thier need for God with shopping, relationships, independence, and other such fillers. Little do they know they are thirsty for God. We often run ourselves raggedly in circles trying to fill our hunger and we can't see that all we need is some living water. Hmmm- still pondering....

I am going to keep reading...