A Resurrection Life

"And if the spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit who lives in you." Romans 8:11 NIV

These are my thoughts as we head into Easter Sunday:
Through the work of Christ on the cross, I am living a Resurrection life.
A life free of the bonds and guilt of sin and the threat of death and hell.
A life promised to eternity.
A life of communion with God through Jesus Christ.
A life indwelt with His Holy Spirit.
A life of healing.
A life of joy and peace.
A life of purpose and passion for His purposes and passions.
And in my not-so-resurrection moments, like when I was frustrated with my children earlier today, there is the possibility and the hope that the very next moment can be, will be one of rising again from death to myself unto life with Him.
I must choose to die to me -- my wants, my dreams, my comforts -- so that I can live in the dream of God.
The resurrection life of God, who raised Jesus, dwelling in me makes it a possibility, a reality.

Today was relaxing.
The boys slept over a friends house (a very rare treat!), so it was quiet this morning. I missed them so much I could hardly stand it.
Finally, they arrived home in a flutter of ruffled excitement, unrolled sleeping bags sweeping behind them as they burst into the house. I was making muffins for the Easter Breakfast fund-raiser, and they piled into the kitchen, wanting to eat the warm, soft muffins steaming and fresh from the oven. They had so many stories to tell.
After a bit, we all went to the church to see how the Easter production was coming along. It is quite powerful, and I am looking forward to seeing the whole thing tomorrow.
When we got home, we played a new game I got for the boys called In A Pickle.
What a fun game. Here are the basics of play:
There are like, a jazillion word cards (320 really) with "nouns of all shapes and sizes" on them.
Each player gets five, and then four cards are laid out N, S, E, W fashion, with a word facing outward.
Players determine if they have a word that is smaller than any of the words in play (which then get played behind the appropriate word card in play) or larger (which then gets played on top of the appropriate word card in play).
The player to lay the fourth card on a "row" creates a "pickle round" in which each player is allowed to trump his/her card with a larger word card.
The effect is something like this:
leftovers
refrigerator
office
New York
You are encouraged to be creative, but another player can challenge your word choice. You can defend it, but in the end, a vote among the other players decides if your word stays or goes.
In the end, the player with the most word rows wins.
Are these instructions clear as mud, yet?
It took us a few "rows" to get the hang of it, but then we got going and we had fun.
Isaac loved it, even though he was losing, which, as a 9 year old boy, is hard for him.
Josiah didn't like it so much because he had difficulty reading some of the words. He ended up helping Dad so as not to become frustrated. His final comment on it, "I liked it a little and I didn't like it a little." There you go.

I thought it was a great game; fun and challenging. You really have to think about where to put your words.
Joe won.
We had some frozen pizzas for dinner, and after baths, we dyed and decorated some eggs to share with family and friends tomorrow.



Daniel has been into everything all day, and looks like he's been caught "red-handed"!

This one's from yesterday. I couldn't resist. Sportin' that squash 'stache!

Now I must make my way to the kitchen to clean up the cups with the multi-colored dyes in them.
"Where is the resurrection life in that?" one may ask.
"All our acts have sacramental possibilities." (Freya Stark)
Everything we do, including cleaning the kitchen, may be done with purpose and joy, in servanthood, laying our lives down for our families, our friends, the kingdom. The common made holy through dying to ourselves daily so we can rise with Him in the power of the resurrected Christ.
I love this song, and found this video on YouTube. I think it says what I am trying to, only better. Enjoy.


Happy Easter, everyone.

The wearing of the green

Happy St. Patty's Day, all.
It's been a few days since my last post.
I have been busy packing, keeping up with the boys and missing Joe.
Today is the first day of Spring break, but it is rainy and chilly.
"It feels more like Christmas break than Spring break out here!" Isaac commented on our way to the store this morning. He was right. Where's the Spring part?
We have had a good day, despite the rainy weather.
We woke up early as usual - 7a.m. - there is no sleeping in with three active boys!
I made the boys Italian bread toast with apricot jam and orange slices for breakfast.
Isaac got a hair to make yogurt smoothies, and we had all the ingredients, so he did.
Here's the recipe:
1 cup yogurt
1 banana, sliced
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup ice
Blend together!
It's delicious, or as Isaac would say, "Better than sonic!"
As we settled around the table, I began to tell the boys about Holy week, beginning with Palm Sunday, which was yesterday.
I know they have heard this story, but I wanted to tell it to them again, to repeat it. The scriptures say that we should be repeating to our children when they rise, walk, sit all the good things God has done for us; we should be telling them about who He is.
Their eyes were wide as we talked about how Jesus was first accepted and praised, the people pinning all their hopes on Him for a better future, a better government. He was to be their savior, only, they didn't realize how.
We talked about the fact that Jesus made the religious leaders angry because He did not follow the law the way they thought He should.
We didn't get very far before Daniel needed to go down for a nap and we needed to get ready to go to the store.
We eventually made it to Wal-Mart where we picked up supplies for a traditional St. Patty's day meal, corned beef and cabbage. Josiah wanted a watermelon. He loves them so much. "It's green for our St. Patty's day season!" he exclaimed. I was sold.
After the store, we went to the library and the boys picked out some books. I did too. We got some St. Patty's day books and cowboy books and children's art books. I got some neat-looking cookbooks too.We went to Otto's for lunch because it was getting late in the day, and I wanted to finish the story of Jesus' death and resurrection with little distraction.
We ordered -- Isaac got chili and coffee (such a little man), Josiah got peanut butter and jelly with hot cocoa, and I got a cheeseburger with hot cocoa.


The boys read some books while we were waiting for lunch to arrive, which it did in record time.
As we ate I told the boys the rest of the story. They were wide eyed, and at times their eyes were red rimmed and brimming with tears as I told them about the sacrifice Jesus made for us, how he gave his life for ours. The great exchange.
When we were talking about Good Friday, Josiah rubbed his eyes and said, "I don't get it. Why do they call it Good Friday when bad things happened?"
I explained that even though what happened to Jesus was horrid and murderous, it was good news for us that he endured the cross, because we would have no hope of salvation and reconciliation with God without his sacrifice. "He loves us that much," I said.
They were quiet for a long time, and I let them think about it all for a while.
On the way home, I finished the story. I told about the day his followers found His empty tomb. How he met them and ate with them. I told them about the Ascension, and that one day, He would come back the way He left.
By that time, we were pulling into the drive at home. Josiah jumped out of the truck and scanned the grey skies. "He's coming out of the sky? When?"
"No one knows. Remember though, that one day He will come, and keep looking."
"Maybe He'll come back on Easter!" Isaac shouted into the air. "Or Christmas, like when He came the first time!"
They were both looking up now, quizzing the sky, asking the silent question, "When?"
The rest of the afternoon was a flurry of cooking and redying things for company as much as I could in a cottage filled with boxes.
Mom, Gramp, Patty, Bekah and her two angel-babies Ethan and Audry joined us for dinner. We had some sloppy Joe and mac-n-cheese for the not-so-Irish among us, as well as the traditional corned beef fare.
Isaac made a batch of smoothies for everyone. There was a lot of laughing and talking and crying too, as there is when tiny people are present.
The boys played a game with Patty, Star Wars Monopoly, which thrilled the socks off them.
I got a chance to talk to my Uncle Tom, my dad's brother, tonight, and that was good. I miss my dad so, especially today.
Before bed, I read the boys St. Patrick's Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting. I highly recommend it. It is so beautifully written and the story is very cute.
The boys are all asleep now.
The house is quiet and I am about the task of cleaning up from the day.
It was a very good day.
If Joe were here, it would have been perfect.