"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.
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.
