Easter Weekend 2011

Friday, Trey and I were both off, and the kids were out of school. So we took the day for some family time. Olivia was in dire need of her first haircut, so we took her and Hulse that morning to Pigtails and Crewcuts. That place is so cute and the kids did a great job getting trimmed up. They both looked super cute after their cuts! I went to lunch with my mom and then we both got pedicures that afternoon. After dinner we went to a local park then to Key West for some yogurt.

Saturday morning we went to the egg hunt that our kid's ministry at church does, and it's always a fun time. Hulse isn't really into collecting eggs as much as he is getting an egg and immediately opening it to eat what's inside. Olivia is a collector by nature, so she loves to gather eggs and get them in her basket. She's also a candy fanatic and wants to eat her treasures as soon as she can. After we hunted all we could we went to lunch with our friends, the Clinton's, then headed home for a nap. Saturday night we had our first egg-dyeing experience. Hulse and Olivia got to pick their colors, put their eggs in, and check to make sure the color was to their liking! We got through it with no major spills and no permanently colored hands, so I consider it a success. Saturday night after the kiddos were asleep the Easter bunny made a stop by the house and left some great treats!

Sunday morning I made cinnamon rolls for breakfast, the kids checked out their bunny loot, and we got gussied up for Easter service. I enjoyed praising Jesus for His sacrifice and the chance to praise Him that He is the Resurrection and the Life! After lunch we headed to take the kids to see my grandfather at the hospital, then to Jacksonville for lunch with Trey's family. After more egg hunting and lunch, the kids crashed for a couple of hours before we went to dinner with my parents.

It was an action-packed, fun-filled Easter weekend. I've always loved the "newness" that Easter brings. Every day is a day to reflect on the sacrifice that Jesus provided for all humanity on the cross, but Easter is a time for the body of Christ to collectively acknowledge that without the grace of the cross we are dead to sin.

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God." II Corinthians 5:21

Draw us to the cross

"¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”

Luke 24:1-7

Our God is Greater

Isn't if funny that God always positions us to receive exactly the messages He wants us to hear, even when we're not trying to hear it? Several months ago I saw an ad for a Living Proof Live event with Beth Moore in Little Rock. I had been to one previously and thought that would be a good girls weekend for our Sunday school class. I was ready for a fun night out and God was ready to speak to me in a big way! Let me tell you that Travis Cottrell is AMAZING and if you get the privilege to have him lead you in worship take it. Two words into the first song and I just felt my desire to worship God pour out like a floodgate had been opened. I've been very disconnected in corporate worship for a while and I guess God wanted me to know just how much my soul has missed being abandoned to the Holy Spirit. That set the tone for the rest of the conference and it was so exciting to be poured out before the Lord. I've had a lot of disappointment and hurt in areas of my life that I never expected to and I haven't really asked God to heal me. I didn't even know I needed healing! As soon as Beth began to speak about putting down the disappointments and hurt my mind just began to swim with the feelings I've been pushing down.

Lord, I am thankful to you that you caught me unsuspecting. You just invaded my heart with my defenses down and I cannot say thank you enough. Lord, you have been my portion and strong tower and I'm thankful that you let me run to you. Thank you God that you are the only one in whom I can find fulfillment and that You are so willing to pour out your Spirit on me. Lord, I look forward to what You have next for me, even if it means hardship I know You mean it for good. I want you to work in me to the renown of Christ alone. Amen.