Easter in Pictures

It was a beautiful day.

Our worship was a true celebration- Christ our Lord is risen today. . .

alleluia!

The music was amazing, 

the message was powerful 

and being with our church family was just as sweet as can be.  

We had a brunch outdoors before church.  Everyone brought flowers to "flower the cross". . .Charlotte was the first to help Miss Tracy adorn the cross.  By the end of the brunch, it was filled to overflowing with fresh flowers - a sign and symbol of the beautiful new life we have because of Christ's finished work on the cross!  I am disappointed I didn't get a picture with it complete!

It was a beautiful morning and we so enjoyed the morning fellowship time to greet one another.

We're so thankful for the friends our children have at church

what precious gifts each one of them are to our kid!

The youth, too, are all very close.

It blesses me so dearly that Peter and Meredith have

such a great group of young friends.

After worship we enjoyed a fantastic meal with friends 

and shared stories about God's

faithfulness.  What a blessing!

HAPPY EASTER

HAPPY EASTER FROM TEXAS, Y'ALL!

beautiful sunrise photo from Texas Bluebonnet Sightings....isn't it gorgeous!?

HE IS RISEN

HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

Eggstravaganza 2012

What an awesome day we had with our church family today.

It was Eggstravaganza 2012

and the Youth's 30 Hour Famine Car Wash Fundraiser!

It wouldn't be a spring gathering without a new spring baby....

introducing...

sweet little Primsrose

She was most certainly a hit among the girls!

David helped the teenagers at the carwash....

Sweet Ford....always loving on our boy!

There was some joyous praise and worship music. . .

and an Easter egg hunt through the gardens and playgrounds

Then it was indoors for an ice cream social!

We all enjoyed the day and look forward to

Easter morning!!!

Stricken, Smitten & Afflicted

This is such a beautiful song for Good Friday:

Seder Celebration

Tonight our whole family participated in a Seder Celebration at our church

Passover, if of course, the most important of Jewish religious festivals

commemorating God's deliverance of the hebrews from slavery in Egypt

and His creation of the Israelite people.

The Seder or "order" recounts and celebrates the entire sequence of events

that led to the Israelite's freedom from slavery.

While thoroughly based in those historical events, the Passover celebration 

encompasses much more as it becomes a vehicle to celebrate 

the greater revelation of God's nature and His gracious work

in the world through Jesus.  

It is in this larger dimension that Jesus celebrates the passover service 

as a sacramental remembrance of God's new

work of deliverance in Christ, and allows Christians to celebrate this ancient festival.

It was a very special evening of tradition and meaning

"Jesus has said, 'Surely I am coming soon.' We say Amen.  

Come quickly, Lord Jesus!"

Revelation 22:20

It's About the Heart

This was a note delivered to me after the kids were tucked in last night.

By a certain second grader that dwells here but will remain nameless.

Before getting tucked, we had to have a conversation about 

a bad attitude that manifested itself in less than appealing outward behavior.

To be honest, I was tired and I knew as I retreated downstairs after our conversation

 that I didn't handle it as well as I would have liked.  

But look what God did, despite my failures as a parent {again}.

THATS the Holy Spirit at work in my little girl's heart.

This morning, this certain nameless second grader reported that her heart was happy this morning and she was glad that God made it a new day so that she could "try on" a better attitude.

Me, too.
I'm glad it's a new day, too.
Seeking God's forgiveness gives us that assurance of His grace and mercy.
I praise Him for that.
I praise Him for mercies new every morning!
I praise Him for His work in my little girl's heart.

I praise Him that He is teaching both of us how to
walk in newness of life!

Romans 6:4-6 reads:


We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father,
we, too, might walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united with him in a death like his,
we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
We know that our OLD self was crucified with him in order that the body of
sin might be brought to NOTHING, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."


Paul is teaching here that union with Christ through faith grants
us peace in the fact that sin no longer has mastery over us.
We are no longer slaves to sin.  It still resides in us, we still battle it, but
it no longer controls us.
We have been raised to newness of life.

Newness of life expresses itself in
new behaviors
new desires
new thoughts
new appetites

We think differently.
We act differently.
We live in a very different way when we embrace this newness of life.
It's just the power of the gospel!


When we trust in the Lord with all our heart
and lean not on our OWN understanding,
Proverbs 3:5-6 promises that He
will make our path straight.

He will reorder our thinking
He will set our affections on Him
He will regenerate our hearts
He will make us sad over our sin
He will make us to rejoice in righteousness
He will make us to grow in grace
He will make our priorities align with His
He will set us free from the bondage of our sins
He will finish the work he began in us.

Parenting is hard work.  I often fail at it miserably.

But then, I get a glimpse of God who is at work in me and in my children.
 And I am delighted.  I feel refreshed.
I pray that my children and I would
be renewed day by day in Christ's redeeming work on our behalf.
And that our hearts might
reflect His awesome regenerating power!


That, my friends, is what the Easter celebration is all about!

Happy Birthday Charlotte!

Tomorrow my little girl turns 11.

Can't believe it!

We celebrated today since we were all together.

First the kids sang in church for Palm Sunday.

After church we drove up to the Woodlands 

and did all of Charlotte's favorite things.

It was a beautiful day to be out and about.

We walked around the waterways

We ate lunch at PF Changs

And then Charlotte got to shop for her gifts at Vera Bradley.
{She has been waiting for this day for months!}
She was just as excited to go to the store and "shop"
as she was to have a new VB item!

Oh the choices. . .

She definitely experienced Vera Bradley overload.

The colors, the patterns....I could tell she was in joyous, anticipatory bliss.

And what girl wouldn't be!?

It was so hard to choose...she loved them all.
Very Berry Paisley, Lime Up, Priscilla Pink, Summer Cottage, Island Blooms, Ellie Blue . . .

But her very, very favorite was:
Doodle Daisey

So Doodle Daisey it was....
in the mini hispter style and the ever so hip wristlet to match

HaPpY BiRtHdAy, ChArLoTtE !!!

Preparations

Our church is getting ready to host an Eggstravaganza next weekend.

So I solicited some help this afternoon to get some eggs stuffed.

We sure had a good time doing it together!

Even Peter got involved!

Each egg was carefully filled with candy and a different Easter scriptures

. . .good news of Jesus' resurrection

We uttered prayers over each little egg 

and the little heart that will joyfully find it

and delight in its contents.

Looking forward to all the Holy Week activities at our church

a Passover/Seder dinner on Thursday

a good Friday Tenebrae service on Friday

 the big Eggstravaganza on Saturday

and

a certain joyous Easter celebration on the Lord's Day!

Sunrise Easter Egg Hunt

We were up bright and early on Easter morning. Coffee in hand and on the back patio. We enjoyed watching the younger kids search for easter eggs and find their simple baskets filled with essential spring items (bubbles, goggles, sidewalk chalk, etc). First things first, however. Claire left this note for the Easter bunny. We don't talk alot about him or make him a big deal, but more or less go off the younger kids notion of how eggs and baskets appear each Easter. You will notice the bunny left a response (with his paw)......Claire was so pleased to learn that he likes God. Good news! Here are a few pics from the morning.....after our egg hunt we enjoyed a lovely service of worship and time with friends in the afternoon swimming and fellowshipping together!

At first, David would delight in finding an egg. He would squeal with excitement....then put it back. Peter showed him how to collect them in his own basket!

Kirby found an egg, too

The sucker seeds grew overnight as is our tradition...

here Peter and David are picking suckers!!

It was a beautiful and relaxing day celebrating our risen Lord!