Easter 2011 Thoughts

Happy Easter! I hope yours was as blessed and joyous as ours was. It sure was different for us than last Easter, when we welcomed Kaylee into our family. Here's a peek at some of the pictures from this weekend, I will try to follow up with a picture post right after this (That is if I don't crash and fall asleep...)

Talk about a full weekend! Saturday included Easter egg hunting in the snow, attending swimming lessons, naptime (and a chance for me to work on some teaching stuff), then heading out to my mom's to decorate Easter eggs and have dinner with J and his girlfriend Christi. Sunday started bright and early and we made it to church early for the 8:30 am service. (Miracles do happen!) After church, we headed home and the girls got to see their Easter baskets (lovingly and skillfully made by Great-Aunt Keiko) and search the living room for a few more eggs while we prepped for brunch. Mom joined us after the second service and we had a delicious meal and enjoyed visiting until late into the afternoon. Mom, Christi, and I even enjoyed a quick walk while the girls napped. After the extended family left, Karamea helped me whip up some blueberry pancakes and bacon for dinner and then it was bedtime for the girls. I just spent the evening planning for school and actually finished my plans for German 1 through the end of the year. Whew! What a wonderful whirlwind it was! (Note: all of that alliteration was unintentional, I'm just going to leave it for amusement's sake...)

I don't normally do a summary of the church service, but our pastor made some really strong points that I want to remember...He pointed out how Good Friday and Easter Sunday are two sides of the same coin and that one without the other is pretty meaningless. This reflected my own sentiment this morning as I thought of the joy of the resurrection contrasted with deep sadness over our depravity and the need for Christ to come into the world to redeem us. This was my facebook status: 

I ponder the wonder of the resurrection and I am overjoyed; I consider why it was necessary and I am eternally humbled.

The sermon outlined three skeptics and how Christ became so convincingly real to them after the resurrection that they were forever changed. Thomas, James, and Saul all doubted Jesus on different levels; Thomas on a logical level, James as a somewhat jealous and critical family member, and Saul as an outright persecutor of those who believed in Jesus Christ. God won all three of them over in powerful ways. As the pastor observed, "Jesus changed a little band of fearful men into flaming evangelists" who were willing to risk and even give their lives as they proclaimed the gospel of Christ's death and resurrection. Wow.

The closing challenge of the sermon was to consider what it would take to convince you to drop any doubts you cling to regarding Jesus or the resurrection. The pastor challenged us all to actually ask God to do whatever necessary to convince us of the reality of the resurrection, and along with that, to be willing to be convinced. This struck me as very powerful and reminded me of the need to ask God to reveal things in other areas of my life. 

I love how the digital age helps us learn and read things and connect with others. A friend from high school posted the following as her status message on facebook, and it spoke such truth to me and resonated so much with how I have been feeling this weekend that I just have to post it here as well:

"I do not deserve the love and grace that God has blessed me with, but he keeps pouring it out on me, again and again, no matter what I do and no matter the cost to him. Even dedicating my life to him falls short of the gratitude I feel for the sacrifice Jesus made for us. This Easter, my heart is humbled and amazed by the true meaning of the holiday. Remember." (Thanks, Aimee, for letting me post this...)