A Choice.....

This weekend is Easter. Much of the world is focused on candy, eggs, bunnies, egg hunts and baskets overflowing with gifts. To me, this is the most important day of the year. The day that quite literally changed my life for all eternity. Better than my anniversary (which is pretty hard to beat considering I'm married to the best man in all the world), better than the days I get to celebrate the little lives God trusts me to nurture. Better than the day we celebrate the very birth of Jesus, the Son of God.

This day is the day we remember that a 33 year old Jesus made a choice no one else could make. A choice to allow the heartbreak of being mocked by people he had grown up with his entire life (some of which were family). A choice to accept the blame for something he was innocent of. To undergo a brutal physical beating so severe it would make his face unrecognizable. To accept a shameful death on a cross next to a murderer and a thief all the while being innocent of any crime. All because He saw a Joy that was set before Him. An end to His painful means.

You.  Me.  We are that Joy for Him. We are the reason He willingly gave over His very life and let His body be so abused. For the promise of  the POSSIBILITY that He would have a relationship with us.

He is in love with us. We are His greatest love. He laid down His life for the CHANCE that we could love Him back. After all, we still have the ability to choose. A free will. There is no guarantee that we will love Him in return...........or even acknowledge Him or His huge sacrifice.

Yet He gave Himself anyway. It was the only way. The only way to be certain we would be able to have relationship with Him. With God. There is no other way we could approach a Holy God in our sin soaked state. In all of our humanness. He chose to make a way for us to come close to Him. To BE the way for us. Because He is in love with us.

So, as everyone is busy coloring eggs and making meal plans, I take time out to really focus on that incredible choice. I could never have made that choice. I love my husband. I mean, crazy, head-over-heals, truly, madly, deeply love him. But I know myself. I could not have let any of that happen to me for the possibility that he MIGHT love me back.

I am amazed. And humbled that the Son of God is so in love with ME that He could make that choice. That is what I celebrate this weekend.

So I have a fun little cookie recipe to share with you. I've been making these every Easter with my kiddos for the past 7 or 8 years. It's become a tradition they look forward to as much as they do egg hunts and it is a perfect reminder of the choice that was made and the reward we now enjoy because of it. So here ya go:

Easter Cookies

To be made the evening before Easter

• 1cup whole pecans
• 1tsp vinegar
• 3 egg whites
• pinch salt
• 1 cup sugar
• zipper baggie
• wooden spoon
• tape
• Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important, don't wait till you're half done with the recipe!)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces.  Explain that after Jesus was arrested, He was Beaten by the Roman soldiers.  Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar.  Put 1tsp vinegar into mixing bowl.  Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.  Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar.  Eggs represent life.  Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.  Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand.  Let them taste it and brush the rest into the bowl.  Explain that this represents the salty tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.  Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing.  Add 1 cup sugar.

Explain that the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because He loves us.  He wants us to know and belong to Him.  Read Psalm 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks are formed.  Explain that the color white represents the purity in God's eyes of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.  Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts.  Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper covered cookie sheet.  Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.  Read Matthew 27:57-60.

 Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven OFF.  Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door.  Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.  Read Matthew 27:65-66.

GO TO BED!  Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight.  Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.  Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie.  Notice the cracked surface and take a bite.  The cookies are hollow!  On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.  Read Matthew 28:1-9.

I hope making these simple cookies with your kiddos will help you  remember the choice He made for all of us and cause you to wonder......what will your response be?

Happy Easter!

p.s.  if you would like a cute photo how-to of making these check out The Lucky 7's blog.

January...

It's January. The first month of another new year. Most people are caught up in the new-ness of everything. I am too a little. Making new habits, looking for new perspectives, making new changes in ourselves and our environments. But January is something different for me. A reflection. I spend just as much time looking forward to the future this month as I do reflecting on the past and pondering.

You see, my mother passed away very unexpectedly from unknown causes on January 6th, 2007.

She and I had a close, but often rocky relationship full of love and disagreement. I loved her with all my heart and yet she drove me absolutely crazy most times. I frustrated her with my will and desire to be my own person (which meant that I often didn't take the good advice she offered) and yet she was always there for me. But she was always my mother no matter how hard our heads butted.

I miss her immensely. She was like a lighthouse on the shore for me in rough waters. She was like a pounding surf on the sand at times too. But there are other times when she was gentle and sweet like long awaited fresh rain.

January always brings thoughts of her flooding back to me. Looking back now, there are so many questions I wish I had asked about her life and experiences. In some ways she is a mystery to me. I regret not asking those questions. Maybe they would have brought us closer than we were. I would have answers beyond my experience for my kids when they ask me what she was like. Stories about her life.

It makes me think hard about my relationship with my own children. Do they know me? Am I too reserved with them? I don't want them to have unasked questions after I'm gone. It's an empty feeling. There's no one here who can tell me how she felt on her first date, on her wedding day, who her favorite teacher was in school. There is a loss in death sometimes that leaves a bigger hole in those left behind. There is a sadness and a hope there for me. A hope that one day I will get to ask her all the questions I never asked her here. I'm saving up questions for heaven.

At a Loss for Words....

Hello Strangers :)
I know, it's been quite a while since my last blog post. What can I say? Sometimes I can't seem to link two strings of thought together. I'm sitting here sipping my hot cocoa, staring out the window at the grey sky trying to think up something witty to entertain you with, but I've got nothing. Well, it's not because life is so boring around here that it provides no material to write about......oh no. Quite the opposite, in fact. Life keeps skipping right on by full to the brim of things I want to share with you, but when I sit here poised at the keyboard...............nothing comes. *sigh* Ugh. Writing can be frustrating sometimes.

My husband thinks I should write a book. To be honest, I wouldn't have the slightest idea what in the world to write about, but the thought has presented itself in my own brain on more than one occasion. Hmm.....I don't know where that fits right now. Maybe someday in the future I will be inspired to whip out sort of witty repartee or a poignant touching story for you all to enjoy. I don't know. I will wait for Holy Spirit inspiration on that one. And I can't say that you will be the first to know I'm doing it for fear that the pressure will be too great and I will give up due to severe writers block. I will promise this: you'll be the first to see the finished product. How's that?

I ran across a wonderful quote today that was promptly added to my collection:

“Change is good in a way that childbirth is good, heartbreak is good and failure is good . . . it can push us, pull us, rebuke us and remake us. . . it is a function of God’s graciousness not life’s cruelty.”

That's good. It's true. I am so entirely thankful that God is gracious to us. Me in particular. I often feel like I'm the frustrating toddler that refuses to obey my Father. How does He have such patience with me? I am utterly amazed. I find great comfort in these verses of Psalm 103:

¹³ The Lord is like a father to his children,

      tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

 ¹⁴ For he knows how weak we are;

      he remembers we are only dust.

Well, that's all I have for today, though I did manage to make a list of a few other ideas to write about next time. I'm praying for divine impartation and some inspiration to go on. In the meantime, have a wonderful day.

Bless you all,