Passionate Priorities of My Life

When was the last time you experienced a blue-sky moment? I am referring to the kind of moment when you don't know what time it is, you don't care and there is no one there to disturb you. I hope that I can encourage you to consider taking a blue-sky moment soon. You are probably saying, "you don't know my life Carolina. I do not have time to care for myself. My family needs me." Certainly there's a balance. I don't want you to think that I am justifying your behavior every time you want to get away or splurge on a new purchase, nor am I referring to resting on Sunday, because for us moms, this day can be a busy day full of church and family commitments. I am referring to a place and time on a regular basis to renew our minds, process and relax from life's demands.

But Girlfriends, Sisters in Christ, Mothers, and Fellow Wives - as rare as blue-sky moments are, they are to be worshipful. Don't fall into the camp which believes that these moments are self indulgent. This thinking is the extreme and I want to encourage you to replace it with the thought, "I can be a better wife, mother, daughter, employee, and friend because I take good care of my soul each day." It means taking the time to stop and pray to reflect on your life. You must slow down and put your priorities in order. If you don't, you will not be able to give your gifts to those you love the most.

Several blogs ago, I wrote to you about what a Martha I am. That has not changed. That is my nature as God created me to do do do. But I have learned that basking in the presence of the Lord as Mary did is what I need. I have to carve out time to be with God. The dishes will still be there as will emails to be answered, but time with Jesus should be the longing of our hearts.

May I also be so bold as to remind those of you who are also wives that when your soul is in the right place, you will be able to better provide a calm center to your home. Your man will realize what a sanctuary is. He will long to be there and will be conditioned to expect rest and renewal at home. It is not your responsibility alone to make your home restful, however never forget your influence will go a long way with your husband and ultimately with your children. Only you and the Lord will be able to pursue worship together. By doing so, you will not be expecting your husband to know how to make you calm and secure.

This type of time for your soul to rest can be separate from time to exercise, be with friends, wandering at the bookstore.... Old habits of staying up late may mean altering your schedule and going to bed earlier. But to wake early to exercise a bit, read the word of God, having a cup of coffee alone before your family wakes may be what you need. How you make it work will look different for each of you. Ask God to reconnect you to your passionate priorities - your relationship with Him, with your husband your children and your friends. Ask Him to protect you from the enemy who wants you to feel guilty to prevent you from this needed rest. Drink of God's living water and feast at His table to fill your soul.

Getting Boxy

I always seem to have boxes around my house and my kids love to play with them. Today I found some simple and easy box crafts to make with the empty tissue boxes, cereal boxes, shoe boxes and other boxes we have (check out the link above).

Then I stumbled upon Enchanted Learning.com and found a huge assortment of even more craft ways to use my boxes and entertain my kids at the same time.

The Enchanted Learning site also has a wonderful reference list of crafts sorted by topic and by material (such as boxes, paper, cardboard tubes, etc...). So if you are looking for a craft idea for you kid who loves birds or just need to make something with the extra paper plates you have, take a minute to peruse the site. Enjoy!

A Taste of What's to Come

Spring is in the air!! Or is it summer?? Barefeet, the smell of suncreen, children's laughter floating through the open window.... is it still April?

My family seems to have accepted that summer is in full swing already, and I hope they are not too disappointed when the weather cools down to the normal spring temperatures in a day or so.

The sun turns our lovely house into an oven. No matter how many windows we open and fans we have blowing the inside temperature gets to 80 before lunch. Closing things up to keep the sun out has not been effective either. Suffice it to say....the air conditioners are in already, mainly so the kids can sleep at night.

My children love being barefoot inside, running around unencumbered outside in the sun, and getting to spend more time on the playground. My barely 1 year old thinks his shorts are the best thing ever. He rediscovered his legs the first time I put him in shorts and spent over a half an hour patting his knees and and shins. He also loves seeing his toes wiggle in his sandals as he walks around in the grass for the first time.

My daughter oooohs and ahhhs over every sundress, shorts set and pair of sandals I pull out from her bin of summer clothes. At 2, she does not remember that she wore many of them last year and is thrilled with so many 'new' things. She almost could not contain herself when I got out the sunscreen. She begged me rub in on her and then asked for her bathing suit. I explained that it was not quite time set up the pool or head to the beach yet. "It very hot!" she told me, shaking her head, "It summer, time to swim...hooray!"

I told her this was just a little taste of summer, to get us ready for the warm weather, but that we would still have days that she needed to wear pants and that it was not time to get the pool out. She did not seem to really grasp this concept but ran off happy that at least for now, as far as she was concerned, it was summer. After all, she does not fully understand having a little 'taste' of food either. Why have one bite, when you could just eat it all?

Sometimes I feel like that too. Just a small bite of sweet deliciousness and I am hooked.... I want more.

God gives us small tastes and glimpses of His Glory, His Love, His Compassion, His Grace and His Power every day. All around me I see Him in the beauty of the sunny day, in my interactions with others, in the amazing and timely provisions He provides again and again and in the love and laughter I share with my children and my husband. I have to remind myself that these are only a small taste of what is to come. A small reminder and preparation for the day when we will actually dwell in His presence. For now I try to make the most of every taste, no matter how small or big it may seem, and be thankful for all of these moments.

But some days, like my daughter, I am just wishing for the pool to be out already so I can dive in head first!

From Father to Daughter

Did I ever tell you my husband's dream was to have three daughters? After Morgan was born, he had his dream come true. When we first found out the gender of the baby, he just couldn't stop smiling.

Just as we moms have a significant role in our kids lives, so is your husband, perhaps even more. I believe that fathers provide security and stabilization in the kids lives, which they need in order to thrive. I know that this blog is dedicated to mothers to help us to become better moms, but I thought it would be good to remind us to encourage and unleash our husbands to a great dad.

I got this book, Father to Daughter- Life Lessons On Raising a Girl for last year's Father's Day. Here's an excerpt I thought was cute.

"Raising a girl takes two parents: A mom to show her how to be independent. A dad's job is to make his daughter courageous. Fearless. To make her feel beautiful. To give her a sense of adventure. To make her feel secure and confident. The relationship between a dad and a daughter is very simple: She will love her father and trust him completely, forever. Because he's her first love. Her first hero. The first man in her life."

Deal Seeking Mom

I love good deals! I think most moms would agree with me when it comes to finding fantastic deals and sales. But when it comes to coupons, I'm not as smart as many women out there. I have been checking out great frugal mommy blogs lately, and as much as I get excited about getting information on how to find great deals (these mommies get lots of household products and groceries for free!), I get great migraines from trying to understand what they do. I guess my brain doesn't work that way. I'd love to learn though.

One of the sites I enjoy is Deal Seeking Mom. She finds great deals from Target, my favorite store, and other drugstore deals, which is fantastic. This is great considering our economic situation. Because every dollar counts.

Keepers of the Memories

I've had morbid thoughts on my mind. (Oh no..not here you might say). Well, this past week my sister's family... and her four kids walked through the rituals of saying goodbye to their dearly loved grandpa. He passed away Easter Sunday morning of all things! So, a God loving, kid loving Grandpa got to go home to see his maker on Resurrection Day! Seems so fitting doesn't it? But in the wake of this passing, there is a lot of pain and grieving and missing.

I realized when I was writing my sister this week that one of the things that really brings relief to these painful times is memories. Memories can lift you and even bring moments of crazy joy in the middle of loss. And that is why I'm writing about death in a mom's BLOG. We can be the builders of the memories. It can be a calling. Some day, mostly for the happiest of reasons, these kids are going to leave us.

I always meant to be a scrap booking mom. Each new baby came home to a 'book' that was going to be the journal of their lives. And then life happens! Most of my books are more empty than full! What I have done, thanks to a brilliant idea of my husband's, is save little treasures and photos in boxes. Each of the kids has their own box. Some day, when I'm a little more free and a lot more lonely for these wonderful children, I will build my books. For now though this is working for me, so things get saved. What I realized though this week, is that I want more well rounded memories. I'm missing the words! The sayings, the prayers, the wise cracks, the precious bed time things spoken. So I have a new item going into the boxes now; little scraps of paper. Some day the stories will get dim and I want to have them to recall.

So, somewhere between the hat of "Chef" and "Carpool Captain", I'm including "Family Scribe."

More that Just a Mom

This weekend I spent a day in the city with my husband, my brother and my sister-in-law......without my children. I enjoyed walking around Times Square and the financial district, shopping in China Town, eating in Little Italy, (and at our favorite restaurant 'Carmine's'), getting a great view from the water on the Staten Island Ferry and of course relaxing in Central Park. We did many of the typical touristy things as my sister-in-law has never been to the city before and she wanted a little taste of everything.

I have to admit that I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the day. And realized later that it was not just the, good company, great food and amazing sights but the fact that I felt truly free. I did not need to take care of my children's every need, fix meals, feed them meals, clean up after meals, worry about who was napping and who wasn't, fold laundry, plan dinner, straighten up the house, dole out instructions and discipline, wash wiggling hands, wipe little noses and bottoms or listen to any crying.

This was the first time I have been without both my children for the entire day. We've left them for a few hours here and there, but have no family who live close enough to take them for the day. Admittedly, I did not miss them the way I expected too. Yes, when we returned home I loved hearing their voices and holding them in my arms. We gave many extra hugs and kisses and I was happy to be home in time to put them to bed. I did miss their chubby arms wrapped around me and their bubbly laughter...but only after I got home.

Having gotten a good report from home, shortly after we left, that everything was going well I honestly did not think about my children the rest of the day. This sort of shocked me. I am a devoted mother and love my kids, how is it that they did not even enter my mind? I did not talk about them or worry about them. When I saw other children I did not notice their cute sneakers, guess at their age or question that they were not wearing a jacket. It was as if the 'mom' part of my brain had been temporarily shut off. And it was so freeing. It made me realize that I need to get away from my kids or even just out of my 'mom mode' more often.

God has granted me the amazing blessing of motherhood and given me children to love, teach and raise. But being away from them for the day reminded me that my kids are only in my care temporarily. They will grow and have their own lives, their own relationships and their own responsibilities. I so cherish the time I have with them, but in that same moment realize that my entire life, worth and energy cannot be focused solely on them...and is not meant to be. I think I have let 'motherhood' become my identity and even my excuse at times for not challenging myself in other arenas. I know that God has intended me to grow and learn through my mothering, but not to the exclusion of all else. So I need to learn to hold this precious and important gift close, but not wrap my hands so tightly around it than I am unable to grab onto other opportunities and gifts that come along the way. It is a hard lesson for me and I am still working on it.

Up Close and Personal

Yesterday my daughter and I attended her "friend's" birthday party at an indoor playground. About halfway in, all the kid's were having a great time and I was chatting with a friend when we were interrupted by screams of horror. I looked up to see a little girl run across the room, shrieking, to her mother. Confused and concerned, I tried to see why she was so terrified. I smiled, relieved, as I saw the cause of her fear. Greeting the children was a 5-foot tall Nemo character from the movie "Finding Nemo." Most of the children shied away from him, although a few were brave enough to approach him and give high-fives or hugs. Even the birthday girl, who requested his presence, teared up and ran away when he arrived! It was amusing that a character who is so loved on the television is so unwelcome when in person and larger than life!

This made me think a lot about how I view God. I think that sometimes I like to keep Him at arm's length. There are times when I pray that God would make His will known to me or reveal Himself more to me. But sometimes I shy away from His response. It can be overwhelming to experience God so up close and personal. This is the God who created everything that there is, the One who has the power to defy the "laws" of Nature that we have, the One with the power to defy even death itself. He also speaks to us through His Holy Spirit, He continues to heal people in miraculous ways, and encounters us in many other ways. I love to read about these awesome acts of God in the Bible, but when I see the power of God work that way in my own life, it can be a little scary because it is so unlike anything else I experience!

Let's revisit the birthday party and Nemo character. Although the 3 and 4 year olds were frightened by the huge Nemo, my little 21 month-old was not. Though a little timid, she gave him a hug and some high fives. She had this youthful innocence and did not recognize that there was anything to be afraid of. In the same way, I need to approach God's mighty presence in my life with child-like faith. I have to embrace that innocence and realize that there is nothing to run from. Although He is so mighty and powerful and unlike anything else in the world, God is good. I pray that all of us would have faith like a child and invite God to move in awesome ways in our lives.

Thursday Deals & Freebies

Free Gift from The Disney Store!
When you bring in 3 plastic bottles to recycle at any Disney Store on April 22nd, you'll receive a free gift! It's a fun way to teach your kids to recycle and receive a gift from Disney :)

This week I came across a great site when I was trying to figure out how to get crayon off my walls. Then used the same site later to find out the best way to freeze peppers.

Thrifty Fun describes itself as a site where "regular folks can share their knowledge and ideas" and that is really what it is. My favorite feature is the many Q & A's that are posted. You can also find out how to use many every day products to clean, have fun, keeps your pets off the sofa and even kill the weeds in your yard.
Wanted to share it with everyone as I found it very helpful, and interesting to browse through as well.

My other problem this week was that I tend to keep making the same old thing for lunch and dinner. I often get stumped as my children like particular ingredients and I tend to use them, or combine them in the same way. Well I found a site to help me be more creative with meals and get last minute ideas. Type in the ingredients you want to us and get recipe and meal ideas! You can also search their huge resource of recipes by more conventional means as well. I liked being able to read many comments regarding the ease and taste of the recipe as well as getting tips. Check it out for yourself at: http://allrecipes.com

The 'Perfect' Easter Morning

This past Sunday, Easter Sunday is a huge day in our house. Or at least the days preceding it are. My husband has a big hand in the planning and preparation on the many aspects of our church's large, off-site, wonderful Easter morning service. That means long hours, much work and little time with the family for the weeks prior to Easter. So as Easter approaches we are excited, not only to celebrate the miracle that Jesus rose from the dead, but the culmination of much hard work as well and the subsequent family time afterward.

I pictured my children, dressed in their best of course, and I entering the auditorium to greet my husband (in the 'control center'), take a beautiful family photo and then settle into our seats. Well, my newly walking one year old did not take a morning nap and was NOT very happy to be in his adorable tie and vest. My daughter was so enthralled by her dress that she could not stop swirling around for me to do her hair or snap a photo. I was thankful we got into the car on time.

By the time I carried my nearly 30 lb son and led my daughter ever so slowing by the hand, through the parking lot and up (then down) many steps into the auditorium....I was almost breaking into a sweat and could not wait to just sit down. Then the kids saw Daddy and were beyond excited. He gave us hugs for a moment before his attention needed to be focused elsewhere. "Happy Easter Daddy," my daughter said as we walked to our seats.

My son had no intention of sitting still on my lap and continued to throw himself off so he could be free to crawl and walk around. My daughter, however, was excited and still dancing around. "It's Easter," she told me enthusiastically over and over. I asked her if she knew why we were so happy and what we were celebrating today. Without hesitation she threw her hands up into the air and said, "JESUS IS ALIVE!" Her face lit up with a smile as she wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her back and my heart lit up. This is why we are here...Jesus is why we are here, no other reason.

Later as my son lay sleeping in my arms and I joined with the hundreds of voices singing praises to our Risen Lord, I could not express the depth of my gratefulness and joy. Suddenly the reality of what Christ did for me was overwhelming. A single tear rolled down my cheek and I wanted to throw my hands in the air with child-like abandon and shout "JESUS IS ALIVE!"

I pray that my heart and my attitude and my life with shout this every day!!

ABC's of Character-Building: F is for Friendly (by Beth R.)

"A man of too many friends come to ruin, But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."

Proverbs 18:24

Is there anything more nerve-wracking than releasing your small child into a roomful of pint-sized peers, and walking away? And which is more horrifying: when that child screams hysterically, lunges at you and fastens onto your leg in terror – or when that child lets go of your hand to totter away into the chaos and begin, really begin, the journey that will eventually separate you forever?

It sometimes seemed as though all of my own kids’ childhoods were a pendulum swing between these two extremes. From the age of about ten months to twenty (years, that is), I constantly forced myself to release each child’s hand. Then I steeled myself for one of two dreaded outcomes: either, “They can’t face life without me!” -- or – “They can face life without me!”

After they let go of our hand, our children will either recoil, or thrive… be popular, or be an outsider… fit in, or not. And as moms, we’re not sure whether any of those eventualities is, ultimately, all that good. Because they all are beyond our control. Socialization is scary. We need to give our children tools to survive the sandbox and the schoolyard. Along the way, we need to coach them to develop strong friend-making skills. What a daunting task!

The good news? As we purposefully pursue godly character development, we simultaneously set the stage for good things on the social scene. It turns out that inner character strengths are also excellent raw ingredients for good social relationships. For example, take the first five character traits we’ve explored in this ABC’s of Character Building series: [To access full discussions, posted previously, click on each character quality.]

*Angelic–When parents reflect a sense of the eternal in the everyday, children will grow up understanding that all of life is infused with meaning and mission. They’ll be able to explore their world from a foundation of wonder, security and inner purpose.
*Bold – When parents make loving eye contact -- providing a constant, reliable source of affirmation and affection -- children won’t need to form toxic alliances to bolster a starved self-image. Instead, they’ll be able to seek out healthy friendships with confidence.

*Creative – When parents celebrate their children’s innate ability to express ideas, children will come to value their inner potential. They will then be primed to appreciate others’ uniqueness as well.

*Dependable – When parents communicate the reasons behind the rules, and foster a family culture of responsibility and mutual trust, they give children a solid template for crafting balanced relationships.

*Enthusiastic – When parents help children discover and engage in favorite pastimes, those same pastimes become natural launching points for meeting kindred spirits and fostering friendships based on shared interests.

Proverbs 18:24 gives us two guiding principles to teach our kids:

1) When it comes to friends, quality is better than quantity;

2) Acceptance and loyalty are the hallmarks of lasting friendship.

If we can model these truths within our own families, we will give our kids an inner compass to apply to all of their outside-the-family relationships. We will teach them to be open and outgoing, while staying selective about whom they allow inside their inner circle. We will show them how to be friendly to everyone, yet not be victimized by anyone.

The way expectations are communicated at home sets the pattern for what children will accept, and won’t accept, in all their other social interactions. If they grow up in an atmosphere of authenticity, love, trust and respect, they won’t easily settle for anything less in later years.

Moms, our baby birds need to know that as they take their first flights into the big world, there’s always a safe and secure nest to fly home to. Their childhood will be a series of longer and longer trips away from the nest. We can’t follow them everywhere and recreate that nest in their environments outside the home – but we can keep home a safe and affirming place.

Above all, we can introduce our children to their Best Friend, and show them how our own reliance on Jesus Christ gives us fulfillment and security that can’t be provided by any other human being. Our kids observe with their hearts as well as their eyes. If Christ enriches our day-to-day life, and if His Word informs our day-to-day choices, then our kids will see in our relationship with Jesus the ultimate mark of a healthy friendship: JOY. And that may be all they need to know as they let go of our hand and walk on into the rest of their life – putting their hand in His.

Friday Funnies

Found something to laugh about :D Also, if you enjoy reading our blog, please show us support by joining "Followers" located on the sidebar. It'll be fun :)

Spring Cleaning....Wahoo!!

Can you tell I'm excited? Not really. I'm being somewhat sarcastic.
Don't get me wrong. I LOVE to clean. If I had the time and energy these days, I'd be tearing apart my whole house right now to organize and clean. I'm so OCD that way.

If I'm not changing endless diapers or passing out while I'm nursing my newborn, I am satiating my OCD tendencies (well, more like consoling myself) by reading this awesome blog: Christian Home Keeper (click on the name and it'll take you there). It's such an awesome site, I just had to share.

Homekeeping is an art, I must say. There's always something to learn, and the skills are one of the greatest gifts we can pass them down to our daughters. So, enjoy!

Joy...hmmm!

Have you ever thought about where Joy comes from? There's the standard answer that our kids are picking up quick in Sunday School..."Jesus"! I'm one of those ridiculously deep thinking people that ponders stuff like this while I'm...gardening. Actually, this is one my recurring ponders, it can pop up at almost anytime and hold me for great lengths of time. My kids will snap their fingers in my face sometimes and, "no use"!

Well, last week I was clearing out some beds in the front yard, and processing "joy". I haven't been too full of it recently--it seems. Joy is one of those elusive (sometimes) things we often mistake for happiness. Happiness usually comes from a beautiful day or from a good escape into something we enjoy...but joy seems to me, to come from some where else, some place deeper. I'm thinking it comes from obedience. From doing the right and sometimes hard thing. It's those acts of disciplined obedience. It's the deep satisfying feeling that comes from doing the right thing. From being really good about what you ate for a whole day or from seeing how relieved you are that you didn't say that thing you wanted to say. From knowing God is asking you to say "I'm sorry"...and doing it. When you've had a good day, or a hard, sweaty rough and used kind of day, but you feel the smile of God on your shoulder. When you do the things that feed the soul, you feed joy somehow as well.

That's what I'm thinking...What do you think? This is one of those things that matters in a home. Babies even know if moms' settled. Kids feel, even if they can't articulate it, "how we are". They 'catch' more than they are 'taught'. We're are telling them we want them to follow Jesus, and they need to see why...why, exactly is that a good thing. Does it work? Does it make life work. Joy is a pretty critical ingredient and I believe this is what the "LIGHT" is that the outside world sees -or doesn't.

Sleep Tight

Have you had the experience of being woken from a sound sleep by a child's scream? I am sure many of you have and will agree that it is far from pleasant. That has been my reality for the last several nights. I wake to the screams of my 2 year old and my heart pounds as I jump out of bed and run into her room in one fluid motion. Hoping that if I get there quick enough I can some how stop it as soon as it started. Unfortunately that is not the case.

Her screams and cries to not lesson when I appear. She does not quiet when I try to hold her and she does not really even truly awaken as she thrashes about. Some call it 'night terrors' or perhaps it is the combination of a bad dream and ear pain. I don't know why it happens. And as a mother it is heartbreaking to see her so upset and not be able find the cause. Worse yet, I cannot seem to do much to help.

We usually end up just waiting out her loud cries...20 minutes.... a half an hour.... and then finally she starts to talk to us through her cries. She always starts with "I need..." I need Momma, I need Daddy, I need Pooh bear, I need my blanket, I need my book, I need my doggie..... and so on. It is often hard to understand what she says through the sobs and we try our best to reassure her that we are there and that she already has what she needs. That she is in bed with her blanket and lovies surrounding her. That Mommy and Daddy are there. We pray for her and hug her. But it does not seem to matter. Either her doggie is in the wrong place on her bed, her pooh bear is on top of her blanket and she wants him under the blanket or we are standing and she wants us to sit by her bed. It is almost as if she is so upset that she cannot see the reality that she is safe in her bed, with everything she needs. As a mother it hurts that I am there to comfort her to do anything for her... but she is too upset to let me.

It makes me wonder, is this how God feels when we cry in our distress, "I need... I need." If only we can calm ourselves enough to listen and see. Would we notice that we are safe in His hand and that he has blessed us with the life, breath and everything else we need for the day.

Eventually my daughter's sobs and 'I needs' begin to quiet and she lays still, allowing me to rub her head. What seems like hours later (and often has actually been an hour) she is breathing deeply, finally alseep. I stand up from my uncomfortable position bent over the bed and make no sound as I creep out of her room. But somehow she senses that I have moved away from her anyway. "Momma," she says quietly. "Shhhhh," I say. "Goodnight, I love you," and make a quick retreat into my own bedroom. She falls back asleep as I fall back into my bed, exhausted and hoping that somehow it will be better tomorrow night.

Obedience & Love

Through babysitting, Sunday school teaching, and camp counseling experience, I've realized that young children show affection very easily. They quickly go from meeting someone to giving hugs, kisses, and saying, "I love you!" I've always found this friendliness to be very sweet and innocent. It can become a little frustrating though, when a child who says they love you and lavishes you with hugs then refuses to follow your rules or listen to you! I am already seeing this in my little toddler, who runs over yelling, "Mommy!" and giving hugs one minute, then completely ignoring me when I am reprimanding her the next!

I had an experience like this with another child recently and I thought in my head, "If this child really loved me, they would listen to me and observe my rules." I was struck hard by the similarity between my emotion and what Jesus said in the Bible. In John chapter 14, Jesus says, "If you love me, you will obey what I command...Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me...If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching...He who does not love me will not obey my teaching." I thought to myself, if I feel unloved by a young child because they disobey me, how much must my Father in heaven feel unloved by me when I do not follow His commands and teachings? I do not want to be like a young child, professing my love to God verbally and superficially, but then turning around and breaking His commands. John chapter 14 clearly shows that love for God and obedience of God are inextricably woven together. Christ stresses this because He wants us to reap the reward of obedience to God. As He puts it in v. 23, "My Father will love him [who loves and obeys me] and we will come to him and make our home with him."

The Ultimate Feast

Every family has different customs and traditions at holiday times, but I don't think there is a better way of representing the sentiment of a holiday gathering than with a wonderful meal, a feast.

This is what will happen in countless homes in eight days, on Easter Sunday. We will bring ourselves around a table, differences and all, to share the experience of a meal. No family is perfect and we all know that it can be stressful at times to gather together in the midst of conflicts and hostilities which sit unresolved for years at times. Most of us try to put aside these problems for the sake of others, such as our parents, our children, and perhaps because it is "tradition" and we will not break from it.

There is a great film which depicts a feast. The film, "Babette's Feast" begins with the story of two elderly sisters of a strict pastor who live in a communal like village in Denmark. It is suggested that both women have spent their lives in service in honor of their father's ministry and have turned away from lives of wordly pleasure. After he passes away, the women continue to preside over the village their father was the leader in.

Unfortunately, nearly everyone in the village has developed conflicts with someone else in the community, and the community becomes a dark, dismal, and loveless place. It is at this time that the two women take in Babette as their servant. Babette, who was a great chef in Paris comes to work for the women and finds out that she acquires a great deal of money. She offers to prepare a feast for the community in honor of the sisters' deceased father.

She plans a wonderful feast and begins in advance to plan the meal. The day of the meal arrives and we see all of the guest take their places around the table. The power of the carefully prepared meal begins to break through the defenses of the people and one by one, former enemies begin to soften toward one another. Healing takes place and all those present are transformed in one way or another. The diners experienced momentary bliss.

Dr. Tim Keller in his book, 'The Prodigal God', weaves this story with Isaiah 25 in which Isaiah's predictions of the new heavens and new earth will be marked by a feast. This feast as described in the bible, will fill us up with satisfaction that even an earthly feast, like Babette's, can not. Babette's feast of satisfaction may been momentary as are our holiday celebratory truces, but we can praise God that Jesus' salvation, the ultimate feast is eternal.

Jesus says, "I am the bread of heaven". To enter into this life, means we will be apart of the greatest feast. Here, all sadness, conflict, grief, regret, anger and shame will disappear. We can live with anticipation here on earth, knowing that our God, who will be present then is also present now with us.

As you prepare your heart for Easter, remember you are not only preparing the external sensory feast for your family, you can instrumental in guiding your family toward Jesus in every part of your celebration. No food, gifts, new clothing, or family gathering can be perfectly satisfying as knowing the grace of God, and His sacrifice for us. He has made Hope possible.

HE IS RISEN. CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!

April

Just curious, did any one play a practical joke on friends or family today? Or do you plan too?

I always felt like April Fool's jokes were a bit cruel, especially when you get someone's hopes up only to dash them. Or get them worked up and upset...over nothing! I guess when real emotions are raised over something that is not real I always feel like it is kind of mean.

But some people love being 'gotten' by a good joke. Others really enjoy planning it and playing it out effectively on their unsuspecting friend. A lot of pranks are just good fun.

So what is your opinion? and did you do anything fun for April Fools?