He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Happy Resurrection Day!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Paying the price

A friend sent this.
______________________________

There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak....

"I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?"

"Just some old birds," came the reply.

"What are you going to do with them?" I asked.

"Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. "I'm gonna tease 'em and pull out their feathers to make 'em fight. I'm gonna have a real good time."

“But you'll get tired of those birds sooner or later. What will you do then?"

"Oh, I got some cats," said the little boy. "They like birds. I'll take 'em to them."

The pastor was silent for a moment. "How much do you want for those birds, son?"

“Huh??!!! Why, you don't want them birds, mister. They're just plain old field birds. They don't sing. They ain't even pretty!"

"How much?" the pastor asked again.

The boy sized up the pastor as if he were crazy and said, "$10?"

The pastor reached in his pocket and took out a ten dollar bill. He placed it in the boy's hand. In a flash, the boy was gone.

The pastor picked up the cage and gently carried it to the end of the alley where there was a tree and a grassy spot. Setting the cage down, he opened the door, and by softly tapping the bars persuaded the birds out, setting them free.

Well, that explained the empty bird cage on the pulpit, and then the pastor began to tell this story:

One day Satan and Jesus were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, and he was gloating and boasting. "Yes, sir, I just caught a world full of people down there. Set me a trap, used bait I knew they couldn't resist. Got 'em all!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked.

Satan replied, "Oh, I'm gonna have fun! I'm gonna teach them how to marry and divorce each other, how to hate and abuse each other, how to drink and smoke and curse. I'm gonna teach them how to invent guns and bombs and kill each other. I'm really gonna have fun!"

"And what will you do when you are done with them?" Jesus asked.

"Oh, I'll kill 'em," Satan declared proudly.

"How much do you want for them?" Jesus asked.

“Oh, you don't want those people. They ain't no good. Why, you'll take them and they'll just hate you. They'll spit on you, curse you and kill you. You don't want those people!!"

“How much? He asked again.

Satan looked at Jesus and sneered, "All your blood, tears and your life."

Jesus said, "DONE!" Then He paid the price.

The pastor picked up the cage and walked from the pulpit.

A blessed Resurrection Day to everyone.

He is risen!

Happy Resurrection Day, everyone!

Here's my WND column for this weekend entitled "Keep Your Eyes on the Prize."

So what's the significance of an empty tomb? Consider these words:

At the age of 64, after studying world religions, Sir Lionel Luckhoo became a Christian. Addressing audiences worldwide, including presidents, kings, parliaments, cabinets, bar associations, and the United Nations, Sir Lionel Luckhoo stated: "The bones of Muhammad are in Medina, the bones of Confucius are in Shantung, the cremated bones of Buddha are in Nepal. Thousands pay pilgrimages to worship at their tombs which contain their bones. But in Jerusalem there is a cave cut into the rock. This is the tomb of Jesus. It is empty! Yes, empty! Because he is risen! He died, physically and historically. He arose from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God."

A blessed Resurrection Day to everyone.

Happy post-Resurrection Day!

Sorry I didn't get a post up yesterday, it turned out to be far busier than I planned.

The highlight was attending church, of course.

On this day, because the crowds are overflowing, the church rents a theater hall at a local college to hold the main service. Later I looked up the seating capacity, and it came in at 1150, and I estimate 80 percent of the seats were full.

The thing about attending a huge church service -- something we seldom do, since our church isn't a "mega"-sized entity -- is the sheer wattage of joy that overflows from the worshippers. We opened with a rousing version of the hymn "Jesus Christ is risen today" and it brought chills. On the stage was a choir, some additional singers, a bell choir, and a small brass ensemble, so the music swelled along with the voices.

On the left is the church's pastor emeritus, who retired a short time before we began attending. He's substituted during a few services over the past couple of years, and it's easy to see why he was so well-loved by the congregation -- he's fabulous. He gave the readings.

The pastor in the middle is the senior pastor, a powerful speaker and joyous soul whose voice, unfortunately, was raspy after so many back-to-back services. He gave everything but the sermon.

The pastor on the right is the assistant pastor hired last year, a man with an extraordinary amount of foreign missionary experience. He's fluent in several languages, including Russian and Polish, and spent many years in remote areas of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, etc. He delivered a rousing sermon.

This is my WND column for the weekend, entitled "Cheap Grace."

In response to the column, I received an email from an atheist reader as follows:

Your basic assumption is that the Bible is written by God when it was written by many men and politically rationalized under the Nicea agreement. God could easily convince us all he is real but does not bother; men have to play games with bronze age authors to make themselves important, writing things that control people.

It is such an obvious fabrication that young people have no time for such [expletive deleted].

You are past your sell by date when you cannot recognized such obvious fraud. The current and future generations will not be so naïve. Jesus, a great personage, will go the way of Apollo, Zeus, Ishtaar and Thor.

This email saddened me -- not for the hateful tone (I'm used to that) but because this man is missing out on the sheer joy that comes with faith. Sad, very sad.

At one point during the service, a thousand voices recited the Lord's Prayer in unison. A thousand people, praying the familiar prayer given by Jesus himself. Top that for sheer power.

I hope, dear readers, you all experienced a blessed Resurrection Day. Christ is risen, He is risen indeed. Hallelujah!

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Happy Resurrection Sunday

Our Sunday started out beautiful and sunny. Here the morning shadows stretch long from the east.

The animals lounged under the awning.

Smoky greeted the morning on top an old tire.

Everyone seemed pleased by the mild spring weather...

...including pretty little Dusty.

Later in the morning we attended a community-wide church service, since it was led by our pastor. We’d never been to a service this large – so big, in fact, that it was moved into a college performance hall.

We didn’t know what to expect, but in fact it was splendid… even if things were a bit more “showy” than we’re used to. But the pastor gave a rip-roaring joyful sermon (he's a joyful guy anyway), and we came away energized.

No one in our neighborhood potluck had any special plans for this weekend, so we decided to have a Pascal feast (at our house, since it's our turn to host). As I post this, we have a turkey roasting in the oven. The house is clean, the stuffing is made, and our Lord is risen.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Our Sunday

Our Easter Sunday started out clear, bright, and sunny. We've had amazing weather in the last few days, and these sunny mornings are beautiful and welcome.

Matilda awaits her breakfast.

At church, the young children were invited to bring lambs up to the alter, which I thought was cute.

A couple weeks back at our weekly potluck, the neighbor who was hosting asked us all what we wanted to do for Easter. Turns out none of us had family in town or any special plans, so it was agreed that we would all join together for a pascal feast.

Since I was bringing dessert, I decided to make trifle (blueberry and strawberry). This isn't a complicated dish to make, but it uses a lot of bowls. Coupled with the leftover dishes from breakfast and lunch, this made for an extraordinarily messy kitchen. If I do say so, I have the most astounding talent for messing up a kitchen.

Normally trifle calls for whipped cream but -- oops -- I forgot to get cream, so I borrowed some Cool Whip-type stuff from a neighbor.

It took awhile to get everything washed...

...but at least the counters and table were clean...

...and the trifle was made.

There was a veritable feast laid out at our neighbor's. (I took this photo before the table was full, too.)

There's not quite enough room at the main table for the kids, so (ahem) they get a separate table.

One friend decided to come in full dress uniform for Clan MacBean. I thought he looked splendid. (So did the dog.)

What a wonderful way to spend Resurrection Sunday!

He is risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Easter dinner

Some belated photos from Easter.

We arrived early at church... which, by the way, has been completely restored after the church fire we had last fall.

I managed to sneak a pic of this darling little toddler in the pew behind us.

Since our neighborhood potlucks are currently held on Sunday evenings, our neighbors (who have a more spacious home) volunteered to host Easter dinner, especially since they had relatives coming in from out of town.

It was my turn to bring dessert, so I decided on strawberry shortcake. Here are the freshly-baked shortcakes, cooling.

I defrosted and sliced up some frozen strawberries...

...and whipped up some cream.

I packed everything into a large basket for ease of transportation.

Here the younger people play a game of spoons before dinner...

...while the adults visit.

What a wonderful way to end the day of celebration for the Resurrection. We are SO blessed to have the neighbors we do.

He has risen!

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. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.

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? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’” Then they remembered his words.

A blessed Day of Resurrection to you all.

Easter cookies

A couple days ago, I decided to make some sugar cookies. This particular recipe calls for the cookies to be topped with frosting, and just for slips and giggles the girls and I decided to divvy up the frosting into four different batches, and color each batch.

As usual, I made a tremendous mess. I have this incredible talent for making the kitchen really, really messy anytime I do something. What can I say, it's a gift.

The cookies themselves are rather bland; but coupled with obscene amounts of frosting, they're a hit.

Here's what we ended up with. While we didn't deliberately set out to make Easter cookies, it certainly seemed appropriate with all the pretty pastel colors. So, we called them Easter cookies.

Here, Younger Daughter makes a creation.

Ta da!

Lydia gives broad hints that she'd like one too.

A nice (and colorful) snack to have around the house.