BECAUSE HE LIVES

I just read my UpperRoom devotion with the sunrise peeking through my window. This is my second attempt at a blog.  Yesterday's disappeared.  I am wishing you a beautiful Easter Sunday.  I have been enjoying my special Easter music this week.  My favorite is "New Again" performed by Brad Paisley and Sara Evans, an emotional conversation between Jesus and Mary prior to the crucifixion. I've seen it on YouTube many times, with the visual from The Passion.  Jesus Christ Superstar is also my go to for Holy Week.  I'm sure it's not everyone's cup of tea, but having seen the rock opera in the eighth grade at Memorial Coliseum, it's always been special for me.

This is always my favorite time of year, preparing for Easter and Springtime weather and enjoying basketball, as the Cats make their final charge toward the Final Four.  Sadly, this year, UK finished up the first weekend of the three week tournament and we are currently hoping we have some players left to help the new recruits out next year.  Our women also ended the second week.  Oh, well.  It is still my favorite time of year, just not quite as exciting.

This morning at church, we will spend the first hour singing our favorite hymns while we decorate a cross with beautiful cut flowers.  At the end of the hour, we'll have a "living cross" at the altar and then have our Easter sermon.  This will be our minister, Evan's last Easter Sunday, he and wife, Emma, will be moving on at the end of May.  We've had four ministers during my seven years at our little country church and they've all been awesome.  Love them all!

I'm looking forward to Easter dinner and hopefully an egg hunt at my sister, Pam's in Lexington.  It's a fun time for all the family.  MJ is quite the entertainer and we have other little ones that will enjoy this annual tradition.

I've been able to read through an additional Bible Study on the crucifixion of Jesus and simply wanted to share one stunning event that took place as Jesus died on the cross.  The curtain that was made according  to God's instructions given to Moses in the book of Exodus hung in the Tabernacle of the Temple. It was elaborately woven with purple, scarlet and blue yarn and measured sixty feet long and twenty feet wide.  Because of the elaborate designs worked into the fabric, it was as thick as a man's palm.  

At the moment when Jesus exclaimed "It is finished" from the cross, this massive curtain was torn from top to bottom.  It had been the barrier that kept God's presence separate from the priests and the Jewish people.  As this barrier was now removed, because of Jesus' sacrifice for us, we are now able to be with God.  Jesus can now live in us.  God dwells with His people, through His Holy Son, our precious lamb.  

I wish you an awesome Easter.  Enjoy the baskets, the bunnies, the chocolate and the egg hunts.  And take time to thank the Lamb, that's what Easter is all about.  luv, Susan      

STILL, THIS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR

I am so very happy to report that the groundhog was right when he predicted an early Spring.  We have enjoyed beautiful warm days in the past month or two, but Winter has always reared it's ugly, snowcovered head.  The last snow day was a mere six days ago when it was really coming down here in Central Kentucky, while MJ and I were at our monthly Homemakers meeting.  Thankfully, the snow didn't stick around and now, it appears, we have at least a two week jump on official Spring.  After hanging towels and jeans outside to dry, I walked around toward the garden and was stunned to see daffodils ready to bloom and some hyacinth already blooming.  Thank you, God, for an early Spring.

Because I only posted eight blogs in 2015, you might make the assumption that watching my little grandson takes more time than I thought.  Well, yes, it does, but it has more to do with simply enjoying my time with him and trying to get caught up when I don't have him.  Unfortunately, his new daycare does not have a two day a week program available for him, so I have lost watching him on Mondays.  I thought since I'm down to watching him two days a week, I might be able to squeeze in a blog a week, maybe.  

I've mentioned previously that my Sunday School class has been working our way through Beth Moore's Daniel Bible study.  The study took us into some prophecy and we actually spent time visiting Revelation.  In addition, my Bible Study Fellowship this year has been studying Revelation.  Before these two studies, I had always avoided Revelation, wanting to learn more about the rest of the Bible before I had to learn about the final chapter.  It was actually a shock to me when I realized that the second part of the Daniel study was all about prophesy, thus going hand in hand with the final book as well. You might guess that I'm taking both of these studies very seriously.  

The rest of my life is going along quite nicely.  It is now early March, and Easter is just around the corner at the end of the month.  It's time for me to start getting all my tax stuff together, so I can start thinking about spending more time outdoors.  My dad turned ninety last month and we are all so blessed to have him still with us and in mostly overall good health, with the help of oxygen.  He and I even made it over to a couple of the regional tournament games to see Paris win, then lose.  And we have also been counting our blessings with my mom's health as she is cancer free after that terrible scare of cancer in her colon last year.  She's bounced back better than you'd expect any eighty eight year old woman to do.  MJ and I really enjoy going to Paris most Thursdays to visit them.  They also celebrated their wedding anniversary in January.  They've been married sixty nine years.  Again, we are so blessed.

Like I said, I've got tax stuff to gather and beautiful weather to enjoy, so I'm gonna wrap this up.  Hopefully, I'll get back to it before long.  In the meantime, you have a great day.  And, with the SEC Tourney starting this week......Go Cats!!     luv, Susan