Old holiday, new outlook...

Easter is approaching!

I love Easter, I always have.

The Easter of my childhood included egg hunts with cousins, chocolate, little presents, sometimes even big presents. It was anticipated with almost as much excitement as Christmas, it was "little Christmas."

It was good.

It was fun.

It was family and tradition and love.

And this year I hope to include all that for my kids, and also to build onto the Easter of my childhood, by adding a huge heaping dose of Christ to the mix.

I'm excited to marry my favorite Childhood traditions with our new and flourishing faith, and celebrate an Easter that is both fun and exciting, and humble and grateful and full of worship.

I'm feeling that same old child like excitement at the thought of how I'll make this Easter special and meaningful for all of us!

As a child growing up, I understood, only very minimally, what Easter was all about. The basic concepts were there, both my Gramma's were Catholic and explained, to a small degree what the holiday was all about, but out family holiday's never focused on their religious origins, though they were always acknowledged. So, I've had to do some research on my own, to fill in the gaps not yet filled by our church going.

Easter is a very big deal! It celebrates the events that Christianity is founded on.

Christ was sacrificed so that we could be saved. He died for our sins on the cross.

He was buried in a tomb and three days later he was risen from the dead. Giving hope and a promise to all those who follow him. Christ conquered the grave and promises that if we believe in Him, we too can have eternal life in Heaven.

The resurrection is what it's all about.

1 Corinthians 15:17 says...
17 And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins.

If we don't acknowledge and celebrate Christs rising from his grave, overcoming death and assuring salvation for all who believe, what do we as Christians really believe in? This is the cornerstone of our faith. The faith I am working on strengthening and building each and every day. I would be remiss to miss a chance to really and truly honor Christ and deepen my faith and my family's faith this Easter.

I'm brainstorming now, on what traditions other Christian families use to celebrate Easter. I'm asking around, reading blogs, looking for books, I'm really interested to see what fun and meaningful Easter traditions are out there!

Have any ideas or traditions you'd like to share? Please do! I'd love to hear what you're doing for Easter this year!

This much I know for sure:

We'll go to Church, hopefully to both Good Friday and Easter Sunday services, but to one at least.

I'll do an Easter supper, as a family, at the same table, and that's a big deal for us!

I have a Devotion book for Passion week (Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday) that I will hopefully be able to read to the kids, but if not, Elvis and I can do it together.

The kids will get either a new children's Bible, or Christian story book for an Easter gift, as well as a stuffed lamb and some candies. I'll hide it all because that was always my favorite part of Easter as a kid, hunting!

I'll make Avery some "Avery-safe" chocolates so she doesn't miss out on that fun tradition (I have a chocolate bunny mold somewhere).

I think that's all I have planned. Mix that with work and school and it's a full week leading up to Easter Sunday, and I really hope that some of the teachings on the origin of the holiday will resonate with the kids. And I hope a more meaningful celebration will resonate with Elvis and I and grow our faith a little more.

And because I like this little piece of scripture, I wanted to share it:

1 Corinthians 15:53-55
53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”

55 “Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?”

It's not really about Easter, but it is about Christs promise to us being fulfilled. When we believe in Jesus, and accept that through him is the only way to Heaven, and that we need him to be our savior, he promises us eternal life in Heaven. He promises that death with have no power over us, because we'll have eternity with Him. When we clothe ourselves in Him, we defeat death.

Where, O death, is your sting?

Now, I've felt deaths sting, and one of the great reprieves that my faith has brought me, is that I don't need to grieve the death that has already touched us, or fear our own impending death. Belief in Christ has made it abundantly clear to me, that death will not have the last word. So we can grieve when needed, but otherwise be filled with hope in Christs promises. I rest assured.

I am continuously impressed and excited over the countless opportunities Faith presents me with to grow and flourish and deepen my relationship with my creator and savior.

I'm excited for a Christian Easter, for the very first time, and I will keep you updated!

Katie

All you need is love....

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I've got love on the brain. Since I don't mind commercialized holiday's, I don't care if it's a "Hallmark Holiday", I'm particularly excited. Valentine's Day makes me happy. I love to celebrate love. I've got a lot of it to be thankful for.

According to WikiAnswers, the NIV Bible mentions love 508 times, 697 times if you count variations like loves, and loved. If you go to www.youversion.com and search love, you'll get 710 hits. The Bible is full of directions about love, who to love and how to love, because God IS love, and expects us to love, a lot.

1 John 4:8
8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Pretty strong words for Christians, you don't know God if you don't show love.

The guide post that Christians must use to decide whether to celebrate a non Christian holiday is this, can you glorify God through your celebration? Can it somehow be an expression of faith and gratitude and bring honor to Him? I'm so happy that Valentine's Day passes this test, because we can absolutely honor God on this day!

Romans 5:5 says..
....For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

We can celebrate our ability to love, God given and intended to be shared. We can thank God for giving us love, so much love there's plenty to share.

We can thank God for placing people in our lives to love. Our family, our friends, our spouses, our children, opportunities to give and receive love are all around us, every minute of every day.

John 13:34-35 says...
34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

On Valentines Day, we can honor God and express our faith by showing love. It's not a cheesy commercialized, worthless holiday, but a day to celebrate our blessings, our family, our children, our husbands and wives, and the love we share each and every day. It's a chance to demonstrate the depth and the breadth of our feelings, and if we're the low key type, it's a chance to make sure those feelings are known. It's a chance to show gratitude, to show God that you can clearly see where you've been blessed and that you don't take those relationships for granted.

I'm excited for Valentine's Day.

It means something extra special to me this year.

I won't let the day go past without letting God, and Elvis know how grateful I am to have love to celebrate, to have a husband to love and to have his love in return. I am grateful, more then words could explain.

I won't let the day go past without letting God and my children know how honored I am to be their mother, and that I realize it's a privileged and not a right to have living children to cherish. I learned that lesson in a very painful way, but there was no mistaking it. Our children are on loan to us, and they are guaranteed to us for no specific period of time. Each day I have to show them love is a gift to me, I am aware. I am grateful. More then words can tell.

I won't let the day go past without letting God and my parents, and sisters know that I am happy to have them as my family, and that I know that families like ours may be the exception and not the rule. And I am grateful, to have them and that they have me, because I am well taken care of, and loved, and cared for, my family is a gift.

1 John 4:7
7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.

We're called to love. Love comes from God and is ours to give, to everyone. Being loving is being obedient and showing our faith and our willingness to live out God's will. It's an exciting opportunity, and one that you can fulfill every day, multiple times a day.

What are your Valentine's Day plans? Who are you going to shower in love? How will you show them how precious they are? How will you show God how grateful you are that you have love in your life and people to share it with?

I'm going to make my children cookies.

I'm going to keep them as quiet as I can so Elvis can have quality sleep (he's working nights).

I'm going to call my parent's and wish them a happy Love Day!

I'm going to text my sisters and tell them I love them.

I'm going to try my hardest to speak softly and radiate love.

I'm going to hug a little longer and kiss a little softer.

I'm going to pray, and give thanks to God, for Elvis, Avery, Everett, Landon, and my little mystery baby (that I have secretly named Hope, don't tell anyone). I'm going to thank Him for my ability to love, that I have a heart that feels it deeply and appreciates what a gift it is. I'm going to thank him for the events in my life that deepened my capacity to feel love, and that I don't take it for granted. I'm going to ask Him to show me ways to love better, and to show me ways to honor Him with my love. I'm going to praise Him, because love was His idea, He is love and He is so good.

In the face of struggle and loss and hurts, it's undeniable that love is alive and thriving in my world, by God's grace alone, I have love, my cup truly runneth over.

Katie

Merry Christmas!

I woke up this morning beside my husband, and we opened presents with our kids.

I am blessed.

Enough said.

We went to Christmas eve service at our wonderful church yesterday, and though I knew I would be, I was so glad to be there. I'm one of those people who is moved to tears by church, by the community, the music, and the words our pastor speaks. And standing there with friends and other believers, I felt my eyes well up, and I fought back the urge to cry. Tears of joy that is. Because I am so blessed, we're all so taken care of, whether we know it or not. I was most taken by the fact that I was standing there, in church, on Christmas eve, with my husband. It wasn't very along ago that I never imagined this could happen. I'd lay in bed and try and imagine how on earth I would celebrate Christmas without him. How we'd share our kids, and give separate gifts, and not be together. I prayed for a Heavenly intervention, and I got it, and my biggest gift this Christmas, was to have my husband at my side, and our marriage back on track and our hearts growing together once more.

I'm blessed.

And today I'm puttering around the house getting ready to go to the Christmas gathering with my husbands family, and I'm excited. I'm excited to have all of them back as well. This year we're bringing mashed potatoes (A la Pioneer Woman), sweet potato casserole (also a la Pioneer Woman), and apple crisp (my own special recipe), and I'm excited to share what we made and to talk and be together, and celebrate Christ, and the miracle that He is. I'm excited!

I have a new cross around my next, thanks to Elvis, who surprised me this morning with an assortment of really special and unexpected gifts, and I'm wearing it today with pride. Aside from being an outward demonstration of my faith, its also big, and bold and fits nicely with the personal makeover I've been undergoing for the past few months, its a beautiful piece of jewelry.

So, back to church for a moment, yesterday's service was really special. The story was the same, the telling of how Christ was born, but it was told in a different way then usual, and really helped us to grasp how incredible that birth was. God actually came to earth. God showed up. He came to us, so we could be saved. He didn't have to do it, but he did, because he loved us, and that's pretty special, because not many of us can say we're capable of love like that (are any of us?).

The music of course was unbelievable. I love the music our church plays, it may be my favorite part of church! I always leave with lyrics stuck in my head, and I head home and Google them, and then immediately find that song and listen to it over over. Yesterday we heard great renditions of traditional favorites, like Joy to the World, and these words really jumped out at me:

Let every heart, prepare him room

Not sure why, but those words really resonated with me. Prepare Him room. Make space for God in your life and ....

He comes to make His blessings flow..

Amazing.

I also heard a new song. And it was beautifully sang by my two favorite performers at church, and I quietly repeated the words all the way home so I would be able to search it and share it with you.

Its called "Go Outside" by the Robbie Seay Band, and its lovely!

Here is a link where you can give it a listen (so good, trust me):

Go Outside

I hope everyone is having a fantastic Christmas day, and I hope blessings are being counted. Of course, I know there are many people out there, who don't feel like they have much to celebrate. There are mothers and father's at besides of sick children, and children at their parents bedside in hospitals across the world. There are lonely people, missing family on days like today (and all the other days as well), there are hungry people, cold people, and people feeling hopeless. And you're all on my mind today. My heart and prayers go out to everyone in need of them. And this makes me even more painfully aware of how blessed I am, and how God has helped us weather so many storms in the past few years, and we're still in tact and lived to tell about it.

To my dear friend B, who's experiencing a major heartache and struggle right now, and not at all getting the Christmas she imagined, or deserves, much love and of course, my continued prayers that God will bring you through it.

To a wonderful "Sister" who's missing her family this Christmas, we love you. You're with us in spirit, and if we could be with you today, we would love to do so! We'll see you soon! I hope you'll spend the day loving up your kids, and I know you'll remember His love for you, and that will bring you some peace!

To my many friends, who are celebrating Christmas without your much loved children, some for the first time every, I cannot tell you just how much my heart is with you, and how I am wishing you peace and comfort today and the other 364 days of the year. Christmas seems to be harder then those days, and I know you're missing you baby (or babies) with a bit more intensity today. Much love to you all!

And a special Christmas thank you to my family, who have brought me through so much, with a special brand of love and support, I'm incredibly grateful for all of you and know that families like ours are the exception and not the rule, so of course, I am blessed :)

And to "the board", full of hundreds of great friends who have also stood by me through more then one heart ache, and many more joys. You all have enriched my life, with friendships and comradarie (is this a word?) not found very often, and not found by everyone, you're all blessings to me!

Merry Christmas Everyone! We're one day closer to big, brave and bold new year!

Katie