Moccasins

I fell down the stairs this morning. I fell down them on Thursday too, and yesterday I fell up them. My slippery slippers have become a safety hazard. So I doped my sore body up with Tylenol and went to the mall. I bought a pair of leather moccasins with rabbit fur. The only thing was my foot size is common and the only ones they had in my size were two different colours: one had previously been a display and faded in the fluorescent lighting of the store.
Normally I would have needed Rob to go into the store with me. Normally I would not even have been brave enough to ask if they had my size. This time, not only did I conquer that fear alone, I also asked for a discount because of the mismatched colour! And they gave it to me! WHOO!
Let's hope the grippy slippers help me not to fall anymore :)

Yelling

Sometimes I yell. Sometimes I yell and I fell badly about it. Sometimes my yelling scares my children and then I realize how wrong yelling is. But sometimes I yell and it's effective. Sometimes I don't feel bad about yelling because the yelling got me results. Better results than the nagging and prodding I had been doing. So sometimes I yell.

Dark Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake

This is art, no?

Easter

Today He rose from the grave. Conquered death and sin for you and I. Through Christ we can do all things. Through Him we can live forever. With His death and resurrection we have new life in Him. Through His grace we are saved, not by our works so that none can boast. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow- all fear is gone. My life is worth living because He lives. He lives in me. Through me. I have died to myself so that He can do His work in me. He alone deserves the glory. He alone is responsible for our ability to have salvation and we alone are responsible to take Him up on His offer.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

Heaven

Do you believe there is a Heaven? And would you want to go there if there was?

If you died today, would you go to Heaven? How do you know?

Why would you want to be in Heaven after death? Would it be for the security of no hurting or pain? To see the loved ones that have gone before us? To be on permanent vacation? 

Today is a day the Christian calendar calls "Good Friday". It is also known as "Dark Friday". Today we commemorate the awesome gift Christ died to give us- our freedom. 

Every thing we do is being judged by our Creator. He wants us to be with him, but sin is not permitted in Heaven. So God did something drastic- something so unfathomable to most people- he sacrificed his child. For you. For me. So that when Jesus was brutally murdered, he took all the sins of the world with him. And he conquered them when he rose to life, so that you and I are free from sin and our Father is full of forgiveness for us. 

So we can go to Heaven- if we love Him; if we follow Him; if we choose to accept this forgiveness and lead the life of faith. Trust and you will believe. Seek and you shall find.  Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. 

Heaven is not just a wonderful place. It is not only about the happiness we will find there, or the safety net of the clouds. We will be on permanent vacation in His Kingdom. The Bible does suggest we will see our loved ones when we get there. But Heaven is about so much more than these things. Heaven, like our lives are supposed to be, is about Jesus. 

I read a book recently called Crazy Love by Francis Chan. He asks a challenging question that I have honestly struggled with. "Would you want to go to Heaven if Jesus wasn't there?". My first instinct was- "why yes of course". But now that shocks me- why would I? Why would I want to spend my whole life trying to follow Someone's commands and then forget about Him in the afterlife? Why preach the word of the forgiveness of Christ if I don't want to spend eternity with Him? That doesn't make sense.  Through this examination of my heart I have come to learn to love Christ more than Heaven- more than myself and more than my very own family. It has been a difficult path but I truly feel that I am there. And I now feel strongly that I wouldn't much care for Heaven if I couldn't sit at the feet of Jesus.

I challenge you this Easter weekend to examine your own heart about Heaven. Consider what you believe about this wondrous place, and how each of us is expected to get there. Then consider why you want to go. 

I pray that Jesus Christ will reveal himself fully to each and every one of you this Crucifixion and Resurrection weekend. 

Amen. 

First Double Date

A few weeks ago Rob and I were privileged with going on our very first ever double date! Here is a pic the babysitter took of us before we left. 

Moving Again

Four short weeks away our family will be moving into a new home. This time is different, however, this time, the home is literally ours: we bought it. It is exciting and scary and overwhelming and crazy and fun all at the same time. It has been a lot of effort so far, all the details can be all consuming. But, we know that it is right. We have pushed on the door and God has allowed it to be opened. We are grateful for the many people in our lives who have prayed for us, encouraged us, helped us, mentored us, given us wisdom and opinions, and overall made this dream a reality.

We have also seen God work to provide for us in the small details and the big ones. I will update more on that later but suffice it to say that we are blessed.