Morning Blues

The kids are yelling.  The kids are wrestling.  The kids are (thankfully) squealing with delight.  We are leaving for school in 7 minutes.  They are totally out of control.

Why, I ask myself, am I typing a blog post? 

EASTER THOUGHTS

Easter is my favorite church service of the year. Hands down. Its wins out over Christmas every time. Why? One word...JOY. Maybe its because Lent is so somber, and by the time Easter Sunday rolls around we're all in the mood for a little joy. Maybe its because it is spring, and my inner spirit is "blooming" with the rest of nature.

But I know better. I feel overwhelmed with JOY every Easter because I am feeling the fulfillment of God's promises. His promise of a Savior. His promise of redemption. His promise of eternal life. Its all done! The LONG road from Adam and Eve to Jesus Christ is finished! Just as Christ spoke those words on the cross, "It is finished," the promise was fulfilled. He then took a victory march through Hell, came back to earth to us and said..."Go and tell and don't keep this a secret! Everyone MUST know!!!"

The entire reason for Christmas is Easter. The entire reason for Easter is our sin. My entire sinful life is forgiven. Gone. God does not remember those sins I have begged to be forgiven for. "The past is over and gone."

So, yeah...JOY.

Jesus

I found this poem in a notebook. I don't know if I wrote it, or just copied it down because it was cute.

JESUS
He is risen,
He is Lord.
He is loved,
He is adored.
He is Christ,
He is our King.
He is Easter,
He is Spring.

It is pretty good, so I'm guessing it is not mine. :)

Trust

You'll have to trust that I just wrote this awesome blog...lengthy, too. All about trusting in God. But there was a glitch, and I lost it ALL. Please trust that it was good.

Over the Months...

April 15 was my last blog...I guess I'm not as avid a blogger as my awesome mammamilk sister!

What do I have to say for these last missing months?

1. 12 days of a sick child that sort of freaked me out
2.Vacation Bible School prep and follow-through (with a sick kiddo)
3. vacation with all the family (grandparents, sister and family)
4. mini-vacation with the hubby
5. end of school year activities and field trips
6. bike riding (and a very alarming bike riding whipe-out)
7. dance classes
8. baseball games...go Giants, my 8 yr. old's team!
9. swimming pools
10. a nice tan.

That sums it all up, I guess!

"For the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. Against such there is no law." Galatians 5:22

• Do I show love at all times? Am I joyful? Am I patient and kind? Do I exhibit goodness and faithfulness? Am I gentle, and controlling of my emotions and actions at all times?


• I wish I could answer yes, all the time, hands down. I guess I am SOME of these things, SOME of the time. How can I be ALL of these things, ALL of the time?


• My only answer is...I can't. I never will.


• You see, I alone cannot. But the Holy Spirit can. The verse does not say, "for the fruit of 'WENDY' is love, joy, etc." It pretty clearly states that these qualities are directly from the Spirit. So to try and master them on my own is just plain ridiculous. I'll lose every time.


• So I guess I should try and let the Holy Spirit fill me with His qualities. In the evening, when I look back over my day, and I see my actions being anything BUT those of the Spirit's...its pretty safe to say that I shut the Holy Spirit out. Closed the door right on his face.


• 
  
  Ok, so I just open the door and let Him in? Easier said than done. All of my old habits are pretty reluctant to die. My own selfishness, greed, anger. But when I do let the Spirit fill me, I feel only joy. When He's there, there's just no room for anything else. I can look back over the past few years, and can definitely pinpoint those times of pure joy, when the Spirit was alive and well within me.


• So it is my constant prayer (and the Holy Spirit is praying this with me...isn't that awesome?!! He's praying with me and for me!) that I can let go of those other things, and let the Holy Spirit enter in. I think I'll have to pray it every day for the rest of my life!

Sick Boy

Last night my littlest baby (who is now 4 years old, and not so little anymore!) had a fever. I was busy taking care of him, focusing all my energy on making sure he was comfortable, medicated, hydrated and sleeping well.

I realized this morning that I had not thought about my little "self" issues at all in the last 12 hours or so. I had been so intently focused on him, that I had no leftover time for myself. In a good way!

God, please help me to always remember how amazingly complete I feel when I am serving you by serving others. When I am completely attending others out of love, I am filled with Your love. Thank you for keeping my little guy safe, and for giving me the opportunity to take care of him.