Alleluia! Christ Arose!

"Up from the grave He arose/With a mighty triumph o'er His foes!  He arose a victor from the dark domain/And He lives forever with His saints to reign."

A favorite Easter song, dear Lord.  I'm not very good at "reigning" so I hope that verse means that YOU are reigning and I am just being with You, doing whatever You want me to do.

A small victory?  Lori "helped"--really, a lot--with the Junior Church assembly yesterday.  And as far as I can tell, I didn't offend her and I didn't get ticked off by her.  There was one moment when John Lambert was "helping" with the sound system, and she got all freaked out because it is Nate's, no one knows how to use it, etc., etc.  I think she calmed down, though, when I reminded her that this Easter thing was a bit of a pilot program and that we would be facing "course corrections" all along the way.  I also reminded her that John was trying to help--a pro-social behavior for him.  I'm not entirely sure she got that, but maybe it impressed her a little

So--Scripture!!  For April 21, today, there is the reflection on Sadducees' interaction with Jesus during Holy Week.  They didn't believe in any resurrection, He pointed out that when we humans try to understand eternal, supernatural, Divine, spiritual truths by interpreting them within our own limited, finite, earthly models of experience, well, no wonder we mess up.  The Sadducees could not fathom how a dead person--dead in the bodily sense--could come back to life somewhere else, somehow else.  Where were they when Lazarus was raised?  So, they came up with this complicated, again earth-bound model of marriage as if that (marriage) was the epitome of fulfillment in the resurrection.  :)  (No offense to my darling husband!)

I love Jesus's answer, dear God.  The people of this age...those worthy of taking part in that age."  He pointed out that Moses somehow believed that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were (are) still alive and enjoying themselves with You.  I don't completely follow His logic, since I am a Westerner and Jesus definitely reasoned from a Middle Eastern/Jewish pattern, let alone from His and Your divine philosophical basis.  But I think that's what it means.

So next Sunday is Heaven Sunday at HBC.  If You want Mom there, can You work something out?  Stupid question--of course You can.  I guess what I really mean is, will You show me what I need to do to partner with Your plan?  Thank You!

I have dawdled for a long time now, Lord.  I would like to get a few more things done before I get too tired.  I love YOU so much.  PS Thank you an enormous amount for allowing our oldest daughter to spend Easter with us.  What a blessing.

Amen!

South Korean Ferry

Lord! This is too much. Please rescue the remaining missing, many of whom are only high school kids on a school trip, from the ferry that is sinking off South Korea. My stomach is upset just imagining what the parents are experiencing, because I would be a wreck. Please, dear God, have mercy! Hosanna, Lord, save [them]!

Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou!

Such a stupid, silly thing about which to be so grateful, and at the same time a sweet and charming reminder of how You love us and care about even the smallest issues in our lives....

We are caring for our neighbors' cats this week.  They lost both of their beloved dogs, one through a weird and unusual accident involving their dishwasher (!), since January.  Before they left, Judy told me the whole sad story and emphasized that it was completely all right with her if the cats stayed in the house all week.  :)

Roger is not a domesticated, tame type.  He slipped out yesterday morning, and he did not come home last night...or this morning.  Yes, I was a bit anxious.  This is where the sweet "miracle" happened.

I usually see clients on Tuesday nights, but through a weird quirk, no one needed me today.  Lord, I wanted to have an appointment with You (I hope You consider this it!), but I had a strong urging to come home because I felt that Roger might be there.  As I drove up, a little deflated because I did not see him right away, I planned to check quickly and, if he wasn't here, go out to have that appointment with You.  But...I looked out of the driver's side window and saw ~~ a hunkered-down camouflage-patterned hulk that made my heart leap.  There was Roger, under our bump-out.  He came readily to me and allowed me to love on him.  I fed him one of Chloe's Fancy Feast cans.  (Which, incidentally, he polished off.)  He almost came into our house with me, but I walked over to his house and he came quite nicely!

So, he is back and both cats are safely locked up.

Moral:  You care, and You still speak through the urgings in our spirits.  This is both comforting and reassuring.  How lost we would be if You didn't intervene in our lives even in these modern times!

Pastor Tim preached on Acts 10 this week, and though I did not hear the entire sermon, I understood that it was largely about Your impartiality--and our tendency toward favoritism.  I just read the chapter.  My part, the section that connects to this post, is in verse 19: "the Spirit said to him."  Indeed!  You do still speak to those who are listening.  Thank You.  

Better close up shop here.  My secret is still safe, and my promise to have time with You is kept again.  Love You, Lord!

A Promise Kept

Lord, I did say that I would spend some time with You.  I also think I need to talk to You about the church discipline event expected tomorrow.  I have already looked at the Matthew 18 passage; now I wonder about the Ananias and Sapphira passage in Acts.  Where is that?  Acts 5.  In that case, A&S lied to the church.  It was very clear that they could have kept some of the profit from their property sale for themselves.  That was not the infraction.  The problem was the lie.

And what harsh consequences!  Whew!  I wonder whether they were older and already infirm.  This might be reasonable to consider (not assume) since they had property to sell.  They also wanted to keep a cushion for themselves, which might be another reasonable consideration if they were older and no longer working.  I don't want to gentle the problem in their hearts, though.  Sin is still...sin.

Still, Lord, I am loathe to subject myself to church authorities whose judgment I don't trust.  Help me, please, not to think more highly of myself than I ought.  Help me to be brutally honest with You in all things.  It is ridiculously easy to explain away some of my own behaviors, and sometimes I might even make sense.  Oh, to have someone like the therapist/mentor/life coach that I try to be for my clients!!  :) 

Julie's going to call soon.  I promised, Lord!  And I kept my promise.  Bless my daughters and my sometimes-weird husband.  (More on that another time~~not always logical!!)  In Jesus's name~~Amen.