Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was incredibly sweet and full of family and fun times. 

We were off of work for Good Friday and we spent the morning dyeing eggs at my parent's house with Ann Hatten and Bennett. James and Luke were going to come but, were a bit under the weather that morning. But, we made the best of it and still had fun!

Annie girl was definitely in to the egg dyeing this year! She enjoyed dropping them in the cup and seeing them change colors. 

Not only does Bennett have the best "cheese" but, I can't with Chessy's photo bomb behind him.

Such a cute expression with him really taking it in and dyeing them for the first time. 

After a sweet Good Friday Communion service at the church, we called it a day. 

That Sunday morning we had our Easter Sunday church service and then had family lunch at Aaron & Blair's house. 

We had to get a picture to send to their Mama while she was working.

And at lunch, I finally got to see these little cutie pies! 

The greatest part about Easter weekend is the hope that comes with it. Praise God that Jesus came for us, died for us, and rose for us. "He is not here for He has risen!" 

Quarantined Birthday

Today marks my 31st birthday and it's safe to say that we are certainly navigating the most bizarre days of my life. We're still in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and things are just...so weird right now (to say the least). Although a lot has happened in the last year of my life, The Lord has been good through and through. Today, I am choosing to reflect on His goodness and the mercies & grace that He has given me throughout this last year. 

Here are some of the good things that have happened since my last birthday:

 I started my 8th year of teaching

I saw some fun shows (Cats, Fiddler on the Roof, Cirque Dreams Holidaze, Cats again, 

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical)

I met Temple Grandin 

I received my Master's Degree in Emotional & Behavioral Disorders

I celebrated my 6th Anniversary with the sweetest man

All of the extended family was able to get together for Christmas (it was the first time in years we were all able to be together & it ended up being our last Christmas with our Nana--it was a sweet gift to all be together)

Sweet, baby James was born

Jason passed his National Boards and became a National Board Certified Teacher

Baby Ivy Lynne was born

I participated in my first ever drive-by wedding parade, baby shower, & birthday celebration

I completed my 8th year of teaching, even though it was virtual and really, really different

I got to babysit my nephew every day for 9 weeks and it was the sweetest time getting to know him and see him grown and change

Hosted a drive-by shower for Bennett, who will be here any day now!

When I list it all out like that, I see in the most tangible ways how The Lord's goodness can not be overshadowed by these crazy times we're in. Yeah, year 31 is starting off a bit strange but, I am holding fast to the truth that The Lord is faithful and that He loves & cares for His children. 

One of my favorite books is "Every Moment Holy". It's a book full of liturgies for every day happenings. The point of the book is to point you back to Christ, in all moments. We read the birthday one this morning and it was too good not to share. 

A Liturgy for the Marking of Birthdays

by: Douglas Kaine McKelvey

"How marvelous it is, O Lord, that you contemplated 

each of us before we were made! 

How marvelous that you considered and created us, 

decreeing the very time and place that each of us should enter the world, 

to live out our own part in your grand story. 

And so we celebrate today the first appearance of (Ellen) in the epic tale of redemption. 

We gather to celebrate, and to give thanks that their life and days are woven with ours, 

that we might share the joys and burdens of life together, 

delighting in the ways your glory is reflected in the unrepeatable gift of their being. 

You have created each of us, O Lord, to bear your image in unique expression, 

reflecting a facet of your glory in a way that no other person in all of history will, 

so that by knowing one another we might also know you better. 

And so we celebrate and honor your image, O God, 

uniquely reflected in the life and in the personhood of (Ellen).  

Bless this your child in the year to come. 

May they know the comfort of your presence, 

the certainty of your purpose, 

and the consolation of your love at work in their life. 

Grant then wisdom, maturity, vision, 

and passion in increasing measure, 

that they might be an instrument well-honed for the building of your kingdom. 

Bless them with loving family and enduring friendships, 

that they might make their journey ever surrounded 

by the steadying companionship of fellow pilgrims. 

May they invest their moments well in the coming year and in all years to follow, 

loving life always with the end in view, in pursuit of that eternal prize 

that will allow them to look ever with gladness and 

never with regret upon the passing of their years, 

as each subsequent birthday will be but the marking of 

a step nearer to the final fulfillment 

of all they have so long hoped and labored for. 

Amen.”

Each year, I remind myself about how one of my cousins shared that their Mom sends them the Psalm that correlates with their age each birthday and that stuck with me. Since then, I've taken the time to read mine each birthday. So I'll end with this:

Psalm 31

In you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

    let me never be put to shame;

    in your righteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

    rescue me speedily!

Be a rock of refuge for me,

    a strong fortress to save me!

 For you are my rock and my fortress;

    and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;

 you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

    for you are my refuge.

 Into your hand I commit my spirit;

    you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

I hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,

    but I trust in the Lord.

 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

    because you have seen my affliction;

    you have known the distress of my soul,

 and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

    you have set my feet in a broad place.

 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;

    my eye is wasted from grief;

    my soul and my body also.

 For my life is spent with sorrow,

    and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

    and my bones waste away.

 Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,

    especially to my neighbors,

and an object of dread to my acquaintances;

    those who see me in the street flee from me.

 I have been forgotten like one who is dead;

    I have become like a broken vessel.

 For I hear the whispering of many—

    terror on every side!—

as they scheme together against me,

    as they plot to take my life.

 But I trust in you, O Lord;

    I say, “You are my God.”

 My times are in your hand;

    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

Make your face shine on your servant;

    save me in your steadfast love!

O Lord, let me not be put to shame,

    for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

    let them go silently to Sheol.

 Let the lying lips be mute,

    which speak insolently against the righteous

    in pride and contempt.

 Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

    which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

    in the sight of the children of mankind!

 In the cover of your presence you hide them

    from the plots of men;

you store them in your shelter

    from the strife of tongues.

 Blessed be the Lord,

    for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

    when I was in a besieged city.

 I had said in my alarm,

    “I am cut off from your sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

    when I cried to you for help.

 Love the Lord, all you his saints!

    The Lord preserves the faithful

    but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

    all you who wait for the Lord!

Some of the highlights from this quarantined birthday weekend:

 Spice Avenue deliciousness in the comfort of our home

 My sweet Mom & Dad driving by and dropping off these beautiful (and favorite) flowers and a precious card with the sweetest words. 

Mr. Harry & Mrs. Maxine doing a drive-by drop off for my annual birthday cookies and a much over due outside visit with them. 

A birthday phone call with some sweet church members singing "Happy Birthday" 

The sweetest texts, phone calls, FaceTimes, and videos (like the one above that melted my heart) from family & friends. 

Needless to say, it has been a sweet & relaxing day--thank you all for thinking of me & taking the time to send me birthday wishes today--made my day!

Quarantine Pt. 2

Here we are, quarantine post part 2. 

It's been 54 days since Part 1 and honestly, not that much has changed. 

We have been sheltering in place other than grocery shopping, working from home, going on walks, and I've been watching Big Brother starting all the way back to season 1 and boy, has it changed. Season 1 is 77 episodes, just in case you were wondering. Like, what?! 77 episodes. 

Needless to say, I have plenty to watch. 

A few things I want to remember from the last 54 days:

 Getting video footage and pictures of this little thing holding a LIZARD!

That is one thing I will not be sharing in with her seeing as how when I see a lizard I run the opposite way. 

Jason's delicious lemon pound cake that was shared with the family for Easter.

 The first time I've ever spent Easter apart from both my family & my church family. 

Something that was circulating the internet was the saying: "Churches are empty this Easter but, so was the tomb" which I thought was such a neat connection. 

This has served as such a tangible experience bringing about the truth that what happens in the world doesn't change what we know to be true about God and what He has done for us. 

 These two cuties in their Easter-themed attire.

And these two cuties taking an Easter selfie while wishing we could all be celebrating together. 

Oh, and more lemon desserts. 

Whoops! 

Papa Steve's belated birthday gift turned out better than I could have imagined! 

Contact Rafael for your own caricature here. He was so incredibly nice and easy to work with.

Our first family get together since quarantine started and it was to celebrated Dad's belated birthday combined with an early Mother's Day celebration. 

It was SO nice to get together with family and feel...normal. 

 We've gone on many, many walks and have seen some of the most beautiful skies. 

 And, I started keeping this little cutie. We've been hanging out for going on 5 weeks now and he's such a little cutie and growing so much. I feel like he changes every time I come over! 

The main thing I wanted to circle back to was how I ended my last quarantine post. 

I asked the question or more so, made the statement:

"Think about what God is trying to teach me and show me during this time, make the best of it."

and what has continually come to the forefront of my mind has been this word: rest. 

It's come up in my daily Bible reading, in my leisure reading ("Even Better Than Eden" by Nancy Guthrie), and in many conversations I've had with people about being quarantined and how we have basically been forced to slow day and take life one day at a time--moment by moment. It's something that has more so, become the norm and it has actually been neat seeing how it's being woven into our lives through a very unexpected, sometimes scary, and very unknown circumstance. 

I wanted to end by sharing a few excerpts from "Even Better Than Eden" from the chapter, "The Story of the Sabbath" because I felt like these words were ringing so, so incredibly true during this quarantine time and it helped me to refocus my thoughts and see this all in a different light. 

"The weekly Sabbath was intended to jog Israel's collective memory concerning God's sufficiency and supply in the past and his promise concerning the future. They were to remember his work of creation as well as his work of redemption."

"Sabbath keeping would set God's people apart as being so well taken care of by their God that they could take a day to rest. It would set them apart as a people who had something to look forward to: unending, all-encompassing rest in the presence of the one true God."

"In this way, they would be reminded of the better land God was preparing and the provision God was making for their rest. In this way, they would be regularly reminded that God would be faithful to preserve their inheritance, not merely in the Promised Land of Canaan, but in the ultimate promised land of the new heaven and the new earth, where they would experience ultimate and unending rest."

"Jesus made clear that the rest of God is not apprehended through our work but, through His. Our work now is to put our faith and trust in His work."

"Of course the greatest work Christ accomplished happened as he hung on a Roman cross. It didn't look very fruitful; it didn't look like he was subduing the earth; it didn't look like he was exercising dominion. It looked like his efforts were pointlesss, like he was being subdued, like the offspring of the Serpant had won. The One who had promised rest experienced on the cross, the greatest restlessness even known to man, the restlessness that you and I deserve to endure forever. There on the cross He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was the sixth day of the week when Christ cried to from the cross, "it is finished". The work was done. On the cross, Jesus accomplished his most fruitful work, the salvation of all who believe; he subdued the earth so that it shook in response. By cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands, nailing it to the cross, Jesus exercised dominion. Jesus was put into the tomb, and then there was a day of rest, a Sabbath. "Having worked himself to death, Jesus rested from his labors". Then came the first day of the week, the first day of the new creation, the day Jesus rose from the dead."

"We gather on The Lord's Day to remember creation and redemption as well as to anticipate the new creation. We are reminded that we are not yet at home with the Father; we're not yet walking with Him in the new garden where we will see him face-to-face. We experience a measure of rest as we are joined to Christ in His death and resurrection  but we know there is a better, fuller, final rest in our future. The reality of a greater rest to which this day is just a pointer, a reminder, an opportunity for reorientation."

I am choosing to rest in the certainty that God is faithful and that He has a purpose in this "quarantine life" that we're all navigating and I am choosing to stand firm on the foundation of knowing and believing that He loves me and He cares for me (and for you) and that we are promised rest from this weary world.