Putting the holy back in the holi-day

I've heard it said we shouldn't call it "Easter" because the word came from "Ishtar" who was the pagan goddess of fertility. Well, there are a lot of similarities not only in the way the words sound, but also in the symbols and pictures used to promote the holiday. But I contend that God is the originator of the idea of spring and resurrection and the world has always been the imitator and distorter of God's ideas.

So I'm not going to boycott Easter with its bunnies, chicks and chocolate. Instead, I'm going to allow the holiday to remind me of the empty cross and grave. I think God was very creative in timing the cross and resurrection in the spring. What a beautiful picture - after the despair and darkness of the cross (winter) comes the glorious hope of the resurrection (spring).

Our pastor likes to say at Christmas time: "We need to put the holy back in the holiday." Holidays originally meant holy days. And certainly Christmas and Easter are both gifts from God for us to remember Him and His work on our behalf.

It's a beautiful day today - Good Friday. I had a day off work and spent the morning working in the yard and gardens. Andy and I worked together a little until his back couldn't stand it any more. We cleaned off the deck and raked out dead leaves from the gardens. A friend gave me some miniature irises that I planted in a spot that needed something.

After lunch I took my lounge chair and spent an hour relaxing on the deck in the sun. This was the view from my chair:

I was delighted to notice that the lilacs I planted last summer are getting green and budding and even putting out new little shoots.

I can’t deny it and have no wish to: my favorite time of the year is SPRING. The earth is filled with your love, O Lord. (Psalm 119:64)

Signs of Spring

Sandals

PedicureFlowersI planted these pansies last fall and they made it through the winter to cheer up our spring. They were undaunted by all the snow Andy piled on them when he shoveled off the walks.

RobinWe are very glad to have winter behind us, hopefully, to stay FAR behind. Andy is in a lot of pain from his back. We think it started from all the shoveling he did this winter. It has gotten progressively worse until Monday when he could hardly even walk. He went to the doctor, had some x-rays done, and the prognosis is a bulging disk. Apparently a nerve is being pinched which is causing numbness down his leg, on top of pain when he sits or walks or stands - not much relief unless he lies down, and even then, it has to be in a certain position. I feel bad for him...it's hard to see him so incapacitated.

Counting my blessings

1. I'm very thankful that the long cold winter is over ~ at least for a day or two! Today was very spring-like with greening grass, blue skies, robins busily flitting about, swelling buds on the trees, radiant warming sun.

With the forecast predicting warm weather (in the 70's) the rest of the week, I anticipate the flood waters receding.

Our "little" pond

2. I'm thankful for my health. It's a shame we sometimes have to experience sickness before we realize just how good it feels to feel good. All of a sudden, last Sunday evening, I came down with a doozy of a bad cold. I went to work on Monday for an hour and a half, then home to bed for the rest of the day. I also lounged around and rested all day Tuesday. But even though I came down hard, it didn't last and I was back to work as usual on Wednesday, working the rest of the week.

3. I'm thankful for the pastors and people I work with. There are 6 pastors on staff at our church and each of them is a pleasure to work with. On March 3 & 4, we all went away on a staff retreat to Sandy Cove Ministries Conference Center in NorthEast, MD. All their wives and kids went, too. It was such a good time to relax and just be together, something that is rare in our busy lives of ministering to others.

The view from our hotel window - the Chesapeake Bay

Playing together

4. I'm thankful for our family. Although I've known for several weeks, Amy just announced to the rest of the family that she is pregnant with baby #3. That will make 9 grandchildren for us. How exciting. Our oldest grandchild, Grace, just turned 9 years old. When the kids turn 7, we're inviting them to spend an overnight with us to do whatever they want. I was intending to get Grace closer to her birthday, but had to put it off because of being sick last week. So this past Monday, I left work early and drove up to get her. When we got back, she helped me make dinner. She had made up a list of things she wanted to do and we were able to cross everything off the list and add a few more. (We hadn't had eat ice cream on the list, but did that anyway!) We had her all day Tuesday, leaving the house around 4:00 pm, then driving to C & C's for dinner and dessert with the family. She is a delight to be with.

Playing free cell and getting her hair done

Taking a hike on water logged trailsWow - a stretch of trail with no water!

finding treasures along the way

a certain 9 year old is tired

what a candle!

5. Along with family, I'm specifically thankful for my husband. He is so good to me, encouraging and loving me sacrificially. He is a blessing to me and an example of Christ's unconditional love.

6. Above all, I'm so thankful for the salvation I enjoy in Christ. His divine power has given me everything I need for life and godliness.

Tribute to Grace

I can't believe our oldest grandchild is 9 today...

only one more year in single digits.

This picture was snapped when we were on vacation

in New York state (I stand corrected - this was actually in Maine).
Grace was 3.

She was going to be a flower girl in Amy's wedding but had a bad cold and couldn't attend. She showed up after the wedding in her dress and crown of flowers with a brave little smile.

She did get to be in Dawn's wedding the following year,

a little older...

practicing with Mommy with hair styles.

Back in the days when candy was a no-no. (ha ha)

One of my favorite pictures.

She is a delight and adds a beautiful dimension to our family dynamic.

Grace is beautiful inside as well as outwardly.

Winter Projects and a Day at the Gym

It's been a long cold winter. There have been no moments of getting outside to trim bushes or pick up sticks and debris in the yard because there are mounds of snow in all the gardens. Even the yard has been too deep with snow until the last couple of days, but I still can't walk around out there because the melting has created huge ponds. Fortunately, our house sits a little higher than the rest of the yard, but it looks like a castle with a moat all around it! And the water table is so high right now that we have little streams in our basement running toward the drains.

So cabin fever has fueled my desire to do something besides reading after dinner. I've taken several trips to Jo-Ann Fabrics and searched the web for fabric and yarn. I learned to crochet while I was in college and made quite a few sweaters, scarves, hats, blankets, afghans, etc., but it's been many long years since I've taken up hook and yarn. In fact, a couple of years ago, I gave all my crochet hooks to one of my daughters.

This time around, my first attempt was a child's hat. Christy made quite a few of these hats and I liked the pattern, so I bought the pattern for myself and attempted it. Here it is on a very cute little model!I also made a scarf for myself. It seems like I haven't lost the touch!I think Andy has been a little bored, too. He is working on our "yellow" bathroom, the one off the foyer. When we built that part of the house, we put in a door from that bathroom into Mom & Dad's bedroom. However, in all the 5 years that they've been here now, they never used that door. In fact, they put a curtain on that wall in their bedroom and placed a bureau in front of it. So we decided to take out the door and replace the shower stall with a full bath tub with shower. It seemed more practical for our upstairs guests. The shower stall was so small that even I was uncomfortable when I used it. Several weeks ago, Andy took out the door and closed off the space.

Then this last past Saturday, Andy and a plumber friend took out the shower and put in the tub. The water is hooked up and it's usable, but there are still some finishing touches to be done.

Before
The door is gone.

new tub

Several months ago, the girls decided they wanted to make an effort to get together once a month so they could visit and the cousins could play together. In January we hung out at Christy's one day. February got away from us, but today we went up to the gym where Amy works and spent a couple of hours there. Unfortunately, 3 of Christy's kids were sick during the night and she wasn't able to join us. After we ate a nice lunch that Amy provided, we spent the rest of our time at the pool. Andy and Amy went in with Chase. He loved it. Amy took Joanna in the water, but she kept trying to climb out of the tube she was floating in. And Kira didn't like the water either. In fact, she had an allergic reaction to the chemicals in the pool and her little tummy got all red and itchy.

It was so much fun being together. Chase and Joanna were so excited when we arrived, then with all the swimming and playing, I heard from the mommies that all the kids fell asleep in the car on their way home. And I confess that I closed my eyes and slept for about 15 minutes, too.

Even as much as I've enjoyed getting back to crocheting and have a couple more projects I'd like to work on, I'm ready for spring. Can't wait for warmer weather and a few more colors besides white, brown and gray.