He is Risen!

Pastor's message centered around the "So What's of the Resurrection," from 1 Corinthians 15.  What does the resurrection mean to me today?

Verses 3-8
 ³ For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, ⁸ and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.
Verses 20-23
 ²⁰ But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹ For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. ²² For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. ²³ But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Verse 58
 ⁵⁸ Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Pastor gave 3 So What's from these verses:
1.  Something is over - verse 16:  the domination of sin and death
2.  Something new has begun - verse 23:  the first fruits are a picture of what's to come
3.  Some things never end, verse 58:  whatever you do in the Lord is never wasted.  Our entire life - our lifestyle - living in the power of Christ will last forever.  His resurrection makes it possible that what you do for Him will last.
 

He is risen indeed!

Another "Grand" Weekend

It was so much fun to have 4 grandchildren overnight earlier in the month that I convinced Amy she and Ricky needed a break, too, so we could keep their kids.

So she brought Chase, Joanna and Katy down and met me at our house on Friday afternoon.  Andy and I set up a tent in the upstairs attic room and equipped it with sleeping bags for Chase & Joanna.  I slept in one of the single beds up there so they wouldn't be alone.  Little Katy slept in the pack and play that we set up in the downstairs front room. 

Fortunately, it was a nice afternoon, so the kids were able to play on the swing set for a while.  We had done some repairs on it, buying a new rope ladder, new swings and a new tarp.  (The one I had made a few months ago didn't work out.)

For dinner we had pizza, then ice cream for dessert, of course.  We watched a Disney movie, then read Uncle Wiggly stories till bed time.

On Saturday morning, we had waffles for breakfast, and Chase also had a bowl of cereal.  That boy can eat!  Dawn and Kira came over around 9:00 to hang out and have cousin time.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 Our upstairs apartment guest, Beth, invited us all up for smoothies.  She had bought a blender and made a delicious fruit smoothie that we all got to taste.  Joanna was the only one who didn't like it.  She took one taste, then announced that she didn't like strawberries!

Unfortunately, the weather was damp and drizzly on Saturday so we had to stay indoors.  But we still had fun playing together.

After Dawn left with Kira, Beth showed the kids her motorcycle.  Joanna wanted to ride, but we had no helmet for her.  She liked sitting on the cycle till Beth turned it on.  Then she was ready to get off!
 
 We watched another Disney movie while Katy was taking her nap.  The kids also had some Poppop time and Joanna enjoyed drawing and writing notes.
 
 
Then when Katy got up, we decided to take the kids to Chick-Fil-A to let them play in the indoor play area before buying dinner.  They had a lot of fun there.

It was another wonderful time with lovely children.  I think we wore them out, though.  Actually, it was mutual because we were tired, too.  Although, it was a relief that Andy and I did not fall asleep in the car on the way home!

 

 

My Name is Phyllis

I have always been unhappy with my name.  It's too unusual, it's hard for people to spell, it's too THIS, it's too THAT. My discontent with my name may have started in high school when one of the boys in my class teased me by calling me Phyllis Diller.  Here's a woman who made a living by being ugly and making jokes about it.  I didn't want to be associated with her!  

But recently, the Lord has been speaking to me about this issue and the need for me to be content in all circumstances and situations.  We are told that in heaven Jesus will give us a new name and I got to wondering if I would even be happy with the name He gives me.  I really should practice contentment in this life, here and now.  

Then this past weekend I went with 125 other women from church to Lancaster County to our women's retreat.  Our guest speaker was Christine Wyrtzen who spoke about being a daughter of promise.  In one of her sessions, she listed 10 characteristics of an orphan and 10 characteristics of a daughter/child of God.  One of the characteristics of a daughter is that she has a name that means something.  Rev. 2:17..."I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it."  Christine told a story from her childhood that one day she overheard her parents talking about her, discussing a test she had taken in school.  The father told her mother that Christine didn't do very well and was afraid she wasn't very smart.  Christine remembered that conversation and for the rest of her life worked hard to get good grades and do well, but always thought of herself as "dumb."  Years later when her dad was dying, she told him this story.  He was shocked that she had overheard that conversation and told her that a couple days later she had taken the same test and had done very well.  But the overheard conversation, which really was never meant for her to hear, stayed with her the rest of her life.  Then Christine had always hated her middle name of Eloise.  So recently she decided to research the meaning of the name.  And wouldn't you know it:  it means "smart."  What a sense of humor God has.  

So that made me curious as to what Phyllis means.  Google came through with a meaning of:  

Phyllis \ph(yl)-lis\ as a girl's name is pronounced FILL-iss. It is of Greek origin, and the meaning of Phyllis is "greenery". Greek mythology: a character of this name dies for love, then is transformed into an almond tree. The name is used by poets to stand for the idealised country lass.

Greenery???  Well, what do you know!  I love gardening and have ever since my mother led a 4-H flower club for me and my sister when I was 10.  Yes, I would say God does have a sense of humor.

So then I was curious to see if there were any other famous Phyllises besides Phyllis Diller.  How about Phyllis George, Miss America of 1971? 

 

Or Phyllis McGinley, an American author of children's books and poems.  

 

Or Phyllis Schafly, a Constitutional lawyer and a politically conservative activist and author who founded the Eagle Forum.

 

Well, I've decided it's time I become comfortable with my name and rise to the challenge of giving my own meaning to my name. 

 

Spring is Here!

Yesterday felt more like the first day of summer than March 20th, the first day of spring.  But who can complain about such a beautiful day.  With it being so pleasant, I had to spend a little time sitting on the deck in the sun, enjoying the magnolia tree in full bloom.  Other flowers are blooming, too, and I noticed the grass is greening nicely.

I was getting rather warm and switched to flip flops, which led to feelings of a need for a pedicure.  So since I needed to get out of the kitchen to keep my sanity, off I went to indulge myself.

Andy spent the day working in the kitchen.  He painted the beams and ceiling, then also all the walls.  Everything got the first coat of paint.

Because I spend a majority of my time in the kitchen, it's hard for me to keep myself occupied when he's working in there.  I did manage to get a batch of rolls made, but the rest of the day, I tried to stay out of there till he finished. 

This afternoon I came home from work and spent 2 delightful hours preparing a colorful dinner:  orange sweet potatoes with red dried cranberries, green zucchini souffle and rice pilaf.  It was as tasty as it looks.

Last Friday, Tommy, Dawn and Kira came over for dinner.  As usual, we had a lot of fun together.  With Daylight Savings Time, we were able to spend some time outside after dinner.  Kira was her usual cheerful, fun-loving self. 

The other day someone expressed a little concern that this weather is so strange, so warm so early.  I couldn't help thinking of God's promise, though, that as long as the earth stands, there will be seed time and harvest.  Great is His faithfulness.  Our media sources tend toward sensationalism and people without God worry and are alarmed that the earth is heading toward extinction.  I think that we do have a responsibility to take care of God's earth, but ultimately, it is His earth and we can trust Him to continue to hold things together by the word of His power.  (Colossians 1:17)

I'm thankful we had a mild winter and early spring.  It was nice for Andy that he didn't have to do any shoveling or snow blowing this winter, and he didn't have the responsibility of getting the church parking lots plowed and sidewalks cleared.  In everything give thanks!

And So it Begins

After years of talking and planning, it's finally happening.  Our kitchen is 20 years old and in need of some remodeling and updating.  The countertop is chipped in places and has been repaired several times.  One thing led to another and we are pretty much re-doing everything:  new floor tile, new countertop, painting the cupboards, painting the walls, new window treatments, etc. 

 

On Tuesday morning, I was feeling overwhelmed by all the decisions that needed to be made in the middle of a lot of mess.  College kids are home on spring break, so we hired a young man to start sanding our cabinets.  He worked all day Monday and Tuesday.  Wow, do I have a lot of cabinets!  He was able to do most of the sanding in Andy's workshop/old garage, but there was still some work that had to be done in the kitchen.  He emptied out all my cabinets and drawers and covered the stuff to keep the dust off but it was still a mess.  But -- now the cabinets are prepped and ready - one big job done.  

 

Because of all the work going on, I felt I needed to get out of the house on Tuesday.  So I called my friend who is doing interior decor work and we went shopping!  She was such a big help and we made our decisions on floor tile, countertop, back splash tile and paint colors for the cabinets and walls - a very productive day!  

 

On top of that, I was able to clean up most of the dust in the kitchen (still need to get the rest of the house), and re-organize the cabinets and drawers.  One good thing out of this:  I have so many cookbooks I'm going to try to sell on ebay.  I may even make some money from this project - ha! - probably peanuts compared to how much we're spending!

Meanwhile, we also have been working on our dining room.  We painted it and moved the table down more to the end of the room instead of right in the center.  That makes a little more room closer to the book cases to add a little sitting area.  Andy had expressed a desire to have a place to go to read that wasn't in the living room with the tv as a temptation.  So this works well.  These chairs are VERY comfortable.

 

We are still looking for a lamp between the chairs, not sure if it will be a floor lamp or a small table with a lamp. But progress is being made.