"Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scripture, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures..." 1 Corinthians 15:3-4

Resurrection Day. So much to be thankful for.

This weekend brings a mixture of emotions...sorrow, joy, love. We don't deserve Christ's sacrificial death as He paid the penalty for your sin and mine. But praise the Lord that He did not stay dead, but was raised to life again. We do not serve a dead God, but one that is alive. His resurrection gives us reason for the hope we have in Christ. And we can celebrate this everyday, not just on Easter!

Before the throne of God above 

I have a strong and perfect plea: 

A great High Priest, whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

Mu name is graven on His hands,

My name is written on His heart;

I know that while in heaven He stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart

No tongue can bid me thence depart. 

When Satan tempts me to despair,

And tells me of the guilt within,

Upward I look, and see Him there

Who made an end to all my sin.

Because the sinless Savior died,

My sinful soul is counted free;

For God the just is satisfied

To look on Him and pardon me

To look on Him and pardon me. 

Halleluja! Hallelujah! Praise the One,

Risen Son of God! 

Behold Him there, the Risen Lamb

My perfect, spotless righteousness,

The great unchangeable I am,

The King of glory and of grace!

One with Himself I cannot die

My soul is purchased by His blood

My life is hid with Christ on high,

With Christ, my Savior and my God

With Christ, my Savior and my God.

Snapshots of our Easter :)

Family!

Fun Creations!

Hawaiian Blitz!

Christ is risen, He is risen indeed.

An excerpt from Becoming a Woman Who Pleases God:

 The Teacup

       There was a couple who use to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both like antiques, pottery, and especially teacups. this was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary. 

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup. They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful." As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup. There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over, and I yelled out, 'Let me alone,' but he only smiled, 'Not yet.' 

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "And suddenly I was spun around and around and around. 'Stop it! I'm getting dizzy!' I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.' "Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening, and I could read his lips as he shook his head, 'Not yet.' 

"Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.' 

"Then suddenly he put me back in the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening, nodding his head and saying, 'Not yet.' 

"Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.' And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.' 

"'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up. I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked. I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and pained you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you wouldn't have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in the second oven, you wouldn't have survived for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began you.'" 

God knows what He's doing for all of us. He is the potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will (Isaiah 45:9). 

-Author Unknown

May we be pliable in His hands...

Growing up, something would happen in life and my brother would always say "It builds character..." Even to the most trivial things...well, usually to the most trivial things! And he still says it to this day. Even though a lot of the time it would be silly things that are "building character," I think that there's a good deal of truth in the statement for daily life happenings. I also think that character building is something we need to be working on in our lives. What kind of character should we be cultivating?

I recently began reading a book entitled Becoming A Woman Who Pleases God. It is a very practical book. The first chapter is basically about the wise woman in Proverbs 31 and how we should be cultivating her qualities. There are eleven of them. I won't go into too much detail, but I will let you know what they are :) ...Virtuous(Prov. 31:10), Trustworthy (Prov. 31:11), Energetic (Prov. 31:24), Physically Fit (Prov. 31:17), Economical (Prov. 31:18), Unselfish (Prov. 31:19-20), Prepared (Prov. 31:21-22, 27), Honorable (Prov. 31:25), Prudent (Prov. 31:26), Lovable (Prov. 31:28-29), and God-Fearing (Prov. 31:30). My goal is to pursue these characteristics in my own life and cultivate a heart that loves Christ more than anything else. I like to base my decisions in light of eternity...does ____ really matter? Character does, and the heart intentions behind it. I don't know who reads this, if anyone does :) but I ask that you would pray for me that I would build my character based on God's principles and standards so that He can be glorified. 

"The inspired description of God's Wise Woman focuses on the development of what is truly permanent and noteworthy...the character of the woman." My hope is to cultivate this type of character..not because "charm is deceitful and beauty is vain," but because I want to honor the Lord and give Him glory in all that I do, for that is why I was created. Christ is the ultimate goal...life is the journey that makes us more like Him.

Don't let me lose my wonder...

I've been reading in Matthew lately, and read about the crucifixion this evening. Two words: mind blown. And I hope every time I read this account my mind is blown. Why? I am amazed that Christ would willingly suffer, being ridiculed and humiliated, beaten and spit on, for a sinner like me... I had tears in my eyes as I read how my Savior suffered, taking the punishment for my sin. I don't deserve it. I don't want to lose my wonder of His grace toward us. It brings me back to Isaiah 52 and 53 as it talks about how He suffered:

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you-- his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind-- so shall he sprinkle many nations' kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected y men; a man of sorrow, and acquainted with grief; as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one-to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgement he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him...

That last part always gets me: "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him" ...essentially, it pleased God to crush His own Son. Only Christ's blood can redeem us. It had to be done that way. I am so thankful for what Christ has done for me. I never want to lose my wonder...

2013.

"Father, thank You for a new year and for the trials to come that will make me more like You..."

I'm looking forward to this year as an opportunity to grow in my relationship with the Lord. There will be many changes, trials, and decisions to be made this year, and no matter how "good" or "bad" they seem, I know that through these situations I am being conformed into Christ's image as I cling to the promise I have in Christ that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28. The "good" is becoming more like Christ...though these trials may be difficult, they are for my ultimate good. As Romans 8:18 says, "...the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us."  What an amazing concept. I am so looking forward to Christ's return when we will be perfected. I think I am beginning to understand what James is talking about in 1:2 when he says "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds..." Like I said earlier, it's through these trials that we can become more like Christ, and in that experience joy as our faith is strengthened. Now I'm not saying that I am going to be perfect in my trials this year..far from it. But I do have Christ. I love Isaiah 43:1-3 "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior."
I'm excited for this year, for what God is doing in my life.


A quote to leave you with tonight: (I can't remember who said this...) "Could you be satisfied with heaven, if Christ were not there?"