No sin is too big for Him to roll away!

Good Morning Friends!!!  Totally loved and forgiven by HIM, Tuesday!  Last Sunday in Sunday school we continued our Easter lessons by making an edible empty tomb!  I got the idea from Pintrest, and thought it would be a fun activity to do while I read the Resurrection account from the Gospels of Luke and Mark. The kids listened as I read and then I had them put together their empty tombs.  I gave them each a Graham cracker as the base, we then frosted the crackers with green frosting to represent grass, for the tomb, we used half a donut, setting it on the cracker so you could see right through it….hence the empty tomb.  Last, but not least was the stone; for that we used a donut hole and placed it beside the tomb.  I must say, they were pretty cute and allowed for a wonderful discussion about the events of that first Easter morning!  The tombs were so cute that I had a teacher take a picture so we could share them…..later when I had a chance to look at the picture, I couldn’t help but notice that our stones….donut holes….actually stood taller than our tombs….half donut.  I chuckled a bit thinking oh well, they are still cute, but the thought kept rolling around in mind….The stone was bigger than the tomb, but was still rolled away…..Wow!  Rolled away for us…..all of us…..rolled away so our SAVIOR could emerge….with life eternal for us….all of us!  No sin is too big for HIM to roll away….No sin too big to bring to HIM…..And HE doesn’t just roll a little ways….NO!  HE rolls it down the cliff, into the water……gone forever…."I even, I am HE who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”  Isaiah 43:25.  Our Savior welcomes us to come to HIM give HIM our sins and accept HIS full forgiveness….no cost, no fees, no hidden surprises….forgiveness…Free…"It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from ourselves, it is the gift of God.”  Ephesians 2:8.  OH Father….we come humbly to You, knowing we do not deserve Your forgiveness and mercy, but Thank You Father for loving us so much that You roll all our stones away!

 

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.:  Isaiah 1:18.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:12.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2.

Love  you all!

A clean slate

Good Morning Friends!  Mighty and Marvelous is our God, Monday!!!  Each Sunday during Lent in Sunday school, we all (kids and teachers) took a big nail, held it in our hands and in silence thought about our sins, maybe a particular sin that needed forgiving, asked for forgiveness and then we each, still in silence stuck our nails into a brown Styrofoam cross.  We then prayed together for God to help us do the best we can and thanked Him for sending His Son to die for us, forgiving our sins.  Like I said we did this each week so the cross was quite full of nails.  After church on Good Friday, I took all the nails out of the cross, took it home and painted the other side white; my plan was to have a lesson based on because of Easter, our sins are forgiven and we are washed clean…white.   Easter Sunday was very busy at Sunday school, so we didn’t have a chance to talk about the changes in our cross, but yesterday I was excited for the kids to see the white, nail-less cross.  I gathered them all around our table and before I could even get started one young boy, 11, said, “ hey the nails are all gone and our cross is white.”  Ah, I thought, this is going to be great, but then he went on to say, “hey the other side is still brown.”  I tried to skip over that fact and get on with the Easter message with the white side of our cross, but he would have no part of it.  He was determined to keep on about the brown side of the cross and get to the bottom of the whole deal!  Well, I was actually getting a little perturbed at him (oh yes it’s true, I had to ask for forgiveness) as he had really taken the wind out of what I thought was a great lesson.  Well, I finally got him to give it up and went on with class, but I just couldn’t get it off my mind……kids!  As I was sitting in church listening to Pastor….I finally got it……with the help of this young man, I figured it out…..Jesus didn’t die for just some of our sins, HE didn’t wash just half of them away…..HIS death and resurrection gives us a clean slate, wipes all our sins away….front and back…..inside and out….HIS blood makes us clean….Father, bring us to You in true repentance to confess and seek Your forgiveness.  Give us hearts that forgive others as You forgive us.  And Father thank  you for the pure wisdom of children and the lessons we can learn from them. 

“Come now, let us reason together,”  say the Lord.  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  Isaiah 1:18.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgression from us.  Psalm 103:12.  In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.  Ephesians 1:7-8.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32.

Love you all!

Lost and found

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, forgiven and loved, Thursday!  This is such a special week as we prepare to celebrate the resurrection of our Savior on Sunday….Holy Week….I have been wearing a cross each day this week, just to remind myself of the sacrifice that was made for me….for you….so long ago when our Heavenly Father gave His only Son to die on a cross….for me….for you…..today my cross is on a long chain and is made of tiny, little, shiny gems, so pretty.  It was unclaimed in the lost and found and given to me…..lost and found…..As I look down and see the solid, shiny cross sparkling from the sun’s reflection….I sigh deeply contemplating the sacrifice made for me….I was lost, but now I am found….found by our Heavenly Father through the death of HIS Son…But the cross sparkles, it is empty…..JESUS LIVES!  HE made the ultimate sacrifice, HIS blood was shed, on the cross…..for me….for you.  But the three days later HE shined as HE left the tomb, alive….Because HE LIVES we too will LIVE, eternally with HIM in heaven.  Father, thank you for YOUR grace and tender mercies for us….we are undeserving, but humbled.  All Glory and Praise to YOU!

 

Jesus said, “For the Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.”  Luke 19:10.  “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16.

Praying your Easter over flows with the blessings of HIS resurrection.  Love you all!

Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Good Morning Friends!  Forever His, Friday!   We had a wonderful morning of Easter celebration at church, my favorite day of the year!  The kids are so excited, dressed in there Easter finest, carrying their Easter baskets chomping at the bit to hunt for eggs…..Some might say I am mean, but I never let Easter at Sunday School be just about the egg hunt.  So, before we hunt we spend time with our Heavenly Father, reading His word, singing, expanding their knowledge and understanding of what Jesus’ death and resurrection mean to us as His children.  Now, I’m not real mean, I do try with the help of my Sunday school teachers to make it as fun as possible; this year I found a cool idea on line and adapted it to our kiddos….after breakfast we went into our comfy youth room and I read from Mark chapter 15, starting with the night Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate.  In order to hold their interest, I was quite dramatic in my reading (they would tell you I am goofy)  just as we had laid Jesus in the tomb there was a knock on our door.  In a very grumpy, why would you disrupt us tone, I opened the door to find a teacher standing there with a great big smile…”the Easter egg hunt is ready for the kids, come on.”  Well, I acted real put out, but the kids were excited so I went along with it, saying we would finish after hunting.  Miss Kristine lead us to the fellowship hall (it was raining outside) and told the kids to go find eggs.  They hunted and hunted and no one found one egg.  Soon I joined in, trying to help them find some, I got more and more disappointed with the kids….they were sad, frustrated, disappointed, and a bit angry too!  No eggs to be found……Kristine was chuckling as we headed back to finish reading the Easter story, but the kids were not happy!  When we got back to class I asked them how did that feel to go looking for something you thought would be there, something you were so excited about and had been waiting for?  They expressed their disappointment in no uncertain terms…..I finished reading, then asked them, “How do you think the women felt when they went to the tomb to see Jesus and He was not there?”  The older kids got it right away…..the women were sad and disappointed….much sadder than we were hunting for eggs….there Jesus was missing!  But the story does not end there, does it!  Our Jesus was not missing….HE was ALIVE!!!!!  Oh how they rejoiced when they found HIM….alive.  OH how we REJOICE!!!!  Our SAVIOR IS ALIVE!!!!!  Oh yes HE died, HE was buried, but HE AROSE…..Our sins forgiven, our disappointment comforted.  We will have disappointments in life….we will hunt to no avail at times….but our HOPE is in JESUS….HE will never disappoint us….never leave or forsake us….CHRIST IS RISEN!  HE IS RISEN INDEED!  ALLELUIA!  Thank you Father!

 

The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He is not here; He has risen, just as He said.  Come and see the place where He lay.  Then go quickly and tell His disciples:  ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of into Galilee.  There you will see Him.” Now I have told you.”  Matthew 28:5-7.  Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  Hebrews 12:2.  The Lord is good, a refuge in times of trouble.  He cares for those who trust in Him  Nahum 1:7.  My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.  Psalm 73:26.

Love you all!

 

April 2, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Tuesday!  I didn’t realize that it had rained during the night, but when I got up I could hear it on the metal roof of the porch….I said a thank you prayer.  As I drove into work the rain was steady….not too hard, so visibility was ok, but steady enough to be a good rain….I said another thank you, grateful for the rain for our dry pastures and low ponds…..My thoughts turned to the pasture Kim and I had checked on Sunday….I smiled as I envisioned the fragile, green- grass yearning to emerge through the dry grass…..I felt my shoulders relax and even though when I left the house my husband was worried and anxious, I could feel a smile forming in my heart….yearning to break out in joy…….My heart and mind were consumed with the many blessings our Heavenly Father rains on me every day…..doesn’t have to be a torrential down pour, the gentle blessings are so wonderful too….you know…..lunch with an old friend…..a call from a grandchild…..fresh coffee delivered to your desk…..dying Easter eggs with grandkids and then hunting them……something you really need going on sale……a visit with family you haven’t seen in a long while…..notice of on-line donations to Rely for Life popping up on computer…..fresh eggs from the chickens you thought never would lay…..homemade ice cream…friends that pray faithfully for and with you…..new tires……the Good Will Store……volunteer firemen…..sweet puppies….good jobs…..French toast made with rye bread and powdered sugar…cold water in the fountain at the touch of a finger…an unexpected box of goodies in the mail from your sister…….gentle rain falling on the pastures…..sunshine that follows the rain……green grass…….Thank you Father for the good little blessings that bless us every day.  Forgive us for being too busy, too dry to appreciate our steady blessings……to Praise and Thank you with grateful hearts….Shame on us Father….Thank you for loving us still!  All glory, honor and praise to YOU!!

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth.  Worship the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful songs.  Know that the Lord is God.  It is He who made us, and we are His;  we are His people, the sheep of His pasture.  Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; give thanks to Him and praise His name.  For the Lord is good and His love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations.  Psalm 100.

Love you all! 

April 1, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Mighty and Miraculous is our God, Monday!  Christ is Risen!  He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!  Praying that your Easter celebrations were as blessed as ours were!  We headed to church early for our annual Easter breakfast before Sunday School; what a wonderful array of breakfast casseroles, muffins, delicious monkey bread and luscious fresh fruit!  The kids had the tables decorated with baskets they had made from empty plastic containers and several different styles of decorated eggs, and of course let’s not forget the lovely green Easter grass and candy!!!!  Spirits were high as we joined in celebrating the resurrection of our Jesus, our Lord and Savior!  The kids, well me too….had a blast in our egg rolling contest…you know roll the egg, like the stone was rolled from Jesus’ tomb!  And then we headed over to Sterling House with a box full of beautiful vases that the girls had made from empty glass jars, we filled them with beautiful silk flowers, and with special Easter greetings from the Sunday school kids, handed them out to residents.  Really not sure who enjoyed it more the residents or the kids….my heart was warm with the love of Easter as I watched the kids shining brightly with the love of Jesus!  After a nice nap, Kim and I headed out on the four-wheeler to check for new calves and check a lease pasture that’s been empty for a while to see if there was any grass growing.  The sun shining so warmly, I climbed on behind Kim and thanked God for the beauty of His creation.  As we approached the lease from the road we were not encouraged; the pasture was thick with dry, brown grass…..from the road, no sign of any green….new life….food for the cows….we continued down the road, opened the gate and headed in for a closer look.  We hadn’t been in long when we could indeed see green peeking through the dead grass…..even where the dead grass was very thick, looking close you could see the tender, green, grass….hope…..the green of life coming through the dead, dry, brown.  As we covered the pasture we felt quite hopeful that in a couple of weeks there would be sufficient grass for the cows.  As Kim and I headed home, the thought occurred to me that our lives, at times, are thick with the dead, dry, grass of the world…..dry grass that wants to choke out the hope of new, green, life…..I thought of earlier in the weekend when something that happened wanted to choke us with stress and worry….and then my thoughts turned to our church service…..the joy of Easter consumed my thoughts…..Jesus died….but the world did not choke HIM out, no HE rose on the third day……Alive, like the green grass….Jesus is our hope for LIFE everlasting…..no matter how dry the world might get, as HIS children, we are never ever without HOPE….without LOVE….without LIFE.  Father, thank you for YOUR SON, our HOPE…..for life everlasting with YOU.

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who loved us and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.  2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.  Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why so disturbed within me?  Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.  Psalm 42:11. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!  In His great mercy He has given us new Birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3. 

Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!  Alleluia!

Love you all!