Blessed Easter

Praying your Easter is filled with  hope and joy dear friends.

"Was Is A Morning Like This"
 Sandi Patty

 

He Is Risen!

Blessed Easter,
Linda

"The Cross Is Enough"

It is Thursday, and the clouds hang heavy, an appropriate backdrop for this "day before." Somehow we don't want the sun to shine on the remembered anguish and sorrow. It is fitting that heaven and earth should bow low.

Tonight is the first night of our church's Easter Program. The theme is "The Cross Is Enough." We will sing the words that remind us of the perfect sacrifice - of the blood shed to cover all our sins.

The definition of enough is:  sufficient - adequate - ample - satisfactory.

Jesus' death on the cross was not an urgent 911 call to save a desperate people who were racing head-long toward certain death. It was the fulfillment of a plan put into motion before the creation of the world.

A Father willing to sacrifice the life of His only Son. A Son willing to give His life to save ours. It was the only plan, and it was enough. The blood of the perfect Lamb to cover the sins of the world.  The victory over death when He rose to life.

The perfect Son of God gave His life on a cross, and it was enough. Sufficient to cleanse, adequate to cover every sin of every man, woman and child, an ample supply that will never run out, a satisfactory sacrifice to restore the relationship between God and man.

We have only to make it our own - to open our hearts and hands to receive the gift. Once done, we need never live under the weight of sin again. If we walk around bent low under a load of guilt and shame, we are saying the cross was not enough. If we believe the lie the enemy whispers in our ear, the one that says we are unworthy, a failure, not good enough....... we say the cross was not enough. We let the precious gift fall to the ground.

The sun will shine on Sunday.  There will be light and life and hope and rejoicing - because the cross is enough.

Blessings,
Linda

Plans

I had a post all planned for today.......I have finally learned, after more than six decades of living, that things rarely go according to plan. Our 14 year old granddaughter, Lauren, was hit in the face with a golf club during her P.E. class today. Her jaw is broken (it is a bad break all along her lower left jaw-line), and she will be having surgery late tomorrow morning. The doctor will put in two metal plates, and she will be on a liquid diet for six weeks.

It is shocking news, and we feel so awful for her - but when we think of what could have happened we are profoundly grateful. We would so appreciate your prayers for her, for the surgeon and his team and for the family. Her little sister is so close to her. I know her tender heart is hurting for the sister she adores.

We truly never know what a day will bring. What peace to know we have a Father who does. He walks into our days before we ever take one step, supplying grace and strength to face the unknown. We are resting in Him today and trusting Him for tomorrow.

Our daughter is here from Paris, and we are overjoyed to have her with us for a couple of weeks. We'll get to celebrate Easter with her and the rest of the gang (All except the Dallas contingent. Our other granddaughter is having her wisdom teeth pulled Thursday morning, and they felt it the better part of wisdom not to travel so soon afterwards.). We will miss them.

If I don't have another chance to write, I wish you a joyous Easter. We are of all people most blessed. He is risen - our hope, our joy, our peace, our life - Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessings,
Linda

The Cross

 
 “At the heart of the story stands the cross of Christ where evil did its worst
and met its match.”
John Wenham

It is that special time of year when eyes are turned toward the cross and our hearts overflow with emotion. Throughout this week, those of us who have experienced the forgiveness, the hope, and the gift of eternal life Jesus provided are drawn to Him with a gratitude that we find difficult to fully express. It is a gift mere words cannot describe. It is the greatest story ever told.

This quote from John Wenham gets us to the essence of that story – the cross of Christ. It is here that Jesus finished the work of redemption and where the enemy was defeated for all time.

I have an image in my mind of the shadow of the cross falling across the work of creation. Even before the Lord spoke one thing into being,  He knew that man would fall. He knew there would be a need for sacrifice, and He turned to His beloved Son. Was He willing to become the sacrificial Lamb for fallen man? With incomprehensible love He answered, “Yes.” And so the story began.

The rest of this devotional is just a click away at Laced With Grace. I would be so happy to meet you over there.

Blessings,
Linda

A Dearth of Words

I seem to be a bit like our shaggy neighbor these days - suffering from a complete dearth of words. I am pretty much just standing there watching the world go by without a creative thought popping into my little head.

It could be spring fever. The blue bonnets, bless their sweet little hearts, are decorating the roadsides despite the lack of nourishing rain. The birds sound like a veritable choir - each one singing his or her own little part blending with each other to create a beautiful chorus. The sun lingers, edging its way into evening and calling us outdoors. The trees are wearing their new spring outfits in that particular shade of green that will only last a few short weeks. It could be all that.

Or it could be that our days have been so filled to the brim, when evening comes the little couch, the knitting, and Mr. Dickens have much more allure than the keyboard. Besides, there is this dearth of words problem.

It isn't for lack of words going in. It is simply a matter of waiting for them to take form.

In the meantime, I am enjoying your words....and spring.....and knitting.....and Mr. Dickens' Esther and all the other wonderful characters in "Bleak House".... and reading through the New Testament.

Blessings to you dear friends,
Linda

Thirsty

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;
My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,
In a dry and weary land where there is no water."
Psalm 63:1

We are in the midst of a drought that has lasted far too long. When I turned on the sprinkler, which has been idle all winter, they came.

Joining Deidra today and the Sunday Community:



Blessings,
Linda

"One Day"

Listening to this hymn this morning, I was transported back to a little church nestled in the heart of a tiny upstate NY farming community. Farmers, truck drivers, plumbers, electricians, factory workers, teachers, homemakers - we sat in wooden pews with threadbare cushions and were fed by a wise and gentle shepherd. We stood and sang our hearts out to the accompaniment of piano and organ - the old hymns filling the small sanctuary. The memory brings tears of gratitude.



Joining Sandy today to still my heart and soak in the words of a story that never grows old:



Blessings,
Linda