Sweet Home Tagged me!

What is my current obsession? Planning all the things I’ll do when school gets out (Like looking for a job…anybody?!!)

Which item of clothing do you wear most often? My newly resurrected jeans (the ones I couldn’t fit into for over a year—until now. Yeah!) and my yellow baby-doll top!


What's for dinner? Leftovers…Reheated beef stew and homemade bread.

What are you listening to? Classical music. Particularly the best of Hyden. Ahhh so calming!

Say something about the one that tagged you. My sweet, sweet sister who I appreciate more now than ever for her trust in God, her love for others and her courage.

Guilty Pleasure? M&Ms and ice cream (I was going to say Golden Spoon, but I am SO not guilty about that!)!

Favorite vacation spots? Colorado and Montana. Actually, Oregon ain’t so bad either!

What am I reading right now? Knowing God and The One Year of Christian History

Four words to describe myself. Busy, Enjoying-God, Loves-to-laugh, very-curious.

First Spring thing to do? Clean my room and my car. Oh, and shopping at on apen-air farmers' market!

What do I look forward to? Time and energy not claimed by school that I can spend on reading my own books and writing my own thoughts.

Let's see I'll tag:
~*~Leighways
~*~ Our Adoption Blog (if you can. I know you are busy as your adoption is soon to go through)

It's Her B-Earth Day!

Today is a very special day. It has to do with life and a mother but nothing to do with "Earth Day" (although I thought I would slip it in the title just because *smile*). Today is Plain Ol' Vanilla 's birthday!! The happiest of Birthdays to my precious mom!!

Photos of the Week

Yes, it is Spring here. The buds can't help but happily welcome the world (and my camera lens) with their colors, shades and textures. I took these on my "all things flowers" photography walk (though I did slip the tree in there)!

Easter Series Part 5--He is Risen Indeed!

… How could this happen? Wasn’t Jesus the Rescuer? The kind God had promised? It wasn’t supposed to end like this.
Yes, whoever said anything about the end?
Just before sunrise, on the third day, God sent an earthquake—and an angel from heaven. When the guards (who had been guarding the tomb in which Jesus’ body lay) saw the angel, they fell down in fright. The angle rolled the huge stone away, sat on top of it and waited.

At the first glimmer of dawn, Mary Magdalene and other women head to the tomb to wash Jesus’ body. The early morning sun slanted through the ancient olive tress, drops of dew glittering on the leaves and grasses—little tear everywhere. The friends walked quietly along the hilly path, through the groves, until they reached the tomb. Immediately noticed something odd—it was wide open.
They peered though the opening gin to the dark tomb. But wait Jesus’ body was gone!
And something else: a shining man was there, with clothes made from lighting.
“Don’t be scared,” the angel said…”Jesus isn’t dead anymore … He is alive again!”

…The other women rushed home, but Mary stayed behind. How could it be true? Jesus was definitely dead—how could he be alive? Just them Mary hear someone else in the garden. Perhaps it’s the gardener, she thought. He’ll know where Jesus’ body is.
“I don’t know where Jesus is!” Mary said urgently. “I can’t find him.”
But it was all right. Jesus knew where she was. And he had found her.

Days later, after showing himself to many of his friends when he was talking with his disciples... Something amazing happened. Jesus rose up into the bright air higher and higher. They shaded their eyes and watched him go, until a cloud hid Jesus so they couldn’t see him anymore. They stood looking up in to the sky like that for a long time
Suddenly two shining men appeared. "What are you doing?" they asked. "Jesus has gone to heaven. But one day he will come back. In the same way you saw him leave. From heaven. And from the sky. "

Jesus' friends went back to Jerusalem with a strnge gladness inside their hearts. And something Jesus said stuck in their minds: "Even though you won't be able to see me anymore, I will never leave you. No! Not ever I will be with you. Yes! Always and forever!"

And it is all true. Every last word of it!

Easter Series Part 4--The Sun Stops Shinning

“So you are a king are you?” the Roman soldiers jeered…. They gave Jesus a crown made out of thorns. And put a purple robe on him. And pretended to bow down to him.
Then they whipped him. And spat on him. They didn’t understand that this was the Prince of Life, the Kind of heaven and earth, who had come to rescue them…They walked up a hill outside the city. Jesus carried the cross on his back. Jesus had never done anything wrong. But they were going to kill him the way criminal were killed.

They nailed Jesus to the cross.
“Father, forgive them.” Jesus gasped. “They don’t understand what they’re doing.”
“You say you’ve come to rescue us!” people shouted.
“But you can’t even rescue yourself!”
But they were wrong. Jesus could have rescued himself. A legion of angels would have flown to his side—if he’d called.
“If you were really the Don of God, you could just climb down off that cross!” they said.
And of course they were right. Jesus could have just said a word and make it all stop. Like when he healed that little girl. And stilled the storm. And fed the 5,000 people.
But Jesus stayed.
You see, they didn’t understand. It wasn’t the nails that kept Jesus there. It was love.
“Papa?” Jesus cried, frantically searching the sky. “Papa, where are you? Don’t leave me!”
And for the very first time—and the last—when he spoke, nothing happened. Just a horrible, endless silence. God didn’t answer. He turned away form his Boy. Tears rolled down Jesus’ face. The face of the one who would wipe away every tear from every eye.

Even though it was midday, a dreadful darkness covered the face of the world. The sun would not shine. The earth trembled and quaked. The great mountains shook. Rocks split in two. Until it seemed that the whole work would break. That creation itself would tear apart.

The full force of the storm of God’s fierce anger at sin was coming down. On his own Son. Instead of his people. It was the only way God could destroy sin, and not destroy his children whose hearts were filled with sin.
Then Jesus shouted in a loud voice, “It is finished!”
And it was. He had done it. Jesus had rescued the whole world.
“Father !” Jesus cried. “I give you my life.” And with a great sigh he let himself die.

Easter Series Part 3--All things...for Gods Plan

Suddenly, through the trees, a glitter of starlight flashed off steel…. Jesus stood up. He woke his friends. “Now is the time,” he said. “Everything written about me—what God has been telling his people all through the long years—it’s now coming true.”
And into the night, with burning torches and lanterns, with swords and clubs and armor, they came—an army to arrest him…
The guards marched Jesus off and took him to the Leaders.
The Leaders put Jesus on trial. “Are you the Son of God?’ they asked.
“I am” Jesus said.
“Who do you think you are? To call yourself God. You must die for calling yourself the Son of God!”
Only the Romans were allowed to kill prisioners, so the Leaders made a plan "We'll tell the Romans, 'This man wants to be our king!' and then they will have to crudivy him!"
But it would be alright. It ws God's Plan.
“It was for this reason that I was born into the world,” Jesus said.

Easter Series Part 2-- A Dark Night in the Garden

… Jesus walked ahead alone, into the dark. He needed to talk to his heavenly Father.
He knew it was time for him to die. They had planned it long ago, he and his Father. Jesus was going to take the punishment for all the wrong things anybody had ever done, or ever would do.
“Papa! Father!” Jesus cried. And he fell to the ground.
“Is there any other way to get your children back? To heal their hearts? To get rid of the poison?”
But Jesus knew—there was no other way. Al the poison of sin was going to have to go into his own heart.
God was going to pour into Jesus’ heart all of the sadness and brokenness iun peoples’ hearts. He was going to pour into Jesus’ body all the sickness in peoples’ bodies. God was going to have to blame his son for everything that had gone wrong. It would crush Jesus.

But there was something else, something even more horrible. When People ran away from God, they lost God...not being close to God was like a punishment. Jesus was going to take that punishment.
Jesus knew what that meant. He was going to lose his Father—and that, Jesus knew, would break his heart in two.
Violent sobs shook Jesus’ whole body.
Then Jesus was quiet. Like a lamb. "I trust you, Papa,” he said. “Whatever you say, I will do.”

Easter Series Part One--My Life Will Break

Easter is a time for us Christains to savor the extravegant love and redemption of our Servant-King, Jesus Christ. Over the course of this weekend I will be posting exerpts come from the amazing childrens book The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. I have added my own emphasis with italics and bolding, while quoting Ms. Lloyd-Jones exactly. Have a wonderful weekend marveling at the foot of the cross!

"It was Passover, the time when God’s people remembered how God had rescued them from being slaves in Egypt. Every year they killed a lamb and ate it. 'The lamb died instead of us” they would say."'
But this Passover, God was getting ready for an even Greater Rescue…
Now, one of Jesus' friends had made a bad plan. No one else knew what the bad plan was. But Jesus knew—and so did Judas. Judas was going to help the Leaders capture Jesus—for 30 pieces of silver.
'Go on, Judas' Jesus said. And Judas got up from the meal, left the room, and walked out into the night.

Then Jesus picked up some bread and broke it. He gave it to his friends. He picked up a cup of wine and thanked God for it. He poured it out and shared it.
'My body is like this bread. It will break.” Jesus told them. “This cup of wine is like my blood. It will pour out.'
'But this is how God will rescue the whole world. My life will break and God’s broken world will mend. My heart will tear apart—and your hearts will heal. Just as the Passover lamb died, so now I will die instead of you. My blood will wash away all of your sins. And you’ll be clean on the inside—in your hearts.'
'So whenever you eat and drink, remember,' Jesus said, 'I’ve rescued you!'
Jesus knew it was nearly time for him to leave the world and to go back to God.
'I won’t be with you long,' he said. 'You are going to be a very sad. But God’s Helper will come. And then you’ll be filled up with a Forever Happiness that won’t ever leave. So don’t be afraid. You are my friends and I love you.”'

Then they sang their favorite song. And walked up to their favorite place, an olive garden... "