The Holy Week

So a couple of weeks ago while listening to a Sunday sermon by Pastor Harms, Beau and I recieved some inspiration from the Lord. In the past I have allways been a big John 3:16 girl. For God so loved the world He sent His only begotten Son , that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. What an amazing simple way to explain our salvation. I learned it as a child, I knew the verse before I knew what it meant and I believe it is the Truth. But there is so much more..........

As a family we have allways put an emphasis on Christmas. It is the biggest and best of all the holidays! We start celebrating it months in advance and sometimes afterwards. Sure there is santa and all that jazz but we try to keep Christ at the focus of our Christmas, it is his birth!! but there is so much more......

Sitting in the pew that day Beau and I noticed something almost simultaneously as our Pastor spoke on it. Often I see the Lord highlight in my Bible. For me it is very visual, literally, and whatever it is i highlight it so it stays permanently. The verse that day was Romans 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth "Jesus is Lord" and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. Instantly Beau and I knew where our focus should be. Christmas is amazing and will allways be my favorite time of year. We will allways celebrate it wholeheartedly as a family. but from that Sunday on we knew the importance of the Resurrection! Jesus was born, as so many have been (albeit of a virgin) and he died as many others have (with all the sins of the world on his shoulders) but who has ressurected? Nobody I know. In this his prophesies were fulfilled. In this he stands alone. And the sharing of this verse that day helped us realize the importance of belief in this one fact. Sure I believed before but I cant say that it has been a focus of my faith. No more will Easter take a back burner. No more will we ignore all those nameless holidays that come before it. Easter is not second best. What happened that day and your belief in it will define how you live the rest of eternity. Wow!

Last Sunday was palm sunday. It was the first palm sunday in my life that i truly thought about what happened all those years ago. The first palm sunday that i truly taught Gods children about it as well. In addition to teaching my fab 5 each day, I have the pleasure of directing the preschool Team Kid program at our church. Last week I was blessed with the opportunity to teach them about palm sunday. We learned how Jesus rode in as a King, how people loved him and praised him. We made palms and walked about the church calling out Hosanna! This was the first time i took the opportunity to find out what it meant. Why did they call him such a silly girls name? Ive wondered all my life. My 3,4,5 and 6 year old friends learned what it took me 26 years to figure out. it means "help us, or save us" and so he did! by the end of the week they would slaughter Him like a disgarded lamb. How fickle some crowds can be :(

Tommorrow is Thursday. But let this Thursday be different. We will celebrate with the Lord's supper just as Christ did on this day so many years ago. Think of him tommorrow. He asked us to. Luke 22:19 this do in remembrance of me! Oh what little he has asked of us in return for the price he paid, lets honor him for it :)

The crucifixtion most likely took place on a friday and so we casually celebrate Good Friday, but this year we plan to do better. On the day our Savior died for our sins we will teach about him, his love and his reasons for doing this. This day will forever be more than a gentle nod on our calender.

Im not sure exactly how our family Easter will play out this year, but I can promise it wont be just about the eggs. sure we will have all that stuff, but there is so much more! We got out our new Resurrection set (the Easter equivalent to a nativity) and we have already been preparing. We will attend church, but not out of routine, out of reverence and celebration. We will put on our Sunday best and we will do so as if we are preparing for the return of the bridegroom (for we know not the day or the hour :) and we will teach the children why we do this. You put on your fav digs to go to a party right, well this sunday is the party to end all parties!! There will be candy and food, good music and great fun, For He Lives! and he wants us to celebrate! Friday night we will put Jesus back in his tomb (piper has been moving him in and out and all about for the last few days ) and he will re emerge this Sunday as we thank him for his sacrifice!

Beau and I are so thankful for Pastor Harms and his sermons each week, thankful he reminded us of something so important. And I am thankful to his wonderful wife who posted her blog this morning which inspired me to share my inspiration!