Blessed Easter

     It is early this morning, the sun is rising, and the chilly Maine air is at 18 degrees.  Blair and Noah bundled up and headed out to the Sunrise Service.  It has been three days (according to Jewish days) since we read Jesus' final words from the cross at church and "heard" the stone rolled into place at the "tomb".  
      Much can happen in three days.  A phone call at 7:20 AM asking if I can fill in  and lead the Ladies' Bible Study at church.  The chapter is on fear.  Is it a coincidence that God has been dealing with the fear in my life for the past two years and delivering me from it?  No, but still I get down on the floor and ask God to help me, not because I am fearful, but because I want Him to help these women like He has helped me.  After a quick stop at a thrift store on my way home, I twist my ankle coming out the door as my left foot slips off the ramp, the left foot that I have sprained several times.  It has slowed me down a little these last couple of days. 
      Saturday morning brought an old struggle to light, a prayer together, but discouragement later.  A struggle to let go, to trust, to hope for a change.  And then there was much preparation for today: cooking, cleaning, hair cuts, laundry, and a Resurrection movie to watch.  There was sunshine to enjoy; opening doors to let it stream in and washing windows to remove the dirt it revealed.  
      As I pack up the Easter eggs for children's church and listen to "Were You There" by Selah, I begin the rejoicing by singing along: Were you there when He rose from the grave?  Sometimes it cause me to shout, and I begin to tremble, Were you there when He rose from the grave?  I listen to the Hallelujah Chorus: 

 The kingdom of this world

Is become the kingdom of our Lord,

And of His Christ, and of His Christ;

And He shall reign for ever and ever,

For ever and ever, forever and ever,

King of kings, and Lord of lords,

King of kings, and Lord of lords, 

And Lord of lords,

And He shall reign,

And He shall reign forever and ever,

King of kings, forever and ever,

And Lord of lords,

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Blessed Easter to you all!  He is Risen!

Day 4

One gift old:  my hubby!
One gift new:  the new year, 2013
One gift blue:  Noah's blue eyes

Day 5

Something I'm reading:  Self Talk, Soul Talk
Something I'm  making:  Addison's quilt (must finish this!)
Something I'm  seeing:  Nathan enjoying his senior year of high school

Day 6

One thing in my bag:  my pocket calander
One thing on my fridge:  picture of Esmael Abdela, our sponsored child in Ethiopia
One thing in my heart:  the Spirit of the Living God

http://www.christianbook.com/self-talk-soul-what-when-yourself/jennifer-rothschild/9780736920728/pd/920720

Day 2

A gift outside:  Sunshine, in spite of the -10 degrees this morning
A gift inside:  Our new pellet stove
On a plate:  Baked salmon

Day 3

3 graces you overheard:
#1 My husband praying
#2 My son laughing
#3 In the quiet, the clock ticking, knowing He is with me every second

On Ann Voskamp's journal today, she suggests choosing a word for the year.  Allowing God to focus you on one word, thought, concept and then watching how He forms that word in you.  Trying to think of my word....how to choose just one word.  Fullness.  That's my word.  

Col. 2:9  For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.

fullness

Noun The state of being filled to capacity. The state of having eaten enough or more than enough and feeling full.

Synonyms plenitude - completeness

One of my new things this year, 2013 is to paticipate in the Joy Dares. So I'm already a day behind! 
Day 1:  3 gifts heard

1.  Dad and I taking Elisabeth out to lunch and a movie for her birthday, and as we are in line waiting to go into the movie, she says, "I feel like an only child."  
2.  The voice of an old friend from Tennessee.
3.  Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig and Dean

Revelation Song

Christmas

So this is the Blair Cawley's family Christmas party. Wish we could invite you all but I will be stuffing people into every available corner! With the spouses and grandchildren we count 22, including Tim. Hope you all have a very Merry Christmas! I would promise to post pictures after Christmas but if you knew how long it took me to get this done you wouldn't even ask. But I might just surprise you.

Never a Dull Moment

I sit here at my computer this morning as Cadi snores on the couch and Noah slumbers in his bed. It is 9:00 o'clock and I should get them up but I am savoring a few more minutes of quiet. Blair got himself up and off to work at 6am. I rolled out at 6:20am to get Nathan up and out the door by 7am with all his baseball gear for a game this afternoon after school. Cynthia is busy getting ready for work now and Tim is taking care of the chickens--part of his morning routine. Pretty dull, huh?

I couldn't help but laugh last night. The kids were in the living room watching "Alvin and the Chipmunks: the Sequel". Cynthia and Josh were at the kitchen table eating hamburgers they had cooked. I was on my bed reading a book and listening to the Red Sox game. Cadi had taken her three doses of medication for the night, albeit a little later than scheduled (I'm not the most focused of psych nurses). The routine here is for her to sleep on the couch. Somehow by the time the movie was over and the kids were getting ready for bed, Josh (Cynthia's fiance) had moved to the couch and was peacefully sleeping away (he works nights and didn't have to leave for work until 10 pm). So I told Cadi to go down to Noah's room and get in the extra bed and if she couldn't get to sleep she could come up after Josh left.
Sure enough, at 10 o'clock, she comes slowly up the stairs with her blankets and Nina (the stuffed monkey) and heads for the couch.

And here's where I get to tell you about the best Grampie in all the world. He sits in his recliner and watches a movie (turned down low of course) and waits for Cadi to fall asleep on the couch. Of course it's hard to tell who falls asleep first, but I won't tell! Last night I think she (and he?!) dozed off fairly quickly.

I eagerly await what the day has for us all. The sun is shining even though the temperature is still a little cool for a May morning (42 degrees at 6:30am but up to 49 degrees now). A little schoolwork, a little housework, a little laundry. Meals to prepare, baseball games to attend, wedding invitations to stuff and mail. They are all gifts to me from the One who loves me. How blessed I am that the career God allowed me to have fills me with such joy. No, wait. It's not the career; although I am happy as a stay-at-home mom, homeschool teacher, grandmother, care-giver, wife, wedding planner, baseball mom, etc. It's the presence of the Father who loves me and fills me with joy as I serve Him in this place where He has put me. Some days are difficult and it's hard to feEl the joy but one thing is for sure...THERE IS NEVER A DULL MOMENT AROUND HERE!

Are you coming over today? Just give me a call and we'll squeeze you in!

Beautiful Acadia Day

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