New Traditions

 

What goes well with an Easter egg hunt? Why, scripture, of course!

When I was a kid the Easter bunny hid a basket for me to find, filled with yummy goodness, be it an enormous orange or a chocolate cross. I think my Mom had as much fun watching me hunt as I did searching through the house for my big basket treat. Not suprisingly, my kids enjoy the same kind of stuff. So, this year I looked for the message in the fun and found some great ideas for Resurrection eggs. I may be late in finding this gem, but better late than never. After specializing 12 of the many eggs that were hidden in the backyard, I labeled them carefully to distinguish them from the others. The kids found all the plastic eggs with goodies inside and rushed back into the house to check things out. We sat down together at the kitchen table with the eggs and our Bibles as they opened each egg from 1 to 12, discovering a tiny item representing some part of the final week of the life of our Lord with a verse to read along with it. From a miniature sponge to a die to spices from a tea bag, we recapped Jesus' amazing sacrifice on our behalf and His awesome resurrection from the grave as each, in turn, read aloud. It was fulfilling to watch their anticipation, from the oldest to the youngest, as each got their chance to link the pieces of the story together.
Jesus is alive! He arose - hallelujah!
Did you celebrate, too? What traditions does your family have? I'm always on the lookout for new ways to share God's truths from Scripture.

The Irish Wilderness of the Ozarks

Whenever we get the chance, the family stops at historical sites and parks. This past Monday, we were driving through the Mark Twain National Forest and saw a sign for the Irish Wilderness. My first name has Irish roots and my hair is auburn, but apparently I do not have a drop of Irish blood in my veins. However, I've always had an attraction to that country, possibly for the above reasons. Imagine my surprise when I saw something with Irish connections in the middle of the state of Missouri! Since I was behind the wheel at the time, I determined to stop and discover what this place was and why it existed. Everyone got out of the car as I pulled into the parking area - nobody else was there at the time. The kids had a chance to run down the trail a bit, and I took a few photos. There was no history or explanation to the name on site, so I had to do a bit of research. Thanks to the internet, research doesn't take quite as long as it did years ago. The site dates back to before the Civil War. The hope had been a new beginning for Irish immigrants, thanks to a Catholic priest by the name of Father Hogan. It didn't last long, however, and much about it still remains a mystery. But what has been discovered is documented in a book that recently won the Gold Medal Award for non-fiction.
Although our visit lasted all of 10 minutes, the kids were able to let out some energy and I was able to satisfy my curiousity. Sometimes we just need to stop to taste some history even when there aren't any roses to smell.

Lost and Found

So, the family goes to the park today to run/walk a 2-miler. Dave is getting geared up for the marathon tomorrow, and the day before is an "easy" day for him - a few short miles to keep him loose but not expend too much energy before the big race.

Halfway through, he calls out to me that I shouldn't be too concerned . . . but that the car key fell out of a hole in his pocket . . . probably along the sidewalk. Hmmmm. I had gone 1 mile at this point. Let's see, find the key . . . finish the 2-miler - I think I'll look for the key. So I did. I searched and walked up and down the sidewalk between the van and the track - nothing. Then I moved on to the track, slowly working my way along the 1/3 mile circle while Dave finished up and searched again near the van. Worst case scenario - we knock on a door to call for the people who open locked cars, because inside were my keys, my purse, his cell phone, the house keys, need I go on?

There is a happy ending to this story. The key was found at the halfway point in the track. There, in the grass, it must have slipped out of the hole and landed. Dave was very grateful, and for my efforts and success in discovering the location of the key, I received a smile for giving him

a "hand" - a plastic ring trinket someone must have lost and never found.

Thank You, God, for answering my prayers - and, thank You, for the lessons I can learn from this.

~You, Lord, searched for me until you found me - never giving up.

and

~A backup plan is always a good idea (we didn't have one in this case) - thankfully, we didn't need to use one!

I love you, Dave - glad we didn't have to use that belated $100 anniversary gift we got today on the key issue - so anytime you want to celebrate our 15 1/2 years of being married, we can go do that!