A Woman's View

Put the life back in your life

Thank you, one and all who read this blog! I am humbled and I never take you for granted. My apologies for the big gap in posting. I've been fighting a virus that morphed into a nasty case of bronchitis.

Sometimes life feels as flat as a soda that's lost its fizz.

That mood can strike any of us, any time of the year, even though what's in our "glass" remains the same. Yet we see emptiness, not fullness.

We call it as we see it, not as it is.

We do that with family members and friends, too, and see only their faults. We say, "Well, nobody's perfect and nobody's life is perfect, but . . ."

That little voice asks, Couldn't my life be a bit, um, more? Couldn't that other person change just a little bit? If only . . .

I've learned it's risky to hang around too long in the land of "If only."

My friend, Ginny, never goes there. She has a basketful of problems, but you'd never guess. Ask her how she's doing and she usually replies, "Great! If my life got any better, I couldn't stand it!"

Ask her to elaborate and she'll say, "Well, I'm still breathing in and out. I can get around on my own steam and my mind still works. I can see, even if I do need Coke-bottle eyeglasses to do it. I have a roof over my head and I eat pretty regularly. I'm part of a church family, where we love the Lord and we love each other. Best of all, I know Jesus loves me and watches over me, so I am rich." 

Every time Ginny repeats all the reasons she has to be thankful it reinforces in her mind that she's blessed and shifts her thinking to what's good and right and true.

Sounds too simple? Most great truths are.

What if you and I counted our blessings not just on Thanksgiving, but every day of the year? Suppose we gave up harping on what's wrong and bemoaning what's missing and deliberately focused on what's good. Picture starting each day with, "Thank you, Lord, for this day and for for every blessing. Thank you for promising to be with me every minute. Guide me and use me, I pray."

Think how it could affect our marriages, our family relationships and friendships.

Researchers say don't stop there

Don't take my word for it. A Texas Tech University study proved the value of counting our blessings and then counting them again. They divided study participants into two groups with similar life situations. Those who frequently and deliberately took time to re-appreciate the good in their lives scored themselves as happier than those who didn't.

Researchers concluded that counting our blessings--over and over--reminds us of their value and helps us stay contented.

Our perception of life depends on where we look.

Most of all it helps if we take our eyes off the gifts and focus on the Giver. He's the real source of life in our life. Here are some verses to get us started.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.                                                                                                           --Psalm 28:7

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness.                                         --Colossians 2:6-7

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.                      --1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

May you have blessings too numerous to count this Thanksgiving and every day, my friends!

Lovingly,

Lenore

 

 

 

Ever thank God when things don't work out?

I can hear you saying, "What a silly question!"

Every one of us wants what we want, the way we want it. Plans that work out. Hard work that pays off. Loved ones that live godly, happy lives. Then we will give thanks.  
 
It seldom occurs to us to be thankful for things that don't work out. Trust me, they can be more important than what does.

The phone call that makes you a minute late, then you come upon a fresh auto accident on your usual route. The hunky guy who marries someone else, then turns out to be a jerk. The job you don't get in another firm, the business that goes bust within the year.

My husband and I know something about the last one. Some years back he got an unexpected job offer that seemed too good to be true. We talked and prayed and talked and prayed, checked out everything we could. We couldn't explain why, but it felt right. We turned our lives upside down because of it.

Before long we realized this "sure thing job" was anything but. The exciting start slowly fizzled out. This turned out to be a mismatch and always had been.

But we prayed. We trusted. Why, Lord?

Planted in this unfamiliar place we saw only uncertainty. No job alternatives beckoned, despite my husband's efforts, even though we prayed and read our Bibles like never before. We clung to God and to each other, watching our savings account dwindle, feeling bewildered.

Where are you, Lord?

With everything stripped away we grew, more than we knew at the time. I "found" some Bible verses that I clutched to my heart like a treasure. John 15:1-2, 3-4 seemed written just for us:

(Jesus said) "I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful . . . No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."    

I had seen just-pruned grapevines. If those vines could talk they wouldn't be saying, "Thank you," for being hacked down to bleeding stumps.

Neither did we.

Then "out of the blue" came an opportunity for my husband in a field he never before had considered, right there in the place where we were. This turned out to be a perfect fit from the start and he began a long, satisfying career.

Why was I surprised?

God was protecting us all along, even when we felt most alone. Through that long wearing-down time we discovered that even when everything fell apart around us, we still trusted in the Lord. We couldn't have known then that our old dream had to die before His new one could be born.

What trips us up is that God may not answer our prayers in the way we expect. All He wants from us is that we keep on following in faith, even when we can't see the way ahead.

The One who knows the end before the beginning goes before us (Psalm 139)--and with us. He has it all covered. Even when dreams shatter, when it seems all is lost, even then.

Reason enough to thank Him . . .

Lovingly,

Lenore

Thanks-living any day of the year, even in tough times

Another Thanksgiving Day is upon us. I love it that every time we say the name 
of this holiday it reminds us of what it's all about: giving thanks. 

Maybe some of us don't feel much like giving thanks right now. Maybe we're slogging through a rough patch that shows no sign of smoothing out. Every day starts and ends with one thought, one prayer: Please let this be over--soon!

Even if things are good in our lives, probably most of us can remember a time when we floundered and fretted. When that's where we are and life feels empty, how are we supposed to feel thankful?

All I can do is tell you what helps me when I find myself walking that long, lonesome road.

That's when I hang on to what I know by faith and by experience: God is still God and His Word is still true. Even if I feel abandoned, the Bible over and over says He loves me. What's more, He doesn't love me because of my shining faith and my perfect life, only because I believe in Jesus.   

   [Jesus said] "No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me     and have believed that I came from God."              --John 21:27                                                                                                                                                                                       -Then I search out Bible verses that reassure me. Sometimes I write them down and keep them with me so I can repeat them over and over to myself. Like this one:

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger of sword? . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.                                 --Romans 8:35, 37-39

When I feel weak and overwhelmed this verse reminds me I can draw on power beyond my own:

[The Apostle Paul says] Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."                                                                               --2 Corinthians 12:9

When we're feeling down it's easy to lose hope for the future, isn't it? That's when I go to this promise:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."                                                                                 --Jeremiah 29:11 

As for what lies beyond, here's the greatest promise of all:

[Jesus says] "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son in to the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."    --John 3:16-17

So, it's Thanksgiving. Time for officially  thanking the Giver. I forget sometimes that "ordinary" things are a blessing. Like being able to breathe in and out. Like eyes that work. Like the ability to call up happy memories. It took me way too long but I've learned life feels, um, happier when I remember to thank Him every day.

Each of the Bible verses I've quoted is underlined in my Bible. It took me way too many years before I picked up a pen and started underlining, but it has blessed my life. Countless times I've opened my old NIV and gone from one underlined verse to the next. Every time I feel my spirits lift.

Be wiser than I was and start now. Find Bible verses that speak to your heart and your spirit and mark them. Think through how they apply to you and your life. Keep them handy to pass on to someone who's hurting.

By the way, any time you feel alone, think of this verse and the word picture it paints. This is how God feels about you and me:

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.                                    --Zephaniah 3:17    

Imagine! Now there's a reason to give thanks . . .

Here's to a JOY-filled Thanks-giving day, every day,

Lenore

P. S.  I'm thankful for you, my friend, for taking time to read my words.

 

Does Prayer Work?

A lot of people wonder about that. What one calls an answer to prayer another calls "luck" or "coincidence."

Some people pray only for Big Things. Others say they pray about everything from finding a job to finding a parking place at the mall.  
 
The other day a friend told of not being able to find her Kindle. "I took my house apart," she said. "Went through every pocket, turned my purse inside out, looked absolutely everywhere, but I absolutely could not find it. I was beside myself. The friend who gave it to me is fighting cancer and I felt just terrible.

"I finally remembered to ask God to help me and about two minutes later I realized I hadn't checked the wooden box on my counter where I keep my appointment book and a bunch of other small things. So I checked and there it was.

"One thing I've learned over the years. God does answer prayer. Not always what we ask for, but always what we need--and sometimes we have to wait to see that."

Another friend who lives alone nodded her head. Then she told about getting out the ladder to change a light bulb in her bedroom light fixture. She tried and tried, but the old bulb wouldn't budge. "I came down the ladder and was about ready to give up," she said. "Finally I just said, 'Lord, I don't know what to do. I don't want to have to call someone to come in. Please, Lord, help me!'

"I decided to give it one more try. A couple of twists and that bulb came right out. I know it was just a light bulb, but I really needed to know God is watching over me."

Everyone standing around chimed in, each one with a story to tell, a story of God's faithfulness and provision. We all attend different churches, but we're all Christians. Each of us walked away from the conversation smiling, encouraged and reinforced in our faith and by sharing our stories. That's what friends are for.

You've probably heard people say, "Prayer really works."

I think that's not quite accurate. I think God really works.

He can bless us with or without our prayers. But when we pray and things seem to "work out," then we know it's God answering our prayers and we give Him thanks and praise. If we didn't pray, we wouldn't look for His hand in our lives and we wouldn't thank Him.

As for whether to pray only for Big Things or for everything, I vote for the latter. I think maybe that's what the Apostle Paul meant in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18:

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

What do you think? I'd love to know your thoughts. 

Blessings,

Lenore

 

 

Bored? Another same old, same old day? Then celebrate!

Ever said to yourself, "I wish something would happen!"

Consider that reckless thinking.

Sometimes that "something" turns out to be scary. Like the time I did my usual breast self-exam and felt a tiny BB I didn't remember feeling before. Next came the mammogram, then the "maybe" verdict, then the biopsy.

Boy, did that un-bore me fast!

Thanks be, they found no cancer.

Or take the morning one of our daughters, college age, called with that plaintive note in her voice. "Is Dad there? I need to talk to him...."

If you've ever had young drivers, you can guess the reason why. Another driver, uninsured, had rear-ended her car--and pushed her into a stopped car--at a Los Angeles intersection and she was stranded.

The good news is she wasn't seriously injured and none of us were bored, at least not until she got her car back. 

The bad news is a couple of weeks later we got a letter on a creamy, weighty letterhead which bore the name and prestigious address of a Beverly Hills attorney. He informed us that his firm was representing the offending driver, someone with an unpronounceable name who was in the U.S. on a student visa and they intended to sue.

Oh, the drama of it all! We ran through all the what ifs until finally, common sense returned and we contacted our insurance company. End of story.

Any one of us can tell us stories like this from our own lives. Times when we wish we could go back to yesterday or the day before, when if someone asked, "How was your day?" and we could answer, "Oh, just a normal day, kind of boring ...  Nothing much happened."

Ever been there?

So here's a quote that stuck with me. Maybe you'll want to remember it, too.

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow.  

 --Mary Jean Iron

As the writer of Psalm 118 put it in verse 24:

This is the day that the LORD has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.

I'm thinking these two together amount to great advice. Because one thing's sure. Isn't this the only day we really have?

So as we start a new week, let's rejoice we're still standing. Let's thank God we're alive and then go out and live it with gusto!

What do you think about it?

Blessings and joy,

Lenore

 

 

 

How can you celebrate Thanksgiving when there's no money for a turkey?

"I guess I grew up poor, but as a child I never knew it," said the woman, a stranger to me.  

"One year Dad was out of work at Thanksgiving. Mom said she was tired of fixing turkey every year and announced our First Annual Rice and Beans Festival, complete with paper hats. Mom sewed each one a bean bag out of scraps and somebody else made a target. After we ate we had a name-your-blessings contest and then a count-the-beans-in-the-jar contest.  

"When I got into high school I realized we lived in a bad neighborhood. When somebody called me 'poor,' I was shocked. 

 "My truth as a kid was that we must be the richest family in our neighborhood. Otherwise, how come my mom and dad found such joy in everyday stuff? 

"They loved each other and they loved us. They said so and showed it with words and with hugs. At our house we laughed a lot. Friday nights we'd make  popcorn and a pitcher of Kool-Aid, then sit around playing games or watching some sitcom together. Sometimes one person would start a story and then stop in the middle of a sentence and the person next to them would have to pick it up and keep it going. Each one of us tried to outdo the other, so it got pretty outlandish sometimes.

"I remember one night we had a snowstorm and the power was out. So my folks said, 'Let's celebrate!' Mom lit some candles and made peanut butter sandwiches. Then Dad spread an old blanket on the floor and put a jar holding one fat candle in the center. We sat in a circle, eating, then singing camp songs and hymns and telling scary stories. Now every time we get together, somebody brings up that magic night and we all remember it.

"The thing is, my parents knew how to make the most of every little thing, from the first dandelion that bloomed to the every first front tooth that fell out. 

"See, we laughed and had fun, even when all we had to eat was beef broth with a few potatoes thrown in and some stale bread to soak up the juices.

"Now I know we celebrated life itself...and being together. 

"It's strange, but my husband and I have a lot more stuff than my parents did and we never celebrate any of it. Neither do our kids. The crazy thing is I would trade this lifestyle for that one in a heartbeat."

+++++++++++++++

So here we are, you and I, at another Thanksgiving. Some of us don't feel much like celebrating right now. 

Some of us are hurting. Grieving. Anxious. Wondering how to meet the next mortgage or credit card payment(s.) Wondering what comes next.

Many of us who saved and put away money for the future thought we had some security. Now we add up the numbers and groan.

So maybe it's a good time to revisit that first Thanksgiving. I suspect paintings like this, put to canvas, long after that day may be, um, a bit fanciful. 

True, those early Pilgrims were thanking God for the harvest just gathered in and for the help of Squanto, the Wampanoeg, who instructed them in how to grow crops. So they invited him and some of his people to join them in rejoicing. 

With food stored away  for the coming winter the settlers could relax a bit. Together they had survived their first arduous year in the New World.  

But let's not overlook the stark truth. One-hundred ten passengers and crew sailed from Britain on the Mayflower. Now less than fifty survived. Only three families remained intact and their rejoicing was tinged with grief.

Those long-ago Pilgrims speak to us today. Instead of getting stuck in mourning what was lost, they turned their eyes to what remained--and thanked God. 

Suppose we, too, add up what's good and right and meaningful in our own lives. What if we leave our accumulated pain with the Lord and thank Him for His presence with us?

After that unbelievably hard year, the settlers entered a new chapter in their lives. 

That's true for you and me, as well, no matter what our age or our situation. Every ending also is a beginning, whether we see it or not.  

What if we, like them, simply trust our future to God and celebrate what is?

That's what that woman who sat in the next booth was talking about. Her parents looked past what was missing in their life and cheered the present moment. Truth is, that's the only moment we really have.

What we see depends on where we look and what we believe in. 

Just in case you're looking for a Bible verse that fits Thanksgiving--and every day--how about this one?

Give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good, his love endures forever. --Psalm 107:1

One thing beats Thanksgiving Day and that's thanks-living. Betcha if you and I master that, we'll learn how to ccelebrate what is.

For now I wish you JOY...every day,

Lenore

What blessings are you thankful for? Your comments welcomed! 

Have you ever received an unexpected thank-you note from someone that surprised you? Perhaps it was a casual acquaintance who said something like, "Thanks for being you. You make the world a better place."

Remember that warm glow as you read it?

Now's the wonderful season when we hear the words "thankful" and "thanksgiving" all around us. A friend said the other day, "Imagine a world where instead of sharing our gripes we shared all the reasons to give thanks, not just at Thanksgiving but every day of the year. Wouldn't that be a great way to live?"

No need to take a poll whether you agree. I can hear your deafening cry of "Yes!" from here.

So what better time to start than now, right where we are? 

A few sentences, spoken or written, is all it would cost us. I have a note propped up at my desk right now, just because it makes me happy. Last summer I had a couple of brief conversations with the writer. Yet she took time to tell me what I said meant a great deal to her and encouraged her heart. 

Her words still make me smile, even now as the leaves fall and temperatures drop.

You and I can do that for someone else, beginning with our own family members. Think of writing down what you love about your husband (or wife) or each of your kids. Even tuned-out teens like being appreciated. Sometimes we get so caught up in ways they blow it we forget to notice the wonders within them.

Pointing out traits we value in another person can mean more  than a rundown of what they do. Think of qualities like being honest, faithful, kind, thoughtful, etc.

If you're blessed to live with or to know a person who demonstrates these qualities, you understand how that enriches your life. Often we take them for granted and say nothing. Instead, why not celebrate them?

Think of that older person who doesn't get much mail. A note (or a visit) could mean the world. Count up the others you routinely count on. Your child's teacher or Sunday School leader or coach. The neighbor who keeps an eye on your house.The checker whose smile never fades, even at the end of a long day. 

In this season of bustle and hurry, let's take the time. Let's spread the joy. Let's thank God for the people in our lives...and then tell them, too.

By the way, this need not be a one-time thing. Let's make it a habit.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

James 1:16

Here's to living thankfully--and spreading it around. God bless,

Lenore

Question: Who in your life gladdens your heart? 

Your comments welcomed!

When nothing makes sense, think on this...

It was written long ago, but it still speaks to me. It reminds me other folks in other times have felt that way, too--and later on have seen what was hidden earlier. 

I can't know what you're dealing with right now, but somehow it seems a good time to share it with you. Even if you've read it before, hope you find it worth another reading.

 

I asked God for strength, that I might achieve--

I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.

I asked for help, that I might do greater things--

I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.

I asked for riches, that I might be happy--

I was given poverty, that I might be wise.

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life--

I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.

I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.

Despite myself, my prayers were answered.

I am, among all men, most richly blessed.

 

                                (--Attributed to an anonymous soldier of the Confederacy)

 

Hope this wisdom blesses your heart as much as it does mine.

Blessings,

Lenore

Your comments welcomed!

Found: a remedy for blindness-of-the-heart

Ever thought about how easily we get stuck in a thought pattern and go blind?  

For whatever reason, we fixate on another person's annoying habits, the people we live with or work with. For example, I have 20/20 vision when it comes to spotting ways my husband  could  "improve."

Or maybe it's a friend or co-worker whom we like--if only s/he wouldn't constantly tap the table or say, "You know..." every three or four words. 

Here's how it works between my husband and me, sometimes even now, after all these years of marriage. Somehow I miss the fact that only my perception has changed. What I get hung up on is such a small part of him it's as if I looked at his face and suddenly could see only one freckle. 

I learned a long time ago this does nothing to bring us closer. However, that never stops me from falling into the same trap, over and over.

I remember talking with a divorced friend some years ago. She said, "My list of grievances just got too long and finally overwhelmed me. I decided if I got rid of my husband, my life would be happier. I wish I had known then that he wasn't the source of my unhappiness. I was."  

I've never forgotten that conversation, because it made me gulp. Who among us doesn't have a "list?"

Maybe the trouble is we so easily keep track of the wrong stuff. What if we tried another strategy and jotted down qualities we appreciate?

Every one of us can find at least five good points about our husbands, our children, or our co-worker. Ten are even better. Never mind looking for headline grabbers like, "Local man saves child from drowning!"

The place to start is with the "invisible" qualities that march past us every ordinary day. Think about your husband. Maybe he gets up and goes to work each morning, or plays catch with the kids most nights. Being considerate around your relatives counts, too. Or how about "Doesn't just talk about faith, but lives it."

If you're stumped, go for the more obvious. "Smiles a lot," works. So does "Takes out the garbage." "Doesn't yell at me." Some of what you write may seem small, but there's always a flip side. Would you prefer this person did the opposite? 

Once you have a list, the trick is to focus on that and ignore the rest. When you catch that person in the act of doing something we've noticed, that's the time to say so, along with a hug. Makeovers? Leave that to the other person and to God. (Have you noticed we can't change anyone else?) 

My husband and I have worked on cheering for each other ever since we went to Marriage Encounter, decades ago. I, at least, keep re-learning this same principle.

To wit, a confession. In the middle of writing this post he called me to lunch. He had brought home fresh sweet corn, then husked it and cooked it, then assembled lunch and set the table. I sat down, we said grace, then I started chomping...without a word. That's when I heard my old familiar words coming out of his mouth. "I am really disappointed," he said, in my most pitiful tone of voice, exaggerating just a bit. "I thought I fixed something you really liked and you didn't even notice." 

Hm-mm. Now, what was I saying? Oh yes, I was talking about that thing in my eye...

(Jesus said) "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"            --Luke 6:41

Here's to learning faster!

Love and blessings,

Lenore

Question for you: How does this work in your life? Why not share and encourage the rest of us strugglers? Just click on the word "comments" and follow directions. Hope to hear from you!

What's Easter all about, anyway?

What a crazy mixture of Easter symbols we have in America...and probably all over the world. Bunnies, butterflies, baby chicks, eggs, flowers and green grass, chocolates in foil wrappings...and once in awhile, a picture of a man hanging on a wooden cross.

So what's the big deal? Isn't Easter all about Spring and everything greening up, blooming, growing?

Well, that's not the original source of people celebrating this holiday. Easter traces back to the death of a man called Jesus, nailed to a cross on a hill outside Jerusalem. Nails through his hands and his feet. Blood everywhere. It's a gruesome scene, gruesome to onlookers, gruesome to us.

But the story doesn't end there. "Good Friday" is called "good" because Friday came first, but then came Sunday. Without that Friday, there never would have been Easter Sunday. That day the followers of Jesus went to his grave, ready to embalm his body properly. They came to the cave, which had been blocked by a boulder and sealed around the edges with old-timey sealing wax. Roman guards stood watch. 

What did these grieving friends find? An empty tomb, only the death-wrappings left behind. An angel, saying, "He is not here. He is risen!"                               

What could that mean? Who could know what it meant to "rise from the dead?" Every person alive, now or then, knows that dead means dead.

Ah, but...but...Jesus did not stay dead.

Jesus, fully human, born of Mary, was--and is--true God, as well.

So Jesus, the same loved friend they had watched die on the cross, reappeared to his followers and friends. He spoke with them. He ate with them. He told them how much he loved them and promised they would receive power to carry on his ministry. How? Through the power of the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, which Jesus promised to send them. 

Maybe you're reading this and thinking, "Says who? Why should I take your word for anything?"

Please don't. Check it out for yourself. Pick up a Bible and read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. (Don't miss John 3:16-17.) They all tell the story of Jesus and his life. Each has a slightly different "flavor," since each was transcribed by a different individual. Matthew and Luke begin with his birth. Each one winds up with the sequence of events leading up to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his resurrection. 

It's worth reading the book of Romans, too, especially chapter eight, verses one to four, and verses thirty-one to the end.

How could one sum up the Easter story? John 3:16-17 does so. I like one explanation I've heard:

Jesus had to be true man, because God cannot die for the sins of the world. God cannot die for any reason. He is eternal, without beginning and without end.

Jesus had to be true God because man cannot forgive sins or pay the price of sin for the world. Only God.

 So..what's the big deal about Easter? Just this: New life for the world. New life for  each of us--eternally--free for the taking. 

Look around. Every new leaf, every bud and bloom, points back to the Source of life that never ends: Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only one and only son, that everyone who believes in him shall have eternal life." --John 3:16

All it costs is taking Jesus at his word. "I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." --Romans 10:10.

For me, that's the big deal on Easter. That's what I celebrate. 

Easter blessings, day after day,

Lenore

How about you? Your comments welcomed! (Just go to the "Post a comment" box at the end and follow directions.)