New Life

The beauty of springtime is breathtaking -- seeing the incredible detail in each individual flower reminds me that God made each of us unique too.

And seeing new life come from the earth every spring is a vivid visual of the new life we have in Christ.

As Easter nears may our lives SHINE for Him we are no longer dead to sin but ALIVE IN CHRIST ~ HALLELUJAH!

Isaiah 55:1-11
¹ "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.

² Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

³ Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander of the peoples.

⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor."

⁶ Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.

⁷ Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts.
Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

⁹ "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Romans 6:3-11

³Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. ⁶For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

⁸Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. ⁹For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. ¹⁰The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.

¹¹In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

Good Friday or BAD Friday

As we talked today the question was asked "Why isn't it called BAD Friday?" Suggestions were made that when Jesus died it was a sad day but now we know what happens in 3 days so we know that there is good in the end.

This year fasting from lunches has been a blessing for me but also in ways I never could have imagined for the children. They have an anticipation for Easter like they have not had before. And they are looking forward to eating lunch! I am treasuring this time that we were able to carve out (most days) to spend together FEASTing on God's word. May you find time to spend with God and grow in your walk with Him.

(Both are longer today so I'm not pasting them in, you can open your Bible or click the link to read the whole passage)
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
we have a great video "Aussie Praise for kids" by Colin Buchanan this verse in song sticks with ya! Baa Baa Doo Baa Baa....

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

John 18
recap: the story of Jesus' arrest and hearing, Peter's denial

As we close our Good Friday we are so thankful that its not a BAD Friday! Thank you God for sending Jesus to pay for our sins. Easters coming!!!!

God's classroom

is the best for learning :) we enjoyed the great spring weather today by doing school outside! They stayed WARM as we studied the COLD war in history (ha ha)They were ready for a change of scenery for our Bible FEAST so they chose the trees! (reminded me of the Sound of Music scene where they are playing in the trees!)
and after "school" we all worked in the yard for awhile pulling weeds, transplanting hostas and just general spring clean up.
Here Eugene is working hard to get the whole root of those pesky dandelions out! He said "Mom, why did God create weeds?" I said "Do you remember Adam?" He said "Oh Yeah - SIN"

Only a few more FEAST posts for our fast as Easter is nearing!
so onto today's
Isaiah 61:1-9
¹ The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,

² to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

⁴ They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.

⁵ Aliens will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

⁶ And you will be called priests of the LORD, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.

⁷ Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.

⁸ "For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity. In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting covenant with them.

⁹ Their descendants will be known among the nations and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

Luke 4:16-21

¹⁶He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. ¹⁷The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
¹⁸"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, ¹⁹to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." ²⁰Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, ²¹and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

A.C.T.S.

I'm sure many of you know this prayer format

Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication

I don't remember who it was that shared the "children's" version but it has been such a blessing for our prayer time I wanted to share it with you!

Adoration = "God you are...."
Confession = "God I'm sorry for..."
Thanksgiving = "Thank you God for..."
Supplication = "God please help...."

What a blessing to share a special prayer time together , I just start each one and then the kids "pop" in finishing these starters. We did this almost daily last year during school and this year we usually do it at least once a week and just do "popcorn" prayers the other days. Today Eugene was so cute --"MOM ITS TIME FOR OUR FAST FEAST THEN ARE WE GOING TO DO POPCORN?"(meaning prayer) I am so thankful that my 6 year old is excited to be a part of our lent fast and prayer time!

As we begin Holy Week one other pondering thought to share: God is really working on me in areas of diligence, I am so easily distracted its a challenge to finish anything! I am so blessed that our fasting this lent has been something we have been able to remain fairly diligent to. Thanks to some wonderful advice from Kari ~ who encouraged if we missed a day or two just start again not to get discouraged. MUCH NEEDED ADVICE! Thanks so much!!!
Tomorrow we look forward to celebrating Passover with some friends :)

Today's Feast
Isaiah 42:1-7

¹ "Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.

² He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.

³ A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;

⁴ he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope."

⁵ This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:

⁶ "I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,

⁷ to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.

John 12:1-11
¹Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. ²Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. ³Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

⁴But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." ⁶He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

⁷"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

⁹Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. ¹⁰So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, ¹¹for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.

Back on track!

Well after a busy week with company we are getting back on track today!
Great morning of school and a FEAST on God's Word for our lunch:

Psalm 23

John 11:1-45 (the raising of Lazarus)

you probably know both of these passages very well so I won't copy them in, but you can follow the link if you'd like -- We enjoyed reading especially the Psalm in different versions.

We also learned another hymn today "God Be With You Until We Meet Again" it seemed to go along very well with the shepherd idea! here is the first verse (you can listen if you click the link)

God be with you till we meet again;
By His counsels guide, uphold you,
With His sheep securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.

Refrain Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus’ feet;
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again.

We have a post with pictures in the works -- mom made us work on school first :(