The Easter bunny visited my house in 2011
She dropped by last Thursday, a little early this year. No doubt drawn by the fresh cut weeds/grass. And the fact the dogs were inside most of the day due to the rain.
This is, of course, a Texas Easter Bunny (a jack rabbit). She took off the second I walked into the yard.
This is the second year in a row she has made an appearance at Easter.
This week marked the 16th anniversary of the Oklahoma CIty bombing. I remember exactly where I was when I learned of this tragic event.
A relaxing retirement luncheon at the local Steak and Ale ended. For a final time as co-workers, we spent 2 hours in great fellowship. We reminisced about the years together, the good times and the bad. In celebrating our friendships, we experienced the loss our friend’s departure created, yet cherished the hope of our own retirements. Well fed and humored, we passed the bar as we left. On the mounted TV was the image of half a building. We stopped and stared. For a fleeting second, the question passed through our minds, “What side of the crack would I’ve been on?”
As federal employees located in an off-beat location, the sight was chilling. As quickly as the shocked filled us, an urgency to get back to work replaced it. We were all classified as ‘essential’ personnel.
The image of half a building has never left me. Reinforced by the stories from survivors and victims loved ones it lasts. The crack, where seconds before, co-workers stood. The break time phone call to home and suddenly no one on the other end.
Every time a fire alarm sounds, I wonder - what side of the crack am I on?
There is a more important crack. C. S. Lewis described it in The Great Divorce, the crack between heaven and hell.
Today, on Good Friday, which side of the crack are you on? Unlike bombing victims, this is a choice you make. Will you turn to Jesus?
I was a Senior in High School on the first Earth Day, in 1970, which was on a Wednesday. Our class talked the administration into letting us have a day off from class in honor of this great event to clean up our city. A Service Day, of sorts. Reluctantly, they went along with it. Loaded with garbage bags and gloves, in small groups, we picked up litter around Duncanville. Many of the rural crown black top roads we cleaned are now three-four lane paved streets with curbs and drainage.
It was a beautiful spring day. My Dad let me use his ’64 Olds convertible. It was one of my favorite times to drive that car.
It felt good to be picking up trash. It felt like a brave step forward to be doing something for the world. It felt like the beginning. Graduation was a month away. Yes, the world was large, but is wasn’t scary. We were going to make it different, better.
Now, I wonder...have we? Maybe, it still isn’t too late.
Are you looking for your life purpose? Are there things broken in your life, family or your work? Turn to Jesus...
Who is this Jesus?
He is the Son
The Son of the God we cannot see
He has God’s original purpose in Him
He has been here from the first
He started everything
Everything finds its purpose in Him
He holds all things together
He organizes the church
He was supreme in the beginning
He lead the resurrection parade
He will be supreme in the end
He towers over everything
Everything of God finds its proper place in Him without crowding
Through Him
All the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe -
all of the people and things, animals and atoms -
will get properly fixed together in vibrant harmonies
This is all possible because of his death
when his blood poured down from the Cross.
(Colossians 1:15-20, The Message)
Being able to claim, ‘I was prayed for before I was born’ is one of my great spiritual privileges. I am confident of this by not only knowing my family, but seeing the results of these prayers in my life.
Any parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle can and should tell a child they are loved. As believers we can go to the next level of assurance for our loved ones and pray for them.
What confidence and assurance it gives me to know the prayer that surrounds me. It is important to tell people we are praying for them.
Colossians 1:9-14 gives 10 steps on how to pray for others. (Taken from The Message)
Have you ever had a day when life circumstances made you feel you had missed your true life purpose? This was one of those days for me. None of the events truly related to this missed purpose, but the feeling of dread certainly came over me today.
Was it the deceiver making me doubt my life?
Was it the Spirit preparing my heart for a new direction?
I can resist the doubt and look forward to new directions.
What about you?
