New Mexico Easter

"Praise the Lord for a sweet Easter day, with friends and family!"
Before the day began, I wasn't sure how I would feel about it. Although I love the holiday as a whole, I new this one would be different. It was our first Easter in New Mexico. And we go to a very small Native church....therefore, there was no Easter cantata, no special music, no drama, no Hallelujah chorus....all the things I loved about our Easters back home. I was wondering how this day was going to be "special" or different from all the other church services we attend every week. But of course, the Lord, in His incredible patience and love, showed me!

The day started a little heavy for me.....it had been a long week. But after a lot of 'giving over the Lord', I was able to focus on the the beauty of the day and the sweet reminder of His love for me. And as I opened my front door to catch a glimpse of the sunrise (I have an amazing view from my front porch), I was surprised to see the ground covered with snow. At first it was a little 'annoying' because you want this day to be bright and sunny...but it didn't take long to see the reminder of how are sins were washed white as snow on an 'Easter' morning so many years ago. I enjoyed a few minutes of peace and quiet, watching the snow quietly fall....before the kids woke up! Then everyone was scurrying to get their 'sunday best' on, while I began making the homemade tortillas and sausage I was to bring to the church breakfast. We managed to make it out the door only 15 minutes late, and arrived to our first church breakfast (we were attending 2 because we go to Sunday school at one church and then we attend service at our home church). It was a good time of fellowship and the kids enjoyed seeing all their friends dressed up. We ate light (since we had 2 meals that morning) and sat with good friends and shared much laughter. Then we headed across the street to our church and ate again! This breakfast was much different than the first. The earlier breakfast was very traditional in the "american" sense....our second breakfast was very traditional in the "navajo" way, with tortillas, an enchilada dish, blue corn mush pancakes, beef stew with green chilis, and lots of pastries! Although our conversation there was full of laughter, it was also quite different from the previous meal....here, we talked of upcoming crops and the sheep castration they had had over the weekend, along with exchanging of recipes for the blue corn mush. I love my church, I love the people there....things are simple, slow paced and everyone is happy to just sit and talk. There was no rushing to practice for a cantata, no worrying about getting a new easter outfit dirty.....it is a simple life and I really do love it!
We leisurely headed upstairs where we fellowshipped a little longer and relaxed. This was one of the first years that I have not done some special music or been involved in a play.....it was nice to just sit and enjoy the day. We had several visitors and the place was filling up. Finally we started the service and it was an amazing blessing to have a baptismal service the same day....so we began our time by watching 3 young people obey the Lord in baptism....what a sweet sight. I decided it was better than any special music or drama I could have witnessed! We began with baptism and ended with communion.....what a great way to focus on the life of Christ!
We skipped our usually Sunday lunch out and just headed home....desiring to just hang out with the family. We opened the Easter baskets my mom sent then settled down for an afternoon rest. It wasn't long before a neighbor kid came by to announce it was time for the Easter egg hunt. The weather had been 'iffy' all day, but when the time came, the sun was shining and the temp had gone up enough so that it was comfortable. The adults went down first to hide the 250+ eggs, and the kids followed shortly after. They had a great time looking for the eggs and seeing who found the gold coins inside. Afterwards, we sat around and talked about our day watching the kids indulge in the many jellybeans and chocolate.
And although the day ended heavy, I am so thankful for the sweet day of praise and worship He gave me....it just looked different than I expected and anything I was used to.....but a beautiful Easter day, nonetheless!

We've been BLESSED by the MESS

I shared with you a few days ago about the tree that fell on one of the camp's storage sheds/bunk house. We are now in the process of cleaning up the huge mess that is the result of that tree falling. I would have much rather just set fire to it and call it a day...BUT....that was not reality :)
So instead of doing it my way (which is a GOOD thing!), the Lord sent us 'angels'. There was a workteam that came to spend a week in the area and work at our church (Native Bible Fellowship). They heard about the mess out here and decided to focus their attention and any leftover time to help us out....and wow, what a huge help they have been! They have managed to give us a large portion of THREE days and we are finishing the clean up today! All that is left is to remove the concrete slab that the shed was sitting on. They will even be moving on to other projects today....the Lord is so good to give us what we 'need' and then above that! I know I fail to recognize that sometimes.....I often miss the 'blessing' in the midst of the 'mess'. And then to see Him give beyond that is such a sweet reminder of His never-ending provisions and His promised love for us.
And the huge mess that once covered the site where the shed once sat is now cleaned up and the wood shed by the lodge is completely full of wood for next winter. He took a 'mess' and used it to 'bless' us....again, giving us much needed provisions out of an unexpected place.
He often works like that, you know? Surprising us, leaving us in a sense of wonder and amazement. Not sure why I am surprised or amazed each time.....you think I would be used to it and even expect it by now, since He does it so often. Even just last night I was surprised at where I received a blessing.....it was a big mess and as I started to begin to clear away some of the mess, started to see the glimpse of a blessing.....something I needed, and didn't even know that I needed. Now the "mess" doesn't seem as overwhelming....there is hope.

Thank you, Lord, for the beautiful people you have provided to help clear away the debris and mess here at the camp....your timing is (no surprise) perfect! Thank you for their sweet attitudes and willing hearts.....may they be blessed for their sacrifice and may you be pleased and glorified by their desire to serve You. Thank you for the simple provision of firewood for next year. ....that although something had to be destroyed first, there was good that came from it. Thank you for letting me see Your provision, Your hand, Your love in this situation. May I see all those things in other areas of my life as well......amen

April Goals

APRIL GOALS

physical
* lose 5 pounds
* continue with my workout program (run 3x a week, swim 2x a week, aerobics 2x a week, basketball/racquetball at least 3x a week, etc)

mental
* more CS Lewis
* 2 more chapters in the Holiness book (we can do it Heather!)
* finish "attitude" book

social/family
* BLOG!
* dinner with R
* mom's night out and/or ladies movie night
* date night w/ hubby
* movie night with kids
* catch up on emails!
* plan CA trip (MUCH needed)

spiritual
* continue with Romans 8
* inductive Bible study (Genesis)

camp
* we have a HUGE project list.....just keep chipping away at it

What a great day of worship! I love this time of year.....Palm Sunday, Easter, etc.....what a great reminder of what a wonderful Savior we have! As we sang songs that spoke of His amazing love and His sacrifice on the cross, my heart was brought to a sweet place of worship and I felt like it was just me and my Savior, alone in that room.....I loved it!
As a kid, growing up in a very 'anti-christian' home, Easter was all about the candy, gifts, chocolate and hiding eggs. It was one of my favorites back then (as you can guess, I was a pretty chubby kid, so candy was a HUGE part of my life!).....and it's one of my favorites now....but for a much different reason. I never get used to the amazing sacrifice Christ made for me...it never grows old and I never tire of celebrating it. Easter is such a different thing to me now......ever since I have given my life to Christ and as I have grown in my relationship with Him, this time of year is one of the sweetest. It's no longer about chocolate, hiding eggs and lots of candy....it's about Someone who loved me more than I can ever comprehend, Someone who thinks I am worth it, Someone who knows me intimately, and Someone who will never leave me or forsake me.....I am reminded of all those things when I remember and honor His death on the cross.
I am very much looking forward to next Sunday, spending time doing just that!

The winds here have been CRAZY! It's difficult to even walk around camp and it's brutal on someone who wears contacts! It was even so bad last night that it knocked over a rather large tree here at the camp.....it landed right on top of one of our storage shed/bunk house, completely destroying it. Most of the time, this building is just used for storage, but other times one of our faithful volunteers stays in it. It's equipped with a bunk bed, small fridge, etc and Chuck(the volunteer) likes the "rustic" living condition it provides for him. He is simple guy with a huge love for the Lord and a great work ethic.....a real blessing to our camp. He has been away for a couple months to help others and was supposed to be back by now....unfortunately (or at least it SEEMED unfortunate) he has been delayed because he is getting a biopsy done on a tumor they found. That has been a sad blow to us here and we have been praying often for him and this trial. But as you can guess, we have found the "blessing" in all of it because obviously, if Chuck had been here and in his beloved bunk house, he would have very likely been killed.
Of course, the "lesson" I see here is how God is in control of everything and His hand is touching every aspect of our life..... the wind that blows right past us as we are out walking, the delays and interruptions that often fill our lives, even the tumor that showed up on the MRI. I am reading a book about "attitudes" right now and just finished up the chapter on thankfulness....and was challenged to really ask myself if I am thankful for ALL things. If I'm not, it's usually because I don't understand it, I disagree with it, or I'm fearful of it. Watching that tree fall and seeing the results have reminded me of the "perfectness" of God's plan and His complete control of ALL things.
Thank you Lord, for your protection of Chuck, for your faithfulness to us every day, for the wind, that now reminds me of your promise to work all things for good.....amen

April.....a new start....again!

Well, here we are at the beginning of a new month......my chances for completing last month's goals are over....time to make new ones.
Ok, we all know I did a TERRIBLE job on the 'blogging 2x a week' goal.....BUT I kicked butt on the physical goals.....I worked out all but about 7 days this month and lost the 8 pounds! FINALLY (i know you are all thinking that exact same word!)! I did pretty well on my reading goals, fell short by a chapter on each one I think.....my 'social' goals were a joke, but the Lord allowed opportunities for new relationships and ministries, so that was still a success in a sense. Same thing with the 'spiritual' goals......i didn't accomplish exactly what I thought I would, but man, the Lord has given me much to chew on this month and He has been so good to teach me new and wonderful things! ...and brought along some really neat people to help do that......it's been a great month in that area. And I am learning through this that the plans (goals) that I set out for myself are not always His plans, and I'm learning to be ok with that! HIS are ALWAYS better than mine anyways! Things are moving along here at the camp the season for "getting ready" is upon us. We have made out an overwhelming to do list and will be chopping away at it for the next 2 months. But it's an exciting thing.....camp is always the highlight of our year and such an amazing time to see God working in the lives of Native people every day!!!! Thank you Lord for the ministry you have given my family and I......what a wonderful opportunity!

So, as usual, there were some successes and some failures.....but both are great because God was in the midst of each of them.
I'll be putting my April goals up soon.....but until then I'm going to just daily take what the Lord gives me and accomplish what I can in each day. Even the smallest victory is still a victory, right!??