Resurrection Day 2014

April 20.

Resurrection Sunday was a family day.  We celebrated the resurrection of Jesus--without whom we would be lost and dead in our sin--and two birthdays!  My dad turned 82 (4/13) and Danny turned 21 (4/16).  We hosted the family gathering, most of whom enjoyed the amazing weather on our back yard patio.

 My dad has the privilege of falling asleep whenever and wherever he's tired.  :)

I took just the one picture above, then a few of our cake/singing/birthday-wishing time.

 Dad.

Fernando.

Jeff, Danny, and Dad share a funny moment.

But God demonstrates His own love toward us,

in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,

we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.

For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God

through the death of His Son,

much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

through whom we have no received the reconciliation.

Romans 5:8-11 NASB

Back to life,
Christine

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He is Risen!

I'm finally blogging about Resurrection Sunday!  It's so hard to play catch-up; I've taken so many photos and I want to document everything.  :)

Resurrection Sunday is so special, with starting the day at church.  This is what it's all about--Jesus triumphed over the grave!  These stained glass windows, though beautifully reflecting the light, cannot begin to show the Light of the world.

For the afternoon, we had our family over for celebration and a meal together.  Though our meal is non-traditional for Resurrection Sunday, we had a barbecue, as we did last year.  It was so nice having Fernando as grillmaster.

My sister-in-law went out to check on the chicken she brought for the grill.

Fernando dished up ribs, chicken pieces, bratwurst, and the chicken roaster.  :)

Always diligent, Fernando cleaned up the grill.

There was no time for pictures during the meal, but I most definitely had my camera out afterwards.  My dad was turning 80 (!!!) later in the week, and we surprised him with streamers and balloons, and of course cake and ice cream, and strawberries with fresh cream.

Happy Resurrection Day (very late)!  And Happy Birthday, Dad!!  Love you!

 
Back to life,
Christine

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Risen! Alleluia!

Oh, what an incredible thought--to know my sins are washed away!  We attended church service this morning with this joyful knowledge, which permeated our entire day.

Sweet thoughts began a few days earlier when I started preparing for the meal we would share with family, and the dessert that would follow.  Yummy cake cools on the rack, waiting to be frosted and layered.

This afternoon, my darling Grillmaster exceeded all expectations by expertly grilling every kind of meat that family members brought to our gathering.  Our sister-in-law Charlotte helped him out a bit--or is it that Fernando allowed her to turn some of the meat on his precious grill?  *grin*

Our family tends to bring a lot of food to its gatherings.  Just look at all that chicken--and there were also T-bone steaks and country ribs!!

Dinner was superb, and it was great to have the family gathered together.  We chatted, ate, cleaned up, chatted some more, enjoyed the halfway-decent weather, and...

...sometimes an unscheduled nap occurred.  Hey, it's nice that my dad is comfortable in my home!  If that were me, I'd never have heard the end of it!  :)

My mom and I started a Scrabble game, and I opened with a seven-letter word.  Score!  The game then went downhill, though we broke the required moron-level of 600 points combined, which made us feel better.

As we waved good-bye to my parents, the Lord blessed us with a beautiful sunset to end His day.  Despite the suburban feel at eye level, I need only to lift my eyes up a little higher to see His splendor across the sky.

Christ the Lord is ris'n today, Alleluia!

Sons of men and angels say:  Alleluia!

Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!

Sing ye heav'ns, and earth reply:  Alleluia!

Back to life,
Christine

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