Do Your 'HOLLOW" Chocolate Bunnies Fill You Up?

What on God's green earth did the Easter Bunny ever do for you that was so special? What is it about Easter Eggs and hollow chocolate bunnies this time of year? For some strange reason we try to get our children to believe that Easter eggs come out of a rabbit's hind end. However, I am reminded in my Tuesday night bible study that we cannot hide the truth from our children. Most kids know that rabbits do not lay eggs.

On this particular Tuesday, a poll was taken to see if the Easter Bunny visited your house when you were a child. For the most part, he visited almost everyone's house- mind included. One year he even knocked on my bedroom window to see if I was asleep yet!!! Scared the bejesus out of me, but still made my fantasy even more believable. The things you remember as a child... I digressed; The leader's mission this night was to crush the idea of the Easter Bunny. Not out of spite or hate, but out of sheer awe that we have allowed a fake rabbit to get more attention than our risen Savior on this most holy day of the year. Really. Think about it. How much time and effort was put into the Easter Bunny at your house? I know at mine it was a lot. We would make a special trip to see him at West Town Mall, get our picture taken with him, talk about him all the night before he showed up, wake up early to see what was left in the baskets, go to Easter service at church, come home and have some more candy out of the basket before Easter dinner, play with the goodies that were left, have an egg hunt and wall-ahh another Easter had passed. Nothing against some magical make-believe fun, but is that really what our focus should be during this time of year?

This week I am preparing and praying that I will experience Easter in a different sense this year- like I've never experienced it before. It is my prayer that the ones close to me will have an experience of their own as well. My God has already proven to me that as long as I trust Him when my world has been turned upside down; and it has plenty of time, He will shower me with blessings upon blessings. So enjoy your hollow chocolate bunnies, peeps, and Easter egg hunts, but just remember what we are really celebrating. There is a Heavenly Father that loved you enough to send His son to die on the cross for your sin and rose again to give you eternal life. Now that is something special, my friend! Happy Easter everyone!

Prosperous Plans

"For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

I would say that I consider myself to be a planner. And in all my planning I am finding out that things don't always go according to plan. In fact I have seen all of my "planning" go down the drain in a matter of moments. So why even plan I've been asking myself lately? I know that my God has plans for me that always work for good. Then why is it so difficult for me to trust Him to work out the plans and why am I so surprised when He shares His goodness with me? Perhaps it is because it is not in MY timing? Perhaps that means my timing is not so grand. Hell-O, Elizabeth! A quote from Corrie ten Boom comes to mind, "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an all knowing God" (thanks, Rach!) Well, that's a lot easier said than done my friend.

I find myself at a cross road. Not particularly fond of making decisions that will change my life- I am very much aware that a decision has to be made. As decisions have been made before, I know what I must do; it's just doing it. Of course taking the path of self pity and wallowing in my own sorrow would be the easy thing to do. Jumping back into life again with both feet, not knowing exactly what is in the water but trusting that God will give me the strength to tread in that water would be just a little more difficult. I still have time to decide, but deep down I know what has to be done. So where do my plans come into play with all of this? I'm quite tempted against all my designer and OCD instinct to toss my planning out the window and see where I end up. Nooooo- not in a careless kind of way! I'm not brainless (just for those of you that were wondering). But it is time to take that real step of faith. That blind faith that I've always wanted to have and perhaps the opportunity has just presented itself. Perhaps the plan WILL come together, just maybe not in the way I had planned that it would.