Easter

Last night when I was telling Mason that we celebrate Easter because Jesus rose from the grave, Mike added, "with bunnies and eggs".  It is kind of a weird tradition that I'm sure is an interesting history lesson in pagan traditions from hundreds of years ago.  While bunnies and eggs don't have anything to do with why our family celebrates Easter, I have some pretty fond memories of hunting eggs with my older sister, Renee and even with my brother-in-law, Troy (yes, I was in college at that point).  I used to always find the most eggs until he came along.  :)

Tomorrow, we are having a group of friends over to our house for an Easter brunch and Egg hunt.  Last year we did the same thing and I think we will have even more people here this year.  I love gathering friends together and eating good food (and it's fun to have a potluck so you can try lots of different dishes).  I'm making vegan tater-tot casserole, mini egg-souffle's, and a Strawberry breakfast punch.

Last night, Mike and I watched a DVD Mark and Steph let us borrow.  It's a talk by Louie Giglio and it was very moving.  I really connect with relating the existence of God to science and biology.  I feel that in addition to the Bible, the Earth is one of the best tools through which to see God.  In this talk, Louie shares details about the vastness of the universe and the size and distance of stars in our galaxy and beyond.  He also described some of the incredible things our bodies do on a molecular level.  Somehow, if I've ever felt doubt about God's existence or doubted his presence, I've always been reassured by looking at nature.

I think the most incredible thing that happens on earth is new life.  I was in awe during each of my pregnancies, to realize that a whole new human was being made and I was essentially doing nothing at all to make that happen, except eat and sleep.  I struggle to see how someone could think that life on earth happened by chance.  The more I read, the more I learn about how our bodies work, how amazing our organs are and how powerful our brains can be, the more I can't comprehend anyone believing a theory that life began completely by chance.  Does that seem more logical than the idea that God created this world?  I just can't see that.

This weekend, I'm so thankful for the reminder of Jesus' great sacrifice for us.  He came down from His heavenly throne to live with us in our imperfect, pain-filled world.  After watching Louie's talk, I realized even more how small we are and was left wondering why God would even bother with us.  But He DID care!  He let - no, he sent - His only Son to come down to our little, tiny, insignificant planet and die, just so He wouldn't lose us forever.  That's how bad He wants a relationship with you and that's how much He loves you.  I hope you too can take a moment this weekend, between the eggs and bunnies, to let that sink in.  What an incredible God!

Happy Easter!

April showers also bring the need to read.

April's goal kind of decided itself.  This month my mind has been distracted and foggy, yet I found myself doing something I've never done before and I decided to use it as my monthly goal.  I've been burying myself in books.  Not literally, but I have been reading them, and a lot of them (at least for me).

If you know me well, you know that while I often have great aspirations for reading, I struggle to get past the 1st chapter in most books.  I'm more of a magazine reader.  In fact, I love my magazines.  I like the colorful pictures, short blurbs, and the low commitment required to read an article.  I've read very few books in my life, and even managed to get a bachelor's degree without reading all that much.  However, it's certainly not something I'm bragging about and I've always wished I would read more.

For some reason, the last several weeks have been very different for me.  I've always liked to read, but now I'm actually able to do it so I'm just going to run with it.  I've been devouring books faster than I can keep up with my magazines.  I'm not quite sure what is happening to me.  I even checked a book out from the library, which is unheard of, since the idea of finishing any book in less than 6 months is completely foreign to me.

My goal for April is to read as many books as I can (not counting Mason or Max's books) and then compile a list on my blog of the books I've read since the end of March (I started a little early).  I'm just choosing books as I go, with no particular rhyme or reason except that they pique my interest.  Once I have my final list compiled, I'll try my skills at analyzing my choices to see if there are any trends or insights I can garner.  Until then, I'm not thinking about it too much.  I'm just going to enjoy the prose.

This goal pertains to the "mental" health aspect of my overall goal.  They say reading makes you more intelligent.  Let's see if this works.