Easter Blessings

This time of year gives me joy. The warmer weather is obviously a huge bonus, but Easter holds a super special place in my heart. A few years ago we had just started attending a new church and we were LOVING it. A few weeks into our new church venture, Elijah was able to be a part of the children's Easter program. The kids went in front of church and performed sign language along with singing to Jeff Deyo's Bless The Lord while Jeff Deyo himself sang on stage behind them. I remember being so completely overwhelmed and moved as I took it all in. It was Elijah's first time performing in church. It was Easter, which obviously has precious meaning. The music was INCREDIBLE. My heart was full and I felt the Holy Spirit sink into me. After that service I was on cloud nine. As we left church, I realized that I had not previously truly known Jesus before walking into church that day. When I walked out of church, He was with me and He has been ever since. So now, every time anyone mentions Easter I feel happiness and peace. Easter 2013 was when I finally understood and felt Jesus for the first time in my life.

Despite the sickness that has been running rampant in our family for the past three months, I feel a buzz in the air. Easter is upon us. It's the third anniversary of my true understanding and also the celebration of Jesus' resurrection. And so it seems fitting that we were immensely blessed today. 

Elijah was up early as usual this morning. He was reading in the loft at 6:30 and came RUNNING into our bedroom. "MOMMY! MOMMY! Someone is furiously ringing our doorbell!" I could barely comprehend this, but knew that I should force Dan downstairs to scope things out. :) As he got dressed I peeked out the window and saw a ton of footprints in the fresh snow in our yard. I stared, confused! Who came to our house? What was going on?! Just then a car pulled up and the passenger stared at our front door. I had the thought that maybe our house was burning down or maybe someone was trying to rob us.

When we opened the front door there were three huge Easter baskets filled with goodies greeting us, along with dozens of Easter eggs (candy inside) sitting in the snow for the boys. We were filled with confusion as we pulled everything inside. The boys put their boots on and excitedly collected eggs in the near-dark. As we dug through the baskets, we realized that some very generous people had come to our house. We were completely overwhelmed by the gifts we received. We are still trying to wrap our heads around the generosity.

Dan and I have been chatting about it all day. It is hard to accept such amazing gifts or feel like we are deserving, but we DO receive them and appreciate the generosity and we will of course pay it forward. This time of year brings such major blessings! We are grateful. God is so good to us all. Blessings are ALL around us!

Thanks for peeking in! Bless you all!