Easter break

As I begin this post, Stephen and I have an hour and a hoped-for good night rest remaining in his spring break. Then it's back to work for us. We traveled to Georgia (with a stop in Tennessee) to visit our immediate and extended Shipp relatives as well as the Wiley family and the Thorntons. We had amazing southern food. I think I gained about a hundred pounds with all the barbeque, biscuits, desserts and grilled burgers we ate, although we did try to "tip the scales" somewhat by hiking and biking in the great outdoors.

This spring I have had a heightened appreciation for God as Creator. Visiting DC during the Cherry Blossom peak, Tennessee while the wildflowers were in full bloom, Georgia in the midst of azalea season and the National Arboretum when the dogwoods where flowering, all within a two-week period, inspired awe in the creative majesty of our Creator. At Callaway Gardens' horticulture center, we were struck by the varied design of plants and trees to survive in different climates. For His own pleasure and the enjoyment of man, God made created things both interesting and beautiful.

On Easter Sunday, the sermon was a special blessing. It was very thought provoking and encouraging. Pastor Steve spoke about the Resurrection how our bodies will be resurrected at the last day. We were designed with a body and a soul; created to live on the earth. And there will be a day when we will have a resurrected body and live in a new heaven and a new earth. There is a lot more I could say and even more I want to think through. It was just fascinating to me to be reminded that God created us and redeemed us soul and body, not just the former. The sermon challenged my picture of heaven as simply celestial bodies floating on clouds. I don't know what heaven will look like, but God tells us we will live with Him eternally -one day with a resurrected body in a new earth where there will be NO sin, tears or death. What a wonderful hope!

We spent Easter evening with Thomas and Carrie Wiley and David Handermann. We had a great time catching up with them, laughing at fun memories, talking about education (Stephen and Carrie being teachers now), expressing desire for reconcialiation at PHC and thinking through our response to it all and many other topics too numerous to list. We are blessed with wise and godly friends. Thomas and Carrie spent the night and introduced us to Firefly (a short-lived tv series that resulted in the recent movie, Serenity). It has some of the best dialogue ever. After they left this afternoon, Stephen and I tried to see if Blockbuster had it in stock. Nope. So, I guess we'll have to get the rest of the series through Netflix.

Well, my hour of blogging (and reading blogs) is up. Good night all!