Happy Resurrection Day!

"Why are you looking in a tomb for someone who is alive? He isn't here! He has risen from the dead! Don't you remember what he told you back in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men and be crucified, and that he would rise again the third day?"
Luke 24:5-7


What an incredible story! Matthew and I began this morning by having our Sunday School class read of the resurrection in the book of Luke. Today's focus was on the gift of salvation, and the lesson related salvation to a "parachute" - meaning, when we make the jump from this life to the next, we can have a parachute of salvation, guaranteeing a safe landing into eternity. We can choose to wear this parachute, appreciate it, and understand its purpose - or we can grab a parachute because we believe it will enhance enjoyment in our life. If we choose a parachute for the latter reason, it won't be long before we shrug it off at the first sign of problems, difficulty, or pain. When we have an understanding of our parachute (salvation), we push through trials and tribulation because we know the parachute on our backs serves an eternal purpose, one that gives us a hope and peace. We had the class brainstorm reasons why people don't want to accept a parachute and also the benefits to having one. A student brought up a good point when she said, "I would want others on my plane ride to have a parachute too. I would tell them about it!" Her statement made me smile because that is exactly what Jesus told the disciples to do after the resurrection, when he ascended up into Heaven. He told them to go and spread the news with all nations, so they may have life. We can't just sit back with our parachutes and ride in neutral - we must share as we were commanded to do. Our Sun. School class had a lot of good things to share today. We ended with prayer and another youth prayed something that is so very true: "Let us remember the significance of Easter every day, not just today..."


Our church service was nice as we all joined in singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today," wearing our pretty Easter Sunday clothes :) It's certainly been a day of joy and thanksgiving. Matthew and I took some photos down by the lake after the service. We plan on sending them out to family as a Spring Greetings postcard later this week. This is what we decided on:




We ate a wonderful, filling meal at Cracker Barrel and then headed home for a relaxing afternoon. We decorated the four eggs I had boiled earlier in the week with tissue paper (it seemed like a good idea in the magazine, but I was reminded that they are professionals...) Our eggs are cute, we just have to remember to throw them out before we leave to visit my family in NC on Wednesday or else our apartment will not be pleasant when we return! After decorating, Matthew had me hunt for my Easter basket. It took me about 20 minutes or so and it was filled with delicious Godiva chocolate and some jelly beans! He made the "basket" himself out of neat scrapbook paper. It's something he wanted me to be able to reuse, and I certainly will. It's quite creative.


After hanging out here, we left and headed to Wal Mart to have our Spring Greeting picture printed out. We then got some ice cream from Marble Slab. I came inside just a little bit ago from sitting down by the pool with my sweet husband. We were eating our ice cream, playing some card games, and just enjoying each other's company. I'll be off to bed soon, wondering whether or not I'll get called to sub tomorrow. Hopefully one day soon this little stress will be gone because I will have a class to call my own :) One day...

Happy Easter!

Are you being productive?

My husband shared with me several years ago that before he falls asleep at night, he does a bit of reflecting to determine whether or not he had a productive day. He told me that he considers what he accomplished during the day, apart from fulfilling his expected role at work. Did he work to bring glory to God and go out of his way to reach out to others? Did he have purposeful, meaningful conversations with God, me, family, and friends? Did he seize opportunities and use his God-given talent of creativity with film/photography in some way? Days that he didn't feel he was as productive as he could've been, it reflected in his voice to me over the phone at night. He didn't like going to bed knowing he could've done more with the day God had given him.

Off and on since we had that conversation a while ago, I think about my productivity and the time that is wasted. Take today for example... I didn't get a sub job although I searched again online this morning hoping a 1/2 day would pop up. Instead I had a day here at the apartment. I did some laundry, dishes, took out the trash and browsed around on the computer. I also went out for a little bit and found me an Easter dress for Sunday ($50 on sale for $25!) Now it's almost time for me to leave to tutor for two hours and I think about all the other things I could've done today had I planned and prioritized accordingly. I've been wanting to write letters and mail them out, sew or crochet gift items, read my book, etc. Days like this one do and will continue to happen - like getting wrapped up in little things and pushing more important tasks aside "just because." I haven't thought about that conversation with my husband in a while, and today I was reminded of it as I said to myself (more frequently over the past week) "where does the time go?!" I realize that fewer days such as this one will result in a much more fruitful and productive me! I desire to reach out and take advantage of opportunities God gives me - whether the day be super busy or slow...

Ok, enough of me trying to get my thoughts in order. The point I need to grasp and remember is each day is a gift and I can choose to be productive - accomplishing things with a purpose - or I can let opportunities and time pass me by. There are so many character qualities mentioned in the Bible that I desire to have and continually build. Wasting time is not a character builder :)

Aside from those thoughts, I am off to tutor once more. I am getting extra hours with some of my students this week because it's their Spring Break and their parents want them to have something to do. I also subbed yesterday at a school I enjoy going to and walked away with four more days in the near future! Then when I got home, I got an e-mail about babysitting 3 days straight in May (the pay is better and easier than subbing - yay!) and also an e-mail from a teacher asking me to sub for her class again this Friday. Although I find subbing stressful at times, I am so thankful for the jobs that come up.

*Here is a project I created on Monday. It didn't take me near as long as I expected and I am pleased with the end result! It'll be a great wedding keepsake made from one of the North Carolina newspapers that our wedding announcement was in.

Finally

Everyday for the last week or so, I've been wanting to put up a new post. I even went so far as to bring my computer to my babysitting job last Saturday so I could type while she was sleeping. It didn't happen. I wasn't feeling well and opted to just read instead. Then this past week I was busy subbing each day and tutoring at night. Excuses, excuses... no good. Time gets away from me!

This is going to be a short post because Matthew and I want to continue spending quality time together tonight. Today has been one of the most relaxing Saturdays we've had. We awoke to no alarm and spontaneously decided to go out for breakfast. I remembered that there was a local farmer's market I've been wanting to check out near a cafe I wanted to try, so we headed there first. It was in the quaint, historic district of Longwood. The farmer's market was small, much like the other ones around our area, and we set about browsing as we usually do. Today we came across homemade jams/spreads. Our eyes were drawn to the unique printed paper covering the tops of the jars and after chatting with the lady behind the table, we walked away with a small jar of pear jelly. It's quite delicious! When I sampled it, I was reminded of my Nanny (mom's mother) who would fix us a wonderful breakfast when we stayed with her in Virginia. We'd have biscuits 'n gravy, fruit, eggs, sausage, and pear preserves. I'd scoop out several spoonfuls of the pear to eat by itself.




We soon left the farmer's market and crossed the street to Nellie's cafe, a charming, family owned restaurant. There was only one lady working our table and just two other tables that were occupied. I ordered biscuits with gravy and Matthew had wonderful French Dutch toast, made from some sort of apple bread, with homemade honey pecan butter. Our breakfast was very satisfying :) Our morning had this small town feel to it that we absolutely loved and were surprised to find.

At noon we met with potential clients who are getting married in October. They're wanting our services for videography, which is wonderful! It's a blessing to have jobs like that come up because they're so few and far between - especially with the economy the way it is. We did just do a wedding last Sunday (the ceremony started over an HOUR late and lasted ALL day!) Having business is a good thing and I love working with Matthew at events like that. Hopefully wherever we move will provide us with a good base for new clientele.

Following our meeting, we ran errands and came back to our apartment to quickly pack a picnic for Wekiva Springs State Park. We hadn't been there before and wanted to spend the last couple hours of daylight outside. I love parks and it was so peaceful. It was an unusually comfortable day for Florida, so being outside wasn't unpleasant. Matthew and I sat on a blanket playing cards and drinking iced tea. Perfect... until the sun went away and the bugs decided our skin would be their feast. That was our cue to leave.

Now we're home and wanting to use our fryer we received as a wedding present. It'll be a new experience for both of us. I think we will follow up our time in the kitchen by cuddling on the couch to watch a movie. It's been a beautiful day.