Sunday, April 4, 2010

Easter Sunday

What a busy, busy weekend! Friday was a gorgeous day - Matt and I woke up early and just laid around in bed for a few hours while Gabe crawled all over us. we eventually got up and went for a walk around the block and ended up at my parents' house. We dropped our dog off and then went home to pack and left town for Calgary shortly after! It was a nice drive and went by fast and we went straight to IKEA when we hit town. After 2 hours there we managed to spend only $50 - and wrote down names for about $2000 worth of furniture "just in case". Finally we got over to see my sister, her husband and our little niece. It was so good seeing them again after they had been in Maui for two weeks! My sister and I played cards, the boys watched the game, and we all went to bed fairly late. I had some trouble sleeping that night and even though I slept in until 9 I only got about 4 hours of sleep, but it was okay. We went to the zoo in the afternoon and met up with my gorgeous cousin and her husband who had come up from Montana! It was a great trip! I love seeing my cousin, especially since it happens so rarely lately. And she's great company at the zoo! Gabe stayed awake for most of the trip this time and only started nodding off at the very end. Matt and I came back home that night and got to hang out with his family a bit before winding down for the day. We actually got to do some cheese tasting with our brother-in-law's family. Guinness cheese, a semi-soft apricot cheese, spiced gouda, a soy jalepeno cheese too. They were all really good! And they had made some ciabatta which was amazing. Eventually we went home with tired heads and full bellies :)
Then this morning hit way, way, way too early. I'd had troubles falling asleep again last night but finally managed to around 1:30 - and then I had to get up at 5:00. Matt and I were both singing in our church choir this morning and we had practice at 7 a.m. Well, I had to get myself ready (tried to tame my hair even) and then Gabe woke up and I had to get him ready to be dropped off at Grandma's at 6:30. I had a whole line of baby bottles, water bottles and travel mugs on the counter just waiting for me to doctor them up in the morning. It actually flowed really well and we were pretty much on time. The choir practice went well and then we sang for 2 services and it went great! So much fun! And I joked to Matt that this was one Sunday we'd actually be on time for service. Well, after church we stayed for our church's Easter Brunch which was fantastic! They had the most amazing stuffed french toast. mmmmmm so good! After lunch we went over to Matt's parents' place and hung out with them. And by hung out I mean I pretty much passed out on the couch from exhaustion and unfortunately let my in-laws find out first hand that I tend to drool when I'm excessively tired! Ah well, they're good sports :) Then I got to hang out with my sister-in-law while the others went for a walk (the hour and a bit walk around the block followed by the two hour walk through IKEA on Friday and the 4 hour trip to the zoo on Saturday, not to mention the fact that when I worship I bounce on my toes the whole time, left my legs rather weak and wobbly) and we made some vanilla syrup because I was craving a Zen Tea Misto. At around 6 we went to parents' place for some turkey dinner which was great. I pigged out for sure. And actually, so did Gabe! He had a baby carrot, two big scoops of peas, a handful of cheerios, 1/4 c. turnips and some turkey too! The little piggy!
Well, as fun as this weekend was there were some stressers too so it's kinda bittersweet going back into Monday. However, even though I have to work tomorrow, Matt doesn't, so that means he can help me run my errands! And the biggest way he can help is simply by sitting in the car with Gabe, sipping his 'thank you' latte I'll be buying him, while I run into the stores to do my business.
Now, it is Easter and this Sunday was an amazing time to be in the choir at our church. It was the most worshipful experience I've had in a long time. There's something about practicing songs over and over again and singing the same words a million times that can actually make you finally think about the words for once. For me it was the song In Christ Alone today. The line was this:
No power of Hell
No scheme of man
Could ever pluck
Me from His hand
Til He returns
Or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

I'm not sure why that one hit me so hard. It might have been the sense of victory about it - after all, isn't that what Easter is all about? Victory over death; a promise of hope - of everlasting Life and never-ending love. I've chose my side and I choose life. I am Christ's. I am my Beloved's and He is mine.
So have you chosen? There's really only two options: Eternal Life and Eternal Death. You'd think it'd be a no brainer eh? But it's amazing how many people can say that they believe that statement and yet still sit on the fence. Amazing might not be the right word. Sad. Alarming. Devastating. Heart-breaking.

Til He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

I choose Eternal Life.

Your move.


Mrs. Vander Leek

2 comments:

  1. Great thought-provoking words, Mrs. V. I have today off, so if there's anything you'd like help with, if you actually check this again today, I could help. Facebook me.

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  2. I love that song Stephie, whenever I sing it I tend to get choked up!

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