More than an Observance

The Lord's Supper~more than an observance, more than a ritual, more than just eating a little cracker and drinking some grape juice. I have always loved this particular observance that we as Baptists do.... I like the fellowship time, the communion aspect, but even more importantly I like the symbolic nature of the event.

So last night at church we celebrated a time of communion. And boy was it a sweet time. Our pastor did such a good job of reminding us why we do it and what it means to us. As he has said before, it is about memory care. Remembering.....

But I think this is one of the first times that I can remember that a pastor mentioned that this was not only for those who are followers of Christ, but that we need to be doing it with pure and humble hearts. With no unconfessed sin left out there to separate us. And that through Christ's worthiness are we allowed to be worthy to take part of his body and his blood.

And then he went on to talk about how in Exodus the Lord provided the manna, the bread of life for the Israelites. And how this manna was provided daily and how it laid upon the dew, not upon the ground, the dirt. Just like Christ in his perfection came to earth, but was not influenced by the sin of the world.

Once we eat the bread and drink the juice, it doesn't just fall away from us, it becomes a part of us.... You can no longer separate the two... for we have become one! What a marvelous image.

I was also struck as I was sitting there holding the little juice cup, how red the juice is... just like Christ's blood... so I know that if I spill something red on my clothing, like ketchup, just how hard that is to wash clean. There always seems to be a remnant of that ketchup left on my clothing. But only through the power of the blood, are we washed whiter than snow... no remnant of sin left, only pure, white! WOW!

The Gap

Many things come to mind when I hear those 2 little words.... The Gap.... the clothing store, the phrase "mind the gap" that you see all over London (don't step over the line in the subways), the God shaped hole that is within all of us....
But for me today, they represent the time that has elapsed since I last posted a blog......

Wherever shall I begin....2 months and a lot has happend.....

We had snow and lots of it in February! Snow icecream, snow men, snowball fights--too fun!

Then mom and I took all 3 girls on a 3,000 mile journey to Florida and South Carolina. We visited great Grandad and some great friends... the beach, Medieval Times, Gatorland....lots of fun, lots of miles, lots of memories made....

We have had egg hunts, birds stealing our Easter eggs, play dates and many more things.

Russell wrapped up basketball season and is barreling right along with track. We got to take a few days to ourselves and go to the state basketball tournament in Austin. Then over Spring Break he had some minor surgery... which he is still healing from.

So the girls got to spend 9 days with Grandma and Pappaw! Fun!

It seems as if life is never dull and always moving forward. This month we will celebrate 2 of the girls birthdays, plus my own.... wow how time flies!

Hope is wrapping up her 1st grade year. We have 2 more weeks left of ACES (homeschool coop) and she has learned an awful lot about the Civil War time period. She is active in all church activities (choir, Sunday School, and worship). And she has played lots with friends. And now that the weather is warming up, we can find her outside on her trampoline most days.

Claire is doing well. Still battling seizures almost daily, but we continue to be hopeful that we can get them back under control. For the 3rd month in a row, she has met most if not all of her short term therapy goals. She has been allowed to have a little bit of liquid by mouth again. She is starting to weight bear on her arms some and has been giggling quite a lot. She has gotten both a stander and a gait trainer as well as her own special "tomato" chair to sit with us on the floor. We are very proud of her!

Molly is still a little joy to have around. Daily she is spouting forth more words we didn't even know she knew. I think though my favorite is still yocks... (socks)... cracks me up. She is active and also loves to be outside all the time. She will follow me out the door most mornings as we take Abby out, padding along in her pjs... and asking if she can swing!

God has blessed us in some many ways..... may the rest of the year be as full of memories as the first 4 months have been. And maybe I will be better at posting more...

Enjoy the slideshow.