I Cor 1:2-3 Terms of Endearment

I COR 1:2-3

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Lord, as I come to verse two, I feel this ridiculous urge to try to sound like some expert…to sound like I already know what I’m here to learn.  What a joke.  Lord, I’m like a toddler grabbing her Daddy’s glasses and thinking I’m all grown up.  I’M HERE TO LEARN!  Suddenly, there’s no pressure.  Leaving pretense in the trash is pretty sweet freedom and I think I like it.  Lord, could you come into verse two with me?  Thank you so much.

CALLED as an apostle (vs 1),  saints by CALLING,  with all who in every place CALL on the name…

That word “call” has caused me more misery than maybe any word in the Bible.  Becoming a Christian at age 10 has meant being under some pretty awesome teachers.  But the message from the Type A driven people was always “Find out what God’s CALL on your life is and go for it!”  Seeing that word 3 times all at once literally makes my chest constrict.  I’ve never been able to figure out what my calling is!  And the LAST thing I feel is verse 3:  grace and peace from God our Father AND the Lord Jesus Christ.

What does that word mean really?  Call…  Is it a vocation?  A job?  Your voice, God?  A mandate? 

“I would love to know the greek meaning behind each of these forms of the word call.  Maybe I can look it up.”

So I found this:   call. [Tois epikaloumenois to onoma.] That these words ought not to be rendered passively, is evident from the LXX., who translate the phrase [yikra be-shem,] 'he shall call on the name' which is active, by [epikalesetai en onomati Theou,] or [en onomati Kyriou.]

WHAT?!!!

Seriously!  Why are those who study Greek such horrible communicators!?

Why does every translation assume we know what this means?
OK, yes of course I could spout off the “dictionarical” answer and get a perfectly high score, but there’s something here I want.  But it’s on the top shelf, just out of reach. 

Skim through this:

call
kôl/
verb
verb: call; 3rd person present: calls; past tense: called; past participle: called; gerund or present participle: calling
1.    1.
cry out to (someone) in order to summon them or attract their attention.
"she heard Terry calling her"
synonyms:    cry out, cry, shout, yell, hail, bellow, roar, bawl, vociferate;
informalholler
"“Wait for me!” she called"
o    cry out (a word or words).
"he heard an insistent voice calling his name"
synonyms:    cry out, cry, shout, yell, hail, bellow, roar, bawl, vociferate;
informalholler
"“Wait for me!” she called"
o    (of an animal, especially a bird) make its characteristic cry.
o    shout out or chant (the steps and figures) to people performing a square dance or country dance.
o    telephone (a person or telephone number).
"could I call you back ?"
synonyms:    phone, telephone, get someone on the phone, give someone a call, give someone a ring, give someone a buzz
"I'll call you tomorrow"
o    summon (something, especially an emergency service or a taxicab) by telephone.
"if you are suspicious, call the police"
synonyms:    summon, send for, assemble, muster, invite, order
"dinner's ready—call the kids"
o    bring (a witness) into court to give evidence.
o    archaic
inspire or urge (someone) to do something.
"I am called to preach the Gospel"
o    fix a date or time for (a meeting, strike, or election).
synonyms:    convene, summon, assemble;
formalconvoke
"the vice president called a meeting"
o    guess the outcome of tossing a coin.
"“You call,” he said. “Heads or tails?”"
o    predict the result of (a future event, especially an election or a vote).
"in the Northeast, the race remains too close to call"
o    Computing
cause the execution of (a subroutine).
2.    2.
give (an infant or animal) a specified name.
"they called their daughter Hannah"
synonyms:    name, christen, baptize; More
designate, style, term, dub;
formaldenominate
"they called their son Liam"
o    have a specified name.
"she is called Eva"
o    address or refer to (someone) by a specified name, title, endearment, or term of abuse.
"please call me Lucy"
o    refer to, consider, or describe (someone or something) as being.
"he's the only person I would call a friend"
synonyms:    describe as, regard as, look on as, consider to be
"yes, I would call him a friend"
o    (of an umpire or other official in a game) pronounce (a ball, stroke, or other action) to be the thing specified.
"the linesman called the ball wide"
3.    3.
(of a person) pay a brief visit.
"he called around last night looking for you"
o    stop to pick up (someone) at the place where they are living or working.
"I'll call for you around seven"
synonyms:    require, need, necessitate; More
justify, warrant
"desperate times call for desperate measures"
noun
noun: call; plural noun: calls
1.    1.
a cry made as a summons or to attract someone's attention.
"in response to the call, a figure appeared"
synonyms:    cry, shout, yell, roar, scream, exclamation, vociferation;
informalholler
"I heard calls from the auditorium"
o    the characteristic cry of a bird or other animal.
synonyms:    cry, song, sound
"the call of the loon"
o    a series of notes sounded on a brass instrument as a signal to do something.
"a bugle call to rise at 5:30"
o    a telephone communication or conversation.
"I'll give you a call at around five"
synonyms:    phone call, telephone call, ring;
informalbuzz
"I'll give you a call tomorrow"
o    an appeal or demand for.
"the call for action was welcomed"
synonyms:    appeal, request, plea, entreaty More
"a call for party unity"
summons, request
"the last call for passengers on flight 701"
o    a summons.
"a messenger arrived bringing news of his call to the throne"
synonyms:    summons, request
"the last call for passengers on flight 701"
o    a vocation.
"his call to be a disciple"
o    a powerful force of attraction.
"hikers can't resist the call of the Sierras"
synonyms:    attraction, appeal, lure, allure, spell, pull, draw
"the call of the sea"
o    a demand or need for (goods or services).
"there was little call for work as sophisticated as his"
synonyms:    demand, desire, market
"there's no call for expensive wine here"
o    Computing
a command to execute a subroutine.
o    a shout by an official in a game indicating whether the ball has gone out of play, a rule has been breached, etc.; the decision or ruling so made.
"the replay shows that the umpire made a bad call"
o    Bridge
a bid, response, or double.
o    a direction in a square dance given by the caller.
o    a demand for payment of lent or unpaid capital.
o    Stock Market
short for call option.
o    a player's right or turn to make a bid in a card game.
2.    2.
a brief visit.
"we paid a call on Howard"
synonyms:    visit, social call
"he paid a call on Harold"
o    a visit or journey made in response to an emergency appeal for help.
"the doctor was out on a call"
Origin

late Old English ceallian, from Old Norse kalla ‘summon loudly.’

https://www.google.com/search?q=definintion+of+call&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=sb

----------------------------  Enough of that.........

When you put any of the highlighted definition into the verses where the word call is used, it gets interesting.  Maybe not accurately translated from the Greek, but maybe not so far away.

called: inspired or urged, a term of endearment,

    ….grace and peace from (the calling voice of) God (our loving) Father


Maybe my role in being called is just to hear His voice.  Maybe if I get really in tune with recognizing the sound of His voice, then I’ll be daily ready to do whatever He asks of me today.

Maybe grace and peace are found there.  People can’t call themselves.  A call comes from a source apart from me.  Well, if that source is God, then He’s pretty able to inspire and summon me as He sees fit.

Maybe I’m called to “availability” to God my Father and ....  WHOA.  PAUSE!

I’ve been so hung up on the word call that I missed something.  Yes, the word “call” is there three times, but encasing that word is another set of words listed 3, no 4, times:  Look, Lydia.  SEE this!

To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

He’s there in my confusion.  There surrounding that frustrating word.  There with all of us together.  This is a “we” thing.  A “we” meaning “me with Jesus” and a “we” thing, meaning I’m part of the church.  That word call is all wrapped up in Jesus! 

(But Lord, I’ve failed at MOPS.  Failed at being a long term Bible Study Leader.  Failed at being long term Marriage Ministries leader.  Failed at painting consistently.  Failed at blogging consistently.  Failed at having a quiet time consistently.  Failed at exercising, eating right, budgeting, cleaning my house, finishing ANYthing.  Failed at being on any team long term…)
Whatever my call is, it has to be done WITH others,  WITH Jesus!

Lord Jesus, if you wish to give me a life call or just a friendly lunch with a friend call, help me answer “yes”.  Thank you that I don’t have to call myself, or name myself, or create myself, or compare myself.  Maybe the only call I really need is to hear you call… my name.  Today, I need to work, fix my mom's birthday dinner, and tile a backsplash.  Could I do this WITH you, please?



Thanks for showing up.  I'm still nervous about that word "call" but I'll leave that with you to handle in me, because I for sure don't know how.  I love you. 

 - The beginning -

Whoa, wait. WHO is Sosthenes?

I Corinthians 1:1

Here we go.  Reading 1 Corinthians.  Face value. 

1Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

OK, stop right there.  How many times have I read these intros from Paul and skimmed over them?  And who the heck is Sosthenes?!!!!

“Our brother.”  Hmmm…  I know Paul had traveling companions and people who served as scribes.  But he doesn’t say who Sosthenes is.

But here’s this name.  It’s like all those names in the movie credits that we walk out on and yet they get credit for the work that they did.  If God almighty chose to put his name in the WORD OF GOD, then it strikes me… “God sees”

I recently had an experience where I found a talent supplier for a job we were doing.  I was the contact.  I set the meeting up.  Then when the meeting came, I naturally deferred to my boss.  But the shift was awkward in that suddenly I did not exist anymore.  It was actually comical to my boss and me.  Whether or not this contact gets hired or not was and is still totally up to me.  Whether or not I was noticed did not make or break any authority I had been given.  In that light, it just makes me wonder who Sosthenes was.  “Be kind to the receptionist.  She may be the vice president.”

When Jesus comes back, we will all defer to Him!!!!  We will be nothing.  And yet, He knows our names!  He sees the individual!  Sosthenes!

If Sos is there while Paul is writing this letter, then his opinions and input are possibly all over this letter!

Sosthenes, the invisible… but not to God.

So I’ve looked up “Sosthenes” in my Bible software.  Can I be embarrassed to just now realize that part of the book of Acts took place in Corinth?  Paul was there preaching in the synagogue.  He gets totally frustrated with the Jews and stomps out saying, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."  As a mom, I TOTALLY get this.

But God calls him back and says don’t give up.  So Paul stays a year and half preaching.  That’s a lot of preaching!  Then the Jews complain to the secular authority, Gallio, who says not to bother him with religious stuff and to settle it themselves.  Then this verse,

Acts 18:17  Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.

Oh Beth Moore, where are you?  When was the book of 1 Corinthians written in relation to this? 

Names are important in the Bible. So what does Sosthenes mean?

One source said,  “The name Sosthenes is a Biblical baby name. In Biblical the meaning of the name Sosthenes is: Savior, strong, powerful'.”

Other sources said “of safe strength” or “saving strength”.

Lord, thank you for Sosthenes.  He was somehow a huge part of building your church.  Thank you for the part he played in writing your word to us… to me.  When you see him next, please tell him a mom in the state of Washington noticed and is thankful… Oh, and that my name is Lydia.

Wow, Lord…only 17 words into 1 Corinthians and I’m blown away.

Thank you.

Love,  Lydia

P.S.  Thanks, Lord, for noticing me.

drip...drip...drip

I'm a slow processor.  But that's ok.  Some of us were put here on earth to make sure people see the tiny things -  the single snowflake, the baby's eyelash that holds the kiss of a rainbow.

I've been called mystic, poetic, artistic... and oddly, it always strikes me as funny because I feel basically..well, pretty plain.  I'm horrible at small talk.  I never really know what to wear.  I often feel like everyone got a memo on the basic things and all I can do is decorate it.  It's like they are speaking this other beautiful language that I always understood but couldn't speak.  (Kind of like being an American in England; some words just don't translate the same.)

HOWEVER!  I am about to read 1 Corinthians.  I know, right?  Not exactly headline material for a blog.

To start this remarkable journey, I'm going to let you read my mail, literally.  I'm going to paste in an email I just wrote to a soul mate a couple of days ago.  It pretty much says why I'm going to blog about reading 1 Corinthians.

Here it is:

Dearest exhausted friend,

I'm so sorry your work is eating you.  I'm asking God to show you why you can't shut it off.

Me?  I just finally sat down with Him and told Him I didn't want to be there.  He calls daily.  I see His number on my caller ID.  I know it's not a sales call.  I know that name is someone I love, but I don't pick up.  He leaves a message through a sermon, an article, a book.  But it's not the same as a conversation.

I don't want to talk about what I assume He'll nail me with.  The poorly maintained, dirty and dusty me that is showing inside and out.  I literally have not vacuumed but once the whole summer.

But now with Davis gone, I'm aching to want him to call and just tell me about his day.  I text him now and then, but I ache for him to just call for no reason but to talk.

drip.  I'm starting to get it.

    But I've avoided Him for so long.  He even sends prophets and miracles, but I won't just sit and talk.  Why would He lavish me with love that way?

    drip.  This dried out weary me/soul is starting to notice I'm thirsty.

        I've decided, no I've realized I want to, blog through the book of 1Corinthians.  I'm going to blog as a somewhat introverted, prone to depression, 50 something, never quite dressed well mom.  I'm going to take it at face value and assume God knows Himself better than even Beth Moore or Francis Chan or even Mother Theresa know Him.  I'm going to assume that if He says something is bad.... it's bad.  I'm going to assume that if He says "Do this",  then I should just do it.  I'm going to assume that if He describes Himself a certain way, then He really is that way.  I'm going to take it at face value and assume the Bible is Truth.

        I'm going to assume that I'll be wrong sometimes.  I'm going to assume that it won't matter because as long as I keep reading His word, He'll show me where I'm off.  I'm going to assume He actually wants me to know Him for our sake, mine and His.

        And if, in the end, I think He's a fake... I can walk away.  But I've known Him just enough and for too long to think that will actually be the case.  And yet I'm going in with that freedom.

    I'm going to take I Corinthians one verse at a time - for ME.  This may take a month - or the rest of my life.  I have no idea and I refuse to let it matter.  I'm reading it as Lydia Crouch...

What's so special about 1Corinthians?  I have no idea.  Guess I'll find out!

OK, I just spewed.  Sorry about that.  Want a towel?

May just copy and paste this as my blog post.  LOL

I love you!







So... I'll see you tomorrow probably.  I'll meet you at verse one. 

Kisses,

Lydia

... I adore "re"

I love "re" in front of words.  REstore.  REcreate. REpurpose! REmodel!

I love it more now because of my keys which REappeared!


21 days ago,  I lost my keys. Within those 21 days, we took senior photos, I was offered a job, Davis got strep and missed his senior choir concert.  Yeah, it's been "big" around here lately.

But my keys, I really lost them.

I've had that key ring since I was in high school.

I felt sick.  I knew the window of time I lost them.

I was beat tired.  I drove to school to get Davis.  We were on a mission to take his senior portrait. We left the van for my husband and took off in Ramsey, our debt free volvo.  Davis drove, I was sleepy.

 First we went to the stables where he has a job mucking stalls.  My dad designed the beautiful barn.  I used to do decorative painting for the people who built it.  New owners now....   I took a quick nap then got out with foggy brain to throw a tennis ball for the dogs and meet the horses.  Love that.

Then we took off for one of my very favorite roads.  We Crouch's are not farmers.  Ha!, we're not even gardeners... but we adore living in farmland.  Our friends farm this land.  Our dentist is at the end of this road.  It's the kind of place you park and walk down.  Perfect for senior pics. 

Perfect for losing keys.

The day grew warm.  I started shedding layers.  We got a phone call while we were driving to this beautiful road.

It was a day wrecking phone call.

Davis was asked to be the youth leader for the next high school missions trip to Haiti.  After just one phone call, he was no longer the leader.  It was simply a matter of dates.  The new dates will require the students to miss two full weeks of school.  Davis will be away at college and we can't let Laina go either.

We park the car.  OK, try to smile Davis. 

Yeah, right, Mom.

So, we talk.

We talk about packing up a suitcase for college and leaving the comfortable chair from home.  We talk about how things that don't make sense can free us to be "fully there" for the place God is calling us to.

We talk about hurt, and pain, and confusion, and rejection.

We talk about how God is always leading us to the best even if we have to forgo something truly good to get there.

We talk about words spoken and how we hang on to them, but only God's words are unfailing.

We both cry.  Then somehow, we both start trusting.




And we're HERE.  This is our moment to capture a moment.

The sadness is still behind his eyes.  It's where a mother can see it.  But the sky is clearing.

I start asking God to REstore my child's dreams.

Lord, REfocus his vision right now to see what You see for him.

He begins to see it.  He realizes how hard it would be to have his heart divided between Canada and Haiti, much less his time... and his focus.

We talk.  I keep clicking.  Let's pull some more out of your trunk... your guitar.  "What do you want me to do, Mom?"   I aim and click.... "Just play, Bud."

He starts to play and realizes he needs to REtune.  Nothing's wrong with him.  Nothing's wrong with the guitar.  Music is just like that.  Instruments get effected by the circumstances around them.  Hot cars, even beautiful days.

I click.  I watch.  I click.  I pray.  The light begins to shift and catch more color.  I smile.

There's the chord.  The one that's got the sweet spot in it.

And there it is.  My son doing what he was born to do.

I forget everything but "right now".  Wow, click, we get to capture this miracle.  This moment when my son sees the bigger picture of Your Son, even in the middle of huge disappointment. 

And then I see it.  

There it is.  Just there at the corners of his mouth.  There's this micro expression he's had since he was a baby.  It shows up when he figures something out.  It's that moment when traces of determination yield to realizing that he's got it.  It was there when he learned to tie his shoes, when he jumped off a high wall, when he got a text from a good friend.  It shows up.

 

I keep clicking, opening the car door, walking up and down the road.  Leaning over tall grass.  Running ahead to capture the angle.  Keys?  What keys?  I'm all in the moment.  So grateful even through the ache.  I watch my son just be himself even as he yields to my ideas for the next angle.

And I watch him begin to focus on the road ahead.  We took LOTS more shots.  And somewhere on that busy day, I lost my keys.  I adapted, but didn't know what to do.  The missing keys made me feel like a failure and reminded me daily of my hard and beautiful day with Davis.  It's not the keys themselves.  It's what they open that I cherish.  I asked friends to pray.  And then there they were!  In a pocket I could swear I checked at least four or five times!  REstored to me, the joy REjoiced.   And I think of this path I'm on with Christ.  REpentance.  REstored.  REnewed.  New!  RE'd.  

 

...fiction and folds

So why do I love fiction so much? 

To me, not liking fiction is like saying "I don't like chocolate."  WHAT? 

But there are good friends of mine who don't like either fiction or chocolate and they are totally wonderful, normal people.  But hey, I don't like math.  Why?

Because it's too unclear.  That's right.  Unclear!  ...at least for a brain like mine.

I mean seriously, you give a brain like mine a word problem (I remember this one vividly!) like this:

If Mr. Brown walked 3 miles in one hour, how long would it take him to walk 18 miles?

Seriously?  How can I possibly answer that?  I need more information!  Did he take a nap?  Was the road more uphill, thus slowing him down at some point?  Did he stop for lunch? 

18 miles is a LONG walk!  He'd have to stop for at least water? 

I vividly remember where I sat in the classroom and where my mind went with that question.  My imagination was watching Mr. Brown, in his brown tweed suit with his tie loosened, walk down the road.  It was a country dirt road with a gorgeous spring green meadow on the left side.  Mr. Brown was in his 70's but in very fit condition.  He noticed with peaceful delight the perfect shade tree where he could take a mid-day nap. 

He was very well educated, maybe even a college professor.  But his wisdom came from not missing the moment. 

I instantly loved Mr. Brown.

How long did it take him?  WHO CARES?!  (You're laughing at me, but I'm grinning back.)

See, fiction is like a folded napkin.

Yes, a napkin is made for a purpose.  To protect your clothes and wipe your mouth, thus protecting your fellow diners from an unpleasant view.  ;)

... but if you take a boring photo, a boring napkin.  And then realize....

...someone, somewhere, chose to add color to a napkin.  And that one simple change to the utilitarian item inspired me.

I saw something I've never tried before!

Margaret (my artist friend and mother of the mom-to-be) and I found these fun little safari pencils and some just-too-cute little paper flowers that we chose to combine to give as party favors.  So...

Fiction = What if?

And then...

Oh, hey... these are feeling "sweet jungle safari party"...

Wouldn't it be fun to bouquet them somehow?

Sometimes the simplest things...

Get me SO excited!

Fiction...  take an ordinary Mr. Brown.  Add a twist.  A fold.  Some spring green.  

Maybe we were made for more than just getting things done.

The greatest storyteller of all time said, "Consider the lillies..... and don't worry so much." 

Matthew 6:28-29  "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.…

I'm just saying, there's nothing wrong with counting the flowers

...  just don't forget to smell them!

love, Lydia


©2014 Lydia D. Crouch

...people on my path

This year has been a season of new people on my path.  New doctors, young mothers in MOPS, new kids in SHOW&TELL Family Projects, staff turnovers at church, another crop of new drivers in town including my own daughter.

Tonight we open another show, "This Ain't Broadway, Betty!" and to be honest I'm so tired, I hope I remember my lines.  But the thing is, it's not about me.  It's about these people in my path.

Between having a senior, a full-time non-profit, a desire to paint, a very active church, a driving daughter and a husband who is constantly moving forward, plus being a mentor mom at MOPS... it's been busy.  And yet I spend hours by myself.  And hours being very tired.

I find myself going so hard, so fast to get things done for people that when they show up on my path I tend to see them as obstacles instead of friends.  The black mark of the perfectionist.

I took a nap today while a show was playing.  One of the main characters died and it was a true tragedy.  I woke up thinking,  if I were to die and be resuscitated, I actually know what I would say.  It would be this,

"I want to live.  But I want to live differently.  I want to enjoy small things, recognize the people who turn up on my path as destinations rather than obstacles.  I want to welcome help, even if I'm embarrassed that I need it.  I want to laugh more.  Breathe more. And listen.  Listen better."

Then I read this quote from the school my son will be attending next year.

Valedictorian, Jason Thomassen (BA Biblical Studies; Dip Youth Work), addressed the class of 2014 with an encouragement to lead and teach with love. "Like [the Apostle] Paul, grads, I pray that we never forget this simple message of loving others, in the midst of theology, education and knowledge, we are faced with the temptation to teach the world all that we know, but let us not forget to love the world, for in love, as Jesus reminds us, the law is fulfilled, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment."

There it is.  That's what I want.  I do not want to be stale.  I want to ask hard questions and not require the answer to be given in my narrow format requirements.

I want to be grateful for the patience of God with me while I sort out hard issues that frustrate me.  I want to see Him in a whole new way.

There are things I don't want to give up.  Excess sugar for one.  I find myself being mad at God for the consequences of my poor choices.  hmmmm.... rather childish of me, I think.

And there ... right there....is the point where we all have to turn inward or outward.  When I look at the world as if it's all about me then it becomes a confining, irritating, shriveled up lonely place.  Even looking out the window is not enough.  Still too safe.  I won't be able to feel the wind unless I step outside.

Loving God, and loving others is a bit like stepping outside.  

There are people in my path and I plan to stop and appreciate them today.

Love, Lydia

©2014 Lydia D. Crouch

... a spin of light

I've only got a few seconds before I have to fix breakfast, so I'll make this quick.

I am blessed.  You are blessed.  That's just a fact.  We can run from it, throw dirt at it, enjoy it, bathe in it.  It's totally up to us.  But the deal is EASTER IS A FACT.

I love EASTER.  It changes everything!

Every year, we Crouches blow out eggs and dye them.  I keep them and decorate! 

Celebrate!

Remember my children as splattered happy faces, as dreamers, as more skilled designers, as reluctant then happy easter egg dye factories.

We haven't died eggs this year.  We're so so so busy, I don't know if we will.  That's a bit sad for me and can send me into a gray zone.

But I am still blessed.  EASTER IS A FACT.

It's like this.  The light came streaming through the window a couple a days ago and lit up my little thrown together display.

Every item on the display is mine.  Every item, now that I think about it, was a gift! 

The lamb was from Gail on a trip to Virginia. 










 The basket from my mom.  The blessed sign is a mystery!

It appeared in my home and I then saw it appear in friends' homes.  None of us know who it's from.  I LOVE IT! 









The hurricane vase from my sweet husband.  The Easter eggs from my family.

It's been this way for a month maybe.  I like looking at it.  Sometimes I ignore it.  Whether I look at it or not doesn't change the fact that those items are mine...  given to me to be enjoyed.

Some days are gray and depressing.  The gifts don't look as pretty somehow. 

But the gift is still every bit a gift as it will ever be.

BUT THE LIGHT!  EASTER!  IT CHANGES EVERY BLADE OF GRASS!

 THE LAMB!  Sacrificed. 

FACT.  So that my sin can be passed over.  I am blessed!

EASTER!  FACT.  A resurrection that some would deny because it doesn't make sense, makes their wine a little bitter, makes their unanswered prayers make sense.... "If Jesus never rose then the fact that he didn't do what I ask (didn't obey me) works out for me. "

But He did.  Whether I agree with His decisions or not changes as I get closer to realizing just how powerful his love is.  Some of the hugest "no's" have become the brightest "yes's" to something better as I waited, cried, saw things die.  Then He brought those dreams to resurrected, changed, life!  Not what I thought He would do.  BETTER!

Some days, this is all crystal clear. 

I will stop and look hard when that happens.  I will notice the leaves on the basket, even the shadow play on the wall.  Brandish it on my retina so that I can remember how much difference the Light makes.

 I read a phenomenal verse recently and one phrase came to light.  I Cor 5:6-8 says:  (my thoughts in paranthesis)

Your boasting (about accepting immorality within the church) is not good.   (Hmmmm... not very politically correct.  But that's not where I'm going.  I'm not to judge those outside the body according to the rest of the chapter.  But this is talking about my family.)  Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? 7Get rid of the old yeast  ( ...so I immediately feel guilty and view my mental playback video of the areas of yeast I need to work on so that "I might please God with my excellent Christian behavior"), so that you may be a new unleavened batch  (at least it's possible) 
 —as you really are.   (WHOAH!  WAIT!  WHAT WAS THAT!!!!????)  

I didn't make that up.  That's what it says.  Here we are messing up big time and letting yeast infect bread that was made to last the journey instead of molding and rotting.  HOW CAN HE SAY THAT'S HOW WE REALLY ARE?  I seriously wonder if there's a typo here.  And then I read the next words.




For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

 ...who I really am is a fact because I have believed on His name.  This is how He sees me.  That blows me away.  The sacrifice I feel I have to make to be accepted is a lie.  He's the one who made the sacrifice.  Sure there's some work I need to do, but what's my little penny in the pond compared to that thing He did on the cross.


 8Therefore let us keep the Festival  (CELEBRATE!), not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

 May you celebrate Easter the way I plan to....   AS YOU REALLY ARE!

love, Lydia


©2014 Lydia D. Crouch