On this Good Friday, I pray we reflect on the love that Jesus Christ gave us by willingly giving his life for us and the eternal grace HE gave us by dying on the cross! Jesus' death was not the end, but Praise Jesus; it is the beginning of Hope, Forgiveness, and Eternal Life! So, today, no matter what wrongs you have done, Jesus paid it all in full! We don't deserve it and definitely haven't earned it, but HE offers it to us for free if we just believe and surrender all to HIM!
All HE asks is that we let HIM come into our hearts. If you haven't yet asked, I want to share a Salvation prayer that you can say right now. It is that simple—just ask HIM to come in to stay!
Salvation Prayer
Jesus, thank You for my redemption and for being my Redeemer. Thank you for paying me a price that is greater than anything I know or can imagine. Thank You for being my Lord, making me a part of Your family, calling me Your friend, and making it possible for me to place my life into the Father's care and keeping. What a privilege I have to honor and glorify You each day. Heavenly Father, I come to You in the Name of Jesus.
Your Word says, "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved".
Acts 2:21
I am calling on You. I pray and ask Jesus to come into my heart and be Lord over my life.
Romans 10:9-10
You were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and spirit, which are God's.
1 Corinthians 6:20
As our family gathers and we do the our Easter traditions together...baskets, hunting eggs, etc, we always take time together to consider the miracle of Christ's Resurrection, we are so grateful for HIS life and sacrifice for us. I pray this Easter, with all the Newness of Spring, that it brings you joy and HIS new mercies that HE blesses us each new day!
Easter Weekend is here!
Together, let's rejoice in our Risen Savior!
I wanted to wish you all a blessed, Happy Easter. I am looking forward to being with family and observing together the greatest sacrifice that Jesus made so we could be saved! Of course, we will color and hide eggs, have a special dinner, and do Easter baskets... those family traditions are so sweet. Gathering and rejoicing on Resurrection Sunday for what Jesus did for us is a priceless blessing!
Nails were not what held Jesus to the cross. Jesus had the power to come down from that cross, but He knew it was what had to be done for His believers to be saved. He died on the cross for you and me because of His love for us; He loved us that much! As we observe this Easter Sunday, I am so thankful my Savior gave His life for me, so I can look forward to the promise of Heaven and living in eternity with Him.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" John 3:16
If you haven't asked Jesus into your heart, please say and pass this prayer below. Salvation is the greatest gift of all: a relationship with Jesus Christ and eternal life.
Salvation Prayer
Jesus, thank You for my redemption and for being my Redeemer. Thank You for paying the price for me that is greater than anything I know or can imagine. Thank You for being my Lord, making me a part of Your family, calling me Your friend, and making it possible for me to place my life into the Father's care and keeping. What a privilege I have to honor and glorify You each day. You were bought at a price; therefore, glorify God in your body and spirit, which are God's. 1 Corinthians 6:20
Easter and the Dogwood Tree Story
Here is a favorite story that our family always reads at Easter. An unknown poet wrote the legend of the dogwood tree poem many years ago. The poem reflects the cross that Christ hung on was made of dogwood; however, this type of tree was not natural to the Holy Land. Regardless, the poem's point is one that no matter what the wood used for the cross, Christ suffered upon that cross.
An old and beautiful legend says that, at the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood was comparable in size to the oak tree and other large trees of the forest. Because of its firmness and strength, it was selected as the timber for the cross.
But to be put to such a cruel use greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Jesus, in his gentle pity for the sorrow and suffering of all, said to it:
'Because of your sorrow and pity for My sufferings, never again will the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross.
Henceforth it will be slender, bent, and twisted, and its blossoms will be in the form of a cross.
Two long and two short petals. There will be nail prints in the center of the outer edge of each petal.
Brown with rust and stained with red.
And in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see this will remember.' These words help ready my heart for Easter, and I hope they do the same for you.
The Legend of the Dogwood Tree
Poet: Unknown
When Christ was on earth, the dogwood grew
To a towering size with a lovely hue.
Its branches were strong and interwoven, And for Christ's cross, its timbers were chosen.
Being distressed at the use of the wood, Christ made a promise which still holds good:
"Not ever again shall the dogwood grow
To be large enough for a tree," and so
Slender and twisted, it shall always be
With cross-shaped blossoms for all to see.
The petals shall have bloodstains marked brown and a thorny crown in the blossom's center.
"All who see it will think of Me,
Nailed to a cross from a dogwood tree.
Protected and cherished, this tree shall be
A reflection of all of My agony."
I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. What a blessing it was to be with family this year, and celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. We of course had Easter baskets, dinner, hunting of eggs, and reading the story of Jesus... family traditions that are always Precious Memories!
Now starting this new week, my heart is still focused on the sacrifice Jesus did for us by dying on the cross. What a hope He gave us and we can still radiate His Hope with these new DaySpring items.
God’s Word calls us to be ready to give a reason for the hope we have - to RADIATE HOPE.
"But in your hearts revere Christ as LORD. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
1 Peter 3:15
We all need hope, so let’s outwardly profess what we know to be true, that He is indeed faithful and can be trusted.
"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful."
Hebrews 10:23
Let’s hold onto our hope in Him and further, radiate it to others.
Have a Blessed Day!
*Disclosure*: This post contains affiliate links with DaySpring. When you click on links to this merchant on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Thank you for always supporting me & Happy shopping!
Easter is coming up quickly and it’s time to start preparing those baskets.
I rounded up some of the best and most fun ideas for little ones for this year... and they are all from AMAZON, which is great if you have PRIME! Order today and get it in time for Easter! So hopefully, your hunt for gifts will be over after looking at these great picks! I wouldn't mind some of these things myself... bunnies, pastels, I mean, c’mon—they’re just too cute!
*Disclosure*: This post contains affiliate links with Amazon. When you click on links to this merchant on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Thank you for always supporting me & Happy shopping!
When I think of Easter, I think of Hope, Renewal, and Redemption. I pray this for our country. I also remember all the wonderful Easters over the years and treasure all of the precious memories even more now! I know with everything our country is going through, many have said churches are closed, so Easter is cancelled. But that is not possible, yes our celebrations will look a bit different...But Easter LIVES! So maybe the traditions will have to be altered and the bunny won’t be bringing eggs this year, but the tomb is still empty... Praise Jesus! I feel there hasn't been a greater time than now to tell the world what we believe... that Jesus Saves, He Lives, & He Reigns on High!
As the old hymn goes "Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me...Jesus is waiting, just let Him in. For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory, but God gave us His Son, Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins. All we have to do is repent of our sins and believe in our hearts.
I would like to share this prayer with you all today and I ask Right now, wherever you are, please give your heart to Jesus today!
Salvation Prayer:
"Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner.
I believe You died on the Cross for my sins.
I believe Your blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me.
I receive You as my Savior today.
I thank You for forgiving me of my sins,
And the gift of salvation and everlasting life,
because of Your merciful grace.
In Jesus name, I pray...
Amen."
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." ( Romans 10:13) You have Prayed, You Believed, You Received Jesus as your Savior and You are now Saved! Praise Jesus!
Now you begin the best journey, walking with the Lord daily. God bless you... as you begin your new life with Him!
How fitting it is to share with you all 2 stories about trees this Easter season... for the cross that Jesus died upon to save us was made from a tree. Here are the stories.
Every year around Easter, many pine trees start to develop shoots with a familiar shape. If you look at the tops of the pine trees a few weeks before Easter, you will see the yellow shoots. As the days get closer to Easter Sunday, the tallest shoot will branch off and form a cross. By the time Easter Sunday comes around, you will see that most of the pine trees will have small yellow crosses on all of the tallest shoots. I believe these sprouts are just another way God is showing Himself to us. What a sight this would be to see this Easter Sunday! So look up and see the wondrous works of God!
I also wanted to share the legend of the dogwood tree. Many of you may know this, but if not it is a touching poem to read at Easter Time.
I also want to share with you all a beautiful song. My sister and I were in a Easter Passion play together and this song was played. Listen to the words and rejoice for the grave could not hold Jesus the King!
This video is if from Easter Sunday, artist Brian Keith Daniel performs his painting "Living Proof" as Christian Recording Artists NewSong & Charles Billingsley perform "Arise My Love" at Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, VA. Please visit Brian's website *HERE* for more of his amazing art.
My family and I will be watching Easter church services online at Thomas Road Baptist Church. I would love to invite you all to watch online as well. You can watch any hour on the hour from 7 am to 7 pm. Click *HERE* as we worship together this
Easter Sunday!
Our Family Easter Celebration will be quite different this year, not the usual going to church, gathering with family for our Easter dinner, hunting eggs, but that doesn't mean we can't reflect on what JESUS did for us! HE died on the cross to save us and now today we are asking HIM to save us from this virus! So, make your Easter special by sharing with one another the true meaning of Easter, which can be found in GOD'S Word. Please open your Bibles today, and give Him your time and see the good news GOD has for us all!
This year more than ever I believe we all are trying to make Easter special and meaningful for our families. We plan to have a special Easter Sunday service from home, and dressing up in our Sunday best for HIM! Although we are apart from each other, we are embracing the traditions, though different, and celebrating the resurrection of our
Lord & Savior JESUS CHRIST!
We will still have Easter Baskets... mostly filled with homemade goodies and crafty creations, an Easter egg hunt (with decorated paper mache eggs-it didn't feel right to color real eggs, when food is so vital these days-will miss that tradition though) and my Momma, Sister & I will still make a yummy Easter Sunday dinner for our family.
Here are my top picks for creating a special Easter at Home!
First, for the little ones. There is Still Time to Order from Pottery Barn Kids if you do so by Thursday, April 9th at 6pm PT with Next Day Delivery! Please Note: All these stores linked have fast shipping to get these items in time for Easter!
*Please note: I am an affiliate with Amazon, DaySpring, Janie & Jack, Macy's and Nordstrom. When you click on links to these merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission.*
