what a mighty, mighty savior you are!

What a mighty, mighty savior you are!

What a mighty, mighty savior you are!

You can wash away my sin,

You can cleanse my heart within,

What a mighty, mighty savior you are!

everyday gift: the voices of children singing God's praise

easter reflections

on the floor of the woods, everything is brown. the leaves that fell in the autumn are covering the black earth, crumbling and returning to the soil. fallen branches are decaying...
...but out of this death, a shoot springs up. a single green leaf wraps around a stem, almost like a shroud, but instead of holding a corpse, it holds new life, a single white bud. it makes me think of the shroud of Jesus, wrapped around his crucified body, but instead of keeping death, it brought forth new life when He was raised on easter! praise God for his resurrection power that raised the Son from the dead and can breathe new life into a sinner's heart, like mine.

...just as Christ was raised from the dead
through the glory of the Father,
we too may live a new life.
Romans 6:4b

Bloodroot

Sanguinaria candadensis

everyday gift: new life springing up in a dead heart because of Jesus

the easter garden

God was the very first gardener.

And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. Genesis 2:8-9a

in the beginning He gave us life in the garden. and when Jesus was raised from the dead to give us new life, eternal life, He did it in the garden again.

so we planted an easter garden. one that is green and lush and growing. with a path that leads to a tomb. this season we remember with a solemn heart that it was our sin that caused Jesus to die upon that cross. and rejoice that it was for sinners like us that he gave the extravagant and sacrificial gift of His life. and we worship the God who has had victory over death, once and for all, so that we can share in the resurrection and have eternal life.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. I Peter 1:3

the kids had a great time putting together our little garden.
i loved their enthusiasm and their team work.

each plant, each stone carefully placed

our friend "little b" putting water in the miniature pond

3 gardeners

the inspiration for this beautiful easter project came from ann voskamp at aholyexperience. have you had the chance to visit her blog? you will most certainly be blessed every time that you stop by. her thoughts on the easter garden are very touching. she is a gifted writer who puts such insight, emotion, and beauty into each and every post. i am so thankful for her words and inspiration.

everyday gift: new birth and living hope because of Jesus!