My Redeemer Lives!!

My heart has been overflowing this week thinking about the upcoming Easter celebration. I think it has been fresh this year because I have been thinking about how I can communicate the magnitude of this celebration to Hudson. I'm sad about all the fluff of the holiday- Easter bunny, eggs, chocolate, etc. Man, there's a lot of "fluff" to sift through at Christmas and Easter, and I want to make sure that my children understand why we celebrate these special days. There is a REASON to celebrate!! I remember Easter Sunday last year. I was very close to giving birth to Micah...we celebrated with our church family at Grace. One thing that sticks out in my mind is one of the songs that we sang (well, my friend Jennifer sang). Some of you know it, and some of you probably don't. The words of the song grip my heart every time and almost always bring me to tears...so, I hope that the words of this song will pierce your heart as well. If you know Him, I pray that this celebration will be extra special this year! And if you don't, I pray that these words will soften your heart and that THIS will be the year for you to know Him!!

Redeemer

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?

And Who told the ocean, 'You can only come this far.' ?

And Who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening?

Whose Words alone can catch a falling star?

I know my Redeemer lives!

I know my Redeemer lives.

All of creation testifies, this life within me cries.

I know my Redeemer lives!!

The very same God that spins things in orbit

runs to the weary, the worn, and the weak.

And the same gentle Hands

that hold me when I'm broken,

they conquered death and bring me victory!!

I know my Redeemer lives!

I know my Redeemer lives!

Let all creation testify! Let this life within me cry!

I know my Redeemer lives!!

He lives to take away my shame.

And He lives! Forever I'll proclaim,

that the payment for my sin was the precious live He gave.

Now He's ALIVE and there's an empty grave!!!

I know my Redeemer lives!!

I know my Redeemer lives!

All of creation testifies, this life within me cries!

I know my Redeemer Lives!!

Date Night

While in New Orleans, Matt and I got to go to one of his friends' wedding. It was beautiful and a lot of fun. The timing was great that we were going to be in New Orleans for the weekend anyways. I thought I would take this opportunity to thank Matt for supporting me and for giving me the freedom to train for the marathon. I could not have done it without that freedom. He kept the kids every Saturday morning for me to do my long runs...and helped lots on Saturday afternoons when I was tired. So, thank you, Matt! You are wonderful!!

We Finished!!!

I know it has been forever...no excuses, though :) We finished the marathon!!!! It was by far one of the most amazing experiences of my life. The Lord answered our prayer and gave us an absolutely beautiful day to run. It was one of our first "springlike" days and we could not stop saying how beautiful it was. I'll give you the rundown...and who knows, maybe some of you will be convinced to run one yourself : )

First of all, it was in New Orleans and it was part of the "Rock and Roll" Marathon series. That meant that EVERY mile there was a band playing! Whaaaat?? It was so cool! There were like 13,000 runners, so to say the atmosphere was awesome would be an understatement. Also, Annie and I decided to pray through the alphabet during the race (26 letters and 26 miles), so at each mile we were talking about what the Lord had put on our hearts to pray for. It was sooooooo encouraging!!! We prayed for friends, family, circumstances, contentment, our children, and the list could go on and on. It was a gorgeous day that just screamed the faithfulness of our God...and He gave us legs and endurance to run for His glory. It was one of the sweetest times in my life...His presence was very near. It was like a breath of fresh air to my heart. So at each mile we were rocking out to a band, discussing our prayer requests, and praying....and then before we knew it there was another band!! It was wonderful : ) At the end of the race they called us out by name and we were both so overcome with joy that we were able to finish that the tears flowed. I know you're not shocked : )

So there it is! I hope you are encouraged...and if you are reading this you are probably a close friend or family member...and we probably prayed for you!