i say i'm the body and drink of the wine

today is Easter Sunday. it's nice to have a restful Sunday again. although my travels were enjoyable, i needed a quiet, thoughtful Sunday at home with the tone set by a service at VC. my family came to worship with me today, and although i'm always slightly nervous to bring people with me- i tend to wonder the whole time what they're thinking, if they like it or not- i didn't let those thoughts bother me and i think they enjoyed their visit. and it was nice to get to share a place i enjoy so much.

mom brought me some peeps and two big buckets full of planted tulips and other springy flowers, which i am very excited about. i've been wanting to develop the horticulturalist in me :)

the thought this morning was different than the expected Easter Sunday sermon. although still centered on the resurrection, he spoke more of what Jesus' rising from the dead represents in our lives and of the hope that we can hold to. he talked about the restored earth that we look forward to, and that in the meantime our lives are to be lived with a mission.

he quoted a friend of his who has since passed, and the words resonated with me.
"When it seems that hopefulness is the least appropriate response in this situation, let it rise up even more. Whisper your hope when you lie down at night, scream your hope when you wake in the morning. Live your hope as if it is the one and only thing that sustains you in this ravaged world. You will not be disappointed." -Mark Palmer

"Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." 1 Corinthians 15:58

"I am not me anymore. At least I'm not the same me I was. " Diarios de Motocicleta