[From the archives.]
Easter, part one:
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matthew 28:5-8.)
The first Christians: afraid, filled with joy, and running to spread the news! Want to join them?
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Easter, part two:
In case you’re feeling pressured to show up at church in your fancy Easter clothes, here’s how we do it. 
Two points here: first, I really like making these cards; second, God doesn’t care if you have on suits or shorts!
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I like your e-cards, Tim. 🙂 BTW Leslie Leyland Fields had a neat take on the clothing issue this week on her blog in relation to Easter: http://www.leslieleylandfields.com/2015/04/why-im-wearing-old-dress-for-easterwhy.html
Leslie’s post on being clothed in Christ is great, Jeannie, thanks for the link.
Love the e-card! Love the Easter hope even more!
Trying to get my older daughter to “dress up” for anything is like trying to vacuum a cat: doable, but unpleasant for all involved. The sole exception is when her band director gives a mandate that they wear “concert attire” for a concert. Black pants, black shirt, black everything. She’s fine with that because she likes her band director. Not sure what that says about her opinion of me! All that to say, she’s wearing black pants and an orange t-shirt to church.
My youngest makes an art of the ‘dragged through a bush backwards’ look. I don’t mind what my children wear (within reason), but they have to wear proper, clean school uniform for school. The two girls would go to school with mucky trousers, odd socks and un-brushed hair if I let them, especially the youngest. I keep wipes and a hairbrush in the car so that if ever something has escaped my attention (or is more noticeable once we’re outside in daylight), I can see to it! But she’s lovely – like a little girl version of Tigger 🙂
Dressing well for band was one of the few times I got it right when I was in high school, Laura.
A Christian writer called Adrian Plass, whom I have met several times (he’s very funny and engaging), wrote that he once stayed in a Christian B&B for the night. In the morning when he and his wife walked into the dining room for breakfast, they saw the sign on the wall, which the owners had written in large letters. It said, “He is risen!” Adrian said he was sorely tempted to write underneath, “and He’ll be down in a minute…”
I often think of this story when trying to get my 15-year-old up. I swear I heard angels singing when he once voluntarily ‘arose’ before 9am.
I did actually do that once – write on a poster, I mean. It was an ad for a local restaurant written on plain white paper and stuck on the noticeboard of the nursery. It said “Kids Eat For Free”. I couldn’t help it. I just had to add an ‘en’ to the end of ‘eat’.
Well that would be one way to take care of someone else’s kids for them!
amen!
Have a blessed Easter, PP!
many blessings to you on this day as well!
I had a customer comment to me that the dresses that come out around Easter time are not right for our Pacific Northwest environment. It’s always cold and raining and the dresses are sleeveless and the fabric is thin. I told her there’s always a sweater to throw over a dress like that. She made a good point, though. The good thing is that because it’s Portland, no one cares what you look like on Easter Sunday morning. Jeans and sweaters are perfectly acceptable.
It’s going to be wet and cool here today, too, so jeans and a sweater are de rigueur!
Wish I had seen this yesterday. 2 out of 3 kids felt like Easter fail to me, but it was more important that we just get to church. In the end it didn’t make a difference to the message we heard, or our ability to respond. Thanks for the encouragement!
I’m glad to encourage, even if it is a day late and two kids short!