Nap

I took a nap today. It was a lovely nap. But the best part was waking up. I woke up, but I didn't get right up or feel bad about having fallen asleep. I just kept lying on my couch, looking at the clouds out the window, and the tulips beginning to drop their petals. I listened to the silence of a still house and the quiet voice of my imagination. I was so relaxed and restful.

Then I heard Thomas come home, but I didn't get up. I kept lying there, and called "Hi" and "How are you?" from where I was. He came into the living room, so I held up my arms and he knelt down and gave me a great big hug.

Then I sat up and was all the way awake, very happy to be alive and awake.

I think that if I woke up that way all the time, I would be a much more balanced person... though perhaps an even lazier one too. :-)

New York City!

Forsythia

Sisters!

Mommy and Daddy

"White Bells"

New Leaves

We don't look at all related, do we?

Different type of Daffodil

Adorable Child

 

 This is my nephew. I love his big blue eyes and round head.

My Team

Let me introduce you to my favorite soccer team. This is Real Madrid C.F. and they just won the Copa del Rey. As you can see they are pretty excited about it. Besides winning, which is always exciting, they beat their greatest rival and the best soccer team in the world, FC Barcelona.

They have two more games in the next two weeks against the same team, playing the Champions League semi-finals. That means if they win those games they will make it to the final where they will face either Manchester United (Spike's favorite team) or Schalke 04 (my other favorite team because Raul plays for them).

See the guy in the blue shirt? That is Iker Casillas. He is the captain of Real Madrid and the Spanish National Team. After winning this cup, he has now won every possible trophy at both the club and international level, several of them as the captain.

Down right of the cup is Kaka. He is one of my favorite players, even though he has been out for a long time with injuries. His profession of Faith is beautiful and very encouraging. One of my favorite quotes goes something like, "I will do as much as I can, but I will leave everything else with Jesus."

The guy behind Iker, with his hand up in the air, is Granero, or Pirata. I think he is adorable - like a puppy dog, or little brother... that analogy isn't quite right, but I am going to let it go.

Carvalho, the one wearing his shirt backwards, is an amazing defender. Really good, but he is sure sneaky too. Then he makes innocent faces, like "What did I do?" He is one of the oldest on the squad; Jerzy Dudek (third row, right behind the cup) is the only one older than him. He is back-up goalie, but he does even more with moral support and cheering his team on.

I can't seem to find Xabi Alonso in the picture. He is another of my favorites, but mostly because he is so classy and makes the best faces. As one Real Madrid blogger puts it, he is so "boss." And that really sums it up.

You can only see the eyes of Pipita (Gonzalo Higuain) - up left of Jerzy Dudek - who, like Granero, is adorable - in the same way.

Oh, and I couldn't forget to mention Christiano Ronaldo, who just happened to score the winning goal, with his head, from a beautiful cross. If you don't know who he is, there isn't much point in me trying to explain. Just Google him and you will find out more than you ever wanted to know.

Of course every other player is also special, but I will have to leave them for another time.

My New Camera

 

This is the first picture I took with my new camera. All the others on it, so far, are of the play. But I am sure more will come soon.

Palm Sunday

"The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" John 12:12-13

This week I told the story of Palm Sunday to my Kindergarten music class. I mentioned how the same people who where shouting, "Hosanna!" on Sunday, shouted "Crucify him!" on Friday. They couldn't understand this. They understood the celebration for the King though. One little boy asked, "What did they say when they saw Jesus?" "Hosanna! Blessed be the name of the Lord!" He replied, "Yeah, and they waved branches." It was no problem for him to believe that Jesus was a King. Faith, like a child, accepts Jesus is the King, even if he doesn't look like it, or act like we expect him too.

But in the Bible story something happened by Friday. The childlike faith of the crowd grew up into adult cynicism. "He doesn't act like a king. He hasn't done what we expected." And in their disillusionment, they cried, "Crucify him!"

How often does this happen to me! I expect great things from God. I know he will help me through a trial and I pray real hard and trust him. But then He doesn't follow through it the way I expected him to, and I become disillusioned and cynical and blame others and feel guilty and get angry at God for being unfaithful to me.

But Jesus was King, and he was acting like a King, just not the King the Jews were expecting. He was being faithful to all his promises, they just couldn't see it. Even his disciples were confused and didn't understand until later. Just like me. Later, I understand that He was being faithful to me, I just couldn't see it then.

I believe that more than any other Holy Day, Palm Sunday is for children. Not because it is a happy and simple holiday, but because it requires faith like a child to believe that this humble Jesus is a King. So I am looking forward to seeing the children's craft-palm branches after Sunday School. It will be yet another reminder that Jesus calls us to come to him like children carrying palm-branches to worship him.

"But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.'" Luke 18: 16-17

Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!

To the King! To the Kingdom! To the Restoration!

A Man Called Peter

 

This past weekend Immanuel Christian School performed A Man Called Peter dramatized by John McGreevy, based on the book by Catherine Marshall. I was their costumer. But ended up helping in many other ways. It was a crazy week, but I am so glad I got to help.

The "young people's group" (and the beautiful set)

The play is based on the life of Peter Marshall, pastor of New York Avenue Church in Washington DC, and chaplain of the Senate. While it could be easily dismissed as a "moralistic little play" or a "church play" there was a lot more than morals being displayed. It was not ashamed to show life as a Christian as hard, unpredictable, misunderstood, and yet still very satisfying. Peter Marshal was a man who was ready to give everything for the sake of the Gospel. He understood what Jesus' sacrifice demands, not safety and comfort, but complete commitment to sharing that love with whoever will listen, and even with those who won't. And he did it with a sense of humor and the power of the resurrection. Although some of the events were fictionalized, many people were impacted by the passion of Dr. Marshall, and after seeing this play, it is my hope that many more people will be challenged and encouraged by a man who was willing to die for the One who died for him.

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It is set in the 50's, so we had several costumes left from A Midsummer Night's Dream which we set in the 50's. However, I did have to find quite a few more. Fortunately, many of the cast came up with either large portions of their costumes, or the entire thing. All I had to do was to tell them what I was looking for and make sure it was OK when they brought it in. The hardest piece to find was a military uniform from the 50's that would fit a 6'6"student. My friend who volunteers/works at the local museum/historical society suggested we take a look at what they had in their collection. Most of the men in our area are smaller men, but we found one suit that worked. It was air force uniform of some sort (I didn't do all the research) and fit the student beautifully. He was comfortable in it and looked very impressive.

Anticipation

I should have a new camera coming on Monday! I am so excited! I should also be getting a camera bag to go with it. And Thomas will be getting some soundtracks. Yippee! Yay! Hurrah!