What I Learned This Easter

I want to share a music video with you. I've watched it multiple times in the last few days to the point that, in my quieter moments, I can hear it playing in the back of my mind. The first time I watched it (ok, the first several times I watched it) I found tears rolling down my cheeks. Its message was just so amazingly beautiful. It was such an incredible testimony of Christ's atonement and resurrection. I was blown away.

As I've pondered this video and discussed it with Renaissance Man, I've come to realize just why it moved me so very profoundly. I want to share what I have learned this Easter with you. It's going to take me a bit of explanation to get to the point, so please be patient while I get there.

Christ's earthy mission was two-fold: to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man (Moses 1:39). Christ's triumph over the grave completed the first part of that mission. We too will be resurrected, reunited with our physical bodies, and live forever. The atonement of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross accomplished the second part of His mission. The atonement is what allows us to enjoy eternal life, which is exaltation and eternal progression.

I've understood intellectually and felt in my heart for years that Christ's atonement, His suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross, were personal. He paid the price for MY sins, he accepted the weight of MY griefs and heartaches. I know that He is there for ME. He would have been willing to make that sacrifice even if I had been the only one in the world. His atonement was for ME. I know that I can repent and I know that I can hand my burdens to Him and that He will carry them for me.

My understanding of Christ's resurrection has been a bit different.

As a child, no matter how often you are taught about the true meaning of Easter, I think it's very difficult to grasp the significance of Christ's sacrifice. At least, that's the way it was for me. Even after I no longer believed in fuzzy bunnies delivering eggs, Easter was still about the goodies in the basket.

My first real experience with death was devastating. My dad died when I was just fourteen. It wasn't until after he was gone that I began to understand the beautiful promise contained in the resurrection of Christ. Because He died, my dad will live again. As I've gotten older, more of my loved ones, including grandparents, friends, mentors, an uncle, and even a precious still born daughter, have passed through the veil. It's very strange to think that there will come a day in my life when there are as many of my loved ones waiting for me on the other side as there are with me in mortality. Each Easter I have thought of these loved ones and rejoiced that one day they would be resurrected and that we would be reunited. I have been comforted by this testimony time and time again. But, something shifted for me this year. I've realized something on a deeply personal level that somehow I've missed in previous years.

Perhaps it's because it's because I'm getting old enough to be gaining a sense of my own mortality. (At my current age, my dad only had five more years to live.) Or, maybe it's because I'm old enough to recognize that my body doesn't work in exactly the same way it did when I was younger. But, when I heard the lyrics of this song, I wept. I wept because for the first time in my life I understood that not only is Christ's atonement personal, so is His resurrection. Because of Christ's triumph over the grave I will live again. I will rise from the grave, not just the loved ones who have gone before me. I will have a glorious perfected body and I will be reunited with the loved ones that I will leave behind when it's my turn to pass through the veil.

This Easter I learned that I Will Rise.




This video comes from Alex Boye, if you aren't familiar with his music, you should be.

I'll be back to update our pictures soon. :D

Good Things:

--I know that my Redeemer Lives!

--Music that touches my spirit.

--Blogging again, finally.

Some Videos for Easter

Three favorites I thought I'd share.

Tripped At The Finish Line

I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath to hear how my Super Craft Saturday turned out. Well, that can be summed up in a few words.

All hail procrastination.

I have been running for weeks trying to stay on top of everything going on in my life. But, apparently, I should have started running sooner, treated life more like a half-marathon than a 100 meter dash, or at very least more like a relay and passed on the baton more frequently. At any rate, I tripped at the finish line and fell rather flat on my face. (I think I'm out of running metaphors now.)

We had too many projects to begin with. I knew that. I just didn't know how to trim them down any farther, especially since so many of them involved the same set of skills with minor variations. I'd say at least half of the projects (and the most popular two by far) involved vinyl stickers. We had permission from RM's employer to use their plotter to cut our vinyl. We just had to supply our own vinyl, transfer tape, etc. Life being what it is, we didn't have a chance to actually use the machine until Friday night.

We got there an hour later than expected. We had a problem with the files and had to reformat them before we could try cutting. Then, when we were finally able to start cutting (after 11pm) we discovered the blade on the plotter was so dull that it started to shred our vinyl. (Good thing I accidentally over-bought.) It was after midnight when I texted my Relief Society President and asked her to call me if she was still up. She did and I explained about the dull blade and that all the stores that carry replacement blades wouldn't be open again until Monday. She was very reassuring and said that it would be okay. We'd just have to have a midweek activity sometime soon to finish them up. She told me to come home and go to bed. Which I did. But, not until after 2am.

To add insult to injury, every RS Super Saturday in the valley must have decided to do marble magnets, because the marbles have been sold out for weeks. I called every day last week, 2-3 times a day to see if the expected shipment had arrived. No luck. So, I guess we'll do the magnets sometime after the marbles come in. Sigh.

I was SO looking forward to having this project done. Then I was pretty much off the hook until after New Year as far as big church responsibilities go. I guess now we just do our best to get this project over before Thanksgiving. And, yes, it might take that long because I don't know how to fix our vinyl problem. I have a few options, but I still don't know how to resolve this.

Option 1: Wait for RM's work to replace the blade on the machine. I have no idea when they'll get around to doing this and it's not like I can demand they fix it so that I, the wife of a contract employee, can use it for an outside project.

Option 2: Buy a replacement blade for the machine ourselves. The thing is that they cost $60-70 or more. Not sure this is the best use of my funds. If we are going to lay out that much cash, we might as well look at Option 3.

Option 3: Buy my own plotting machine. We very seriously considered this after using the company's machine to cut out our prototype projects. I really wish I had, then I wouldn't have found myself in the mess I made last week. However, the machines are rather spendy, starting in the ballpark of $300. (You can occasionally find better prices if you hunt online, but if you want the "instant" gratification of walking out of a store with it in your hot little hands, you'll pay more.) Fancier models, sturdier models, larger models can all range into the thousands of dollars. I still haven't quite been able to classify this as a need instead of a want, though I'm not alone in wanting. RM can see numerous applications in his world of engineering and would love to play with the machine too. And, I could, once I owned the machine, make use of it in a part-time business kind of way. But, I worry that I'm not creative enough on my own, without reworking others' ideas, to do that sort of thing and the thought of running the business end kinda stresses/depresses me.

Option 4: Find another plotting machine that someone is willing to let me use to cut my stuff.

In any case, we need to figure out what we are doing soon. I'd love to hear your opinions.

The rest of the projects went rather well, I think. I seemed like I was forever running from table to table answering questions and explaining projects. I also spent more time than I had hoped trying to find all the supplies. They were all in the building, just not all with their kin. (Again, all hail organization, or the lack thereof.) Still, everyone seemed understanding of the situation and rolled with the punches, so I can't feel too bad.

But, truth be told, the after-project-high of a job well done just isn't there.

I Crossed A Big One Off My List Today

You might have noticed that I haven't been blogging much lately. Truth be told, I have been running my dogs off so hard and fast lately that I just haven't found the time to park my fanny in a chair and type. Shall we make a list of just some of the things I've been up to?

PTA meetings
Birthday parties (most 45 minutes away by freeway)
Canning (green beans, dilly beans, dill pickles & tomatoes so far)
Bridal Showers
My best friend's wedding
A writer's workshop
Back to school shopping
Preparing craft samples and sign up sheets for a Super Saturday Craft activity
Catching a cold
Preparing for a huge Enrichment activity
Attending a concert
Relief Society Presidency meetings

I'm sure there are others, but I'm drawing a blank.

Things I have been ignoring:
My laundry
My dishes
My house cleaning
My blog
The blogs of my friends
And to at least some degree, my family

Again, I'm sure there is more that could be added to the list.

However, I'm thrilled to say that I crossed a major consumer of my time off the list tonight. Tonight was the Enrichment activity that I have been planning for months.

This is the one where we discussed low energy cooking methods (dutch oven, applebox oven, wonderbox, solar oven, rocket stove), invited everyone 18+ to attend and arranged for a nursery. This is the one where we had 50 sign up to come (and had an amazing 40+ show up). The one where we prepared most of dinner for 50 people using the aforementioned low energy cooking methods. The one that got moved to a new location two days before it was supposed to happen.

It went really, really well. (Someone commented to me that we have had ward parties less well attended. ;)) People were very receptive to the information we had for them (low energy cooking methods great for emergency preparedness). They liked what we cooked for dinner and they asked lots of questions. I think it went just about as good as it could get. We had a few minor glitches (like my Enrichment Committee who didn't stay to help clean up) but I was so happy things went well that I didn't mind too much.

And, there was also a really lovely Karma moment related to why we had to move things at the last minute. You'll have to ask me about it someday. :D

I am so grateful to Renaissance Man. I couldn't have done this without my wonderful husband. He has been so supportive and worked so hard helping me find resources, building projects for me, putting up with a bombed house, and generally being indispensably helpful. I love him so much. I'm also grateful for a very supportive Relief Society presidency and Enrichment Committee (who, despite leaving the clean up to me, the committee chair and the other members of the RS presidency, came through for me with the critical things at the critical moment).

But, mostly I'm glad it's all over. :D

Now it's time to tackle a few more of those projects, big and small, on my list.

P.S. Did I mention that I have 40lbs of fresh chicken breasts in my refrigerator waiting to be cut up and canned/frozen tomorrow?