The Ripple Effect: Kiefer's Story (part 1)

Today's post marks the beginning of the "Ripple Effect" stories I will begin posting periodically as a special feature. A good friend of mine, Kiefer Partridge, sent me a paper he wrote a couple years ago on the "Ripple Effect". It doesn't completely line up with what I initially had in mind, but I think it gives a good opening to branch out to all aspects of the "Ripple Effect". He sent it to me in this really cool pdf format, but it won't upload here, so this is just the text:

 "Billy’s absolutely on fire. He gave his life to Christ this summer at a teen rally, and
he meant every word of it. Billy loves to make funny YouTube videos, and he’s
getting good at it — so when he accepted Jesus as his Savior this summer, he
immediately knew that there was nothing he’d rather do than make Christian
movies.
No one at school knows it, though. His friends can tell something has changed,
for sure, because he used to hang out with them. Now he’s taking advanced
filmmaking and video production classes, along with photography. He’s joined
the young writer’s club, and he spends all his spare time reading or watching
DVDs about filmmaking. He simply doesn’t have time for them anymore, and
they can’t figure it out.
Meanwhile, his parents are getting frustrated, too. They were thrilled when he
told them he accepted Christ, and thrilled when he realized he should be using his
moviemaking skills to tell others about Jesus — but he doesn’t seem to have time
for his family anymore.
Aren’t we all a bit like Billy sometimes?
so heavenly minded…
We’re all a little prone to becoming, as the saying goes, “So heavenly minded,
we’re no earthly good.” It isn’t surprising. After all, God’s a God of God-sized
dreams, and He usually gives us a vision that’s just a little too big for us to handle
alone. But we often take it too far, and the result is sometimes very short of
disastrous to the people around us.
Take a look at this:
“The most important [commandment],” answered Jesus, “is this:…. ‘Love the
Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
There is no commandment greater than these.”
Mark 10:13-16 [NIV]
We’ve all read the parable of the good Samaritan, and we all know that
“neighbor” includes everyone around us — but I’m afraid we all too often
overlook the fact that “neighbor” also carries with it the idea of starting with
those close to us.
This is exactly what Jesus did:
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the
disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them,
“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.” And he took the children in
his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
Mark 10:13-16[NIV]
Let’s face it, little children were not Jesus’ target audience. Certainly the gospel is
meant for them as well, but if Jesus were simply concerned with making the
biggest splash He could on the political scene of His day, He wouldn’t have
bothered to waste His time on kids.
So why did He? Because the best way to impact people is not by what we do, but
by how we live. Unless we are actively engaged in blessing those immediately
around us, we can never have a big impact on those who are far away. Blessing is
like a drop of water; the ripples will spread across the entire pond, but they must
start from that one single drop. And if we are to reach the very edges of the earth,
we have to start at our own front door."


Beautiful thoughts. Thank you, Kiefer :). Also, Kiefer has his own personal "Ripple Effect" story that he has offered to share, and that will be posted as soon as he sends it to me.

Okay, and if any of you are confused now, let me explain. The "Ripple Effect" is something I had an idea for just a few days ago. Everyone knows what a rock dropped into a pond does, it makes ripples that grow and grow until everything in the pond is affected. Our lives are very much the same. It seems everywhere I turn, I realize this choice I made affects that choice, which affects that occurrence in my life, and so on. What I'm asking from you is your own thoughts, stories, and ideas about the "Ripple Effect". It could be anything! It's not limited to just my own perspective. Also, I'm just one person. Network this idea to your friends! I really want to see just how big this can get. My e-mail is pigeongirl93@gmail.com. Send your stories, questions, or anything else there!

The Ripple Effect

Just in case I haven't said it lately; God is amazing. He works out every tiny detail of our lives. Everything that happens to us, everything we do acts as a stone dropped into a pond: it makes ripples that gradually become bigger and bigger and eventually touch everything. Everyone has had at least one specific thing in their life happen where if they hadn't gone somewhere or done something, their life would be totally different. They'd know different people, wouldn't know others, would or wouldn't have done a certain action, and on and on. These stories are some of these most amazing I've heard, and they've given me an idea. I know I mentioned this in my last post, but I would like to set this in stone a little more. I want to start a special feature on my blog called "The Ripple Effect". Every so often (and as often as possible), I will post true "Ripple Effect" story. This is where you all come in. I'm requesting your story(s). If you have a Ripple Effect story you would like to share, please e-mail it to: pigeongirl93@gmail.com. Also, please network this among people you know. I would love to see how big God can make this special feature!! If it gets big enough, I will create a separate blog made specifically for these stories. Thanks for your contributions and God bless you!!!


And one more little tidbit. You may have noticed that my template changed. I was looking over my blog today, and felt like reading it was kind of hard. The colors were dark and the writing was kind of shadowed. Plus, the position of the posts made it hard to read. So, while the dots were cute, I have changed the template to something lighter and easier to read. You're welcome :)

Can't wait to see what y'all and God send to my way with the "Ripple Effect"!! Goodnight!

The Shortest Six-Hour Plane Ride Ever

If you know me well, you know that on airplanes, I'm usually plugged in to my iPod and tuned out to the rest of the world. Or asleep. Or reading. Or doing some other random "don't talk to me, you creepy stranger-who-is-sitting-next-to-me". Ah, you get the picture.

So, I'm on a 6 (or so) hour flight from Charlotte, NC to Seattle, WA. My iPod has four hours music playback left on its charge. My Kindle is dead. My only other sources of entertainment are my sketchbook, and a copy of "The Jungle". I trek to the back of the plane and take my seat by the window. I glance over at my seatmates: an average-height, middle-aged woman with curly reddish hair (middle seat), and a tall, aging black man (aisle seat). As the woman sits down next to me, I feel God poking my heart. Suddenly, I begin to pray.

God, you put this woman next to me for a reason. I don't why, but let me glorify You with everything I say.

But, being human, I started making excuses pretty quickly to not strike up a conversation with this lady. I'm sure she just wants a quiet plane ride. I would doubt she'd want to talk to a teenager anyway. She probably just wants to read her book in peace. The black man checked his watch, and made a remark about the plane running really behind. Surprised, I checked the time on my iPod. Sure enough, it was 6:23, 13 minutes after the plane was supposed to take off. A couple minutes later, the speakers crackled, and we heard one of the flight attendant's voices say, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we apologize for the delay. We have come across some minor difficulties, but will be on our way shortly. Thank you for your patience." Thinking she meant mechanical difficulties, I settled back into my seat, ready for a long wait. Up ahead a few rows, I saw a lady lift up from her seat--seeming to be trying to get a better view of something up ahead. Naturally, I began to do the same. What I saw chilled me to the bone. Up in the middle cabin, standing the in the aisle, talking to an unseen passenger was TWO POLICE OFFICERS with the PILOT. Before I could fathom what was happening, the officers escorted a struggling woman off of the plane.

Just let that all sink in a moment. Yup. Back to the story...

I sat back in shock. I could not believe I had just witnessed what I had just witnessed. My thoughts began to fly. What happened with that lady? What if we had been in the air when she had started acting up? There I stopped. What. If. We. Had. Been. In. The. Air. The question kept rolling through my mind.

I'm actually having a hard time writing this part. Whenever I think about what happened, I start shaking with the realization that in worst-case scenario, if that lady had not been identified as a threat, I could be dead. Yup, I said it. DEAD. Worst case scenario, of course. That flight was completely full. There was not an empty seat to be had. God kept me and tons of other people in that huge plane safe that day. He protected us from what could've been a huge tragedy. Later, I found out that the lady was most likely checked into a hospital, and will/would be re-booked when ready. My thoughts on it are that it was a cross between a criminal and a mental situation. But, back to the story...

I could not stop thanking God for keeping us safe. After the plane was finally airborne, I plugged in my headphones, turned on my iPod, and opened my book. About a half-hour to 45 minutes later, I was asleep. I slept of and on for about hour, hour and a half at the most. At that point, to my dismay (and confusion) my iPod died. Pouting, I put my iPod back into my backpack and tried to sleep again. But, I could not go back to sleep. So, I pulled out "The Jungle" and began to read. I got through a chapter, chapter and a half, but let me tell you--that book is best taken in small doses. Earlier, the lady next to me had commented on the large print of my book (small town library, what can I say?) and noted that people like her Bible a lot for the same reason. I had been pondering this comment off and on. Questions flew through my mind about her religious views, what church she went to, and on and on.

I don't really remember how our conversation got started. I think it started when she told this story about how earlier in the day, she had been confused about where exactly she was going (she had had a layover, but had forgotten that the airlines know your final destination when you check in). It made me chuckle, and I remarked that Charlotte, NC had been a layover for me as well, and that I was coming home. I then began to talk about TeenPact and National Convention (which I was coming home from). She started asking me questions. What was TeenPact? How did I like it? How did I get involved? What was the National Convention? How old was I? Soon, (TeenPact being a faith-based organization) the conversation steered towards religion.

And so began my final Tennessee trip adventure...

For the remaining four hours (give or take) left of my flight, I had one of the most interesting conversations I've had in my life. This lady grew up agnostic, her mother abandoned her at age 8 or 9, and her father was quite detached when she was growing up. She married a Seventh-Day Adventist, and came to Christ at a conference at I can't remember when. She's what I would classify as a a Liberal Christian. She sent her daughters to a private school, but had a hard time picking one out. She ended up sending them to one that she thought was legalistic (the legalism, you may ask? Girls must wear skirts to school, and no R-rated movies in the home. Not my definition of legalism, but it was hers. And a side-note, I'm not mocking or judging her view of legalism. I'm laying out the differences I found between us). Interestingly enough, one of her daughters grew up to be a conservative Christian, much like myself. We talked about hair (she doesn't mind a "tail", I talked about hair being a woman's glory, and why I am against certain colors in hair dying (you know, like blues and purples and such) and uh . . . tails). We talked about music (her favorite "Christian" bands are Newsboys and Switchfoot. I am not a fan of CCM, because beats like this were scandalous 50 years ago. Why aren't they now? God doesn't change His mind, people do). I gave her my definition of legalism (a church dictating exactly what people wear and what they own (outside of Biblical teachings, such as dressing modestly and not owning anything sinful)).

She also taught me something. Sometimes, we as born-again believers seem to be walking around with our head in the clouds, with no obvious footing, and just this "everything is perfect all the time" aura. I think we need to give more thought to how we come across to non-believers--especially atheists and agnostics. We need to abstain from conforming to the world (which repels non-believers to Christianity), but we also need to be careful that we don't appear to be in a dream-world either. Because that could repel just as easily as conforming. Something I've found that is one sad factor in people being repelled to Christianity is that we believers come across as air-headed and sometimes down-right stupid. Do your research before throwing out statistics or arguments against something. Walk with an air of God-given confidence. Speak clearly and with an aura of "I know what I'm saying". Get a good education. These are the things I learned from this lady. She didn't say these things outright, but they are what I realized I need to learn through one simple sentence she said: "No offense to you dear, but if I had met you when I was still an agnostic, I might have been a little repelled from Christianity." It really made me think. The way she said it, I know she wasn't saying I act as a "carnal Christian". I realized what she meant was (and this is the biggest thing I learned from her) often, we as Christians come across as judgmental, and having a "I'm better than you because I believe in God" attitude. So here's a message to myself and my fellow believers: remember that in everything you do, you are being watched. Whether it is a stranger, or someone you know well, someone is watching you and taking note of your every move where ever you go. Remember to let Christ shine through you wherever you go.

That's whats been on my mind the past few days. I didn't post it in my original post about National Convention because I knew it would be long, and I needed to sort my thoughts out about the whole thing. God definitely taught me a lot through this lady. I just pray she learned from me as well. What's interesting is I used a lot of what I learned from NC in this conversation with this lady. If that's all that God had planned for me to apply in this, then that flight was more than enough.

I have one more thing to say, and then I'll close this post. Realizing how God uses even little things to affect huge things has really gotten me thinking deeply lately. So, now I need participation from all of you. I'd like to hear how God has used you or other people in your life to make a ripple effect. I will try to post as many stories as possible. I think if we all saw the ripple effect we make, it would be a HUGE blessing and encouragement to us all. My e-mail is pigeongirl93@gmail.com. All stories are accepted and most, if not all, will be posted!!!

TeenPact National Convetion 2010

I can truly say this was the best week of my life. It was packed to the brim and overflowing with sessions, worship, small group, amazing friends, inside jokes, and I could go on. But, I'm going to do this in an organized fashion and separate everything into sections.

Amazing friends
God blessed me with some amazing people to be with this week. I love them so much. Words cannot even express how much more amazing they made my week. Between the inside jokes, attempts to be TPA, worship, meals, session, and everything else, I can say right now that we will be friends forever. So Lily, Kiefer, Amy, and Miranda, here's to you. I <3 <3 <3 you guys.

Small group
Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. My small group's color was coral, thus the water theme in our cheer. Small group was a time where we separated into little groups (no, duh) after morning session and discussed what we had gotten from session, bonjour, or just anything else that was on our minds. I really enjoyed how open everyone was in my group. We all were close even though half the time we forgot each others names. Small group games was sooo much fun. We had awesome team work and were in the top three for all of our games. Even though we didn't win overall, we still had an awesome time.

Worship
WOW. Worship was amazing. I loved the songs and loved being surrounded by teens like me on fire for God singing our little hearts out to Him. I think everyone that was at NC will agree with me that Thursday night worship was the best of the week. I'll touch more on that in a later section.

Session
The session were (once again) amazing. I learned something from every speaker. The speakers all had their own way of teaching us and each had a different subject they touched on. I have to say, though, if I had a favorite, it would be Aaron Watson. He manages to lace good, impelling, and drawing speaking with good humor, keeping everyone listening and on the edge of their seats. To everyone who spoke at NC this week, awesome job. I thoroughly enjoyed everyone of you.

Inside Jokes
What are friends without a boatload of crazy, random inside jokes? The two most prominent in my group were *heart thump* and "is that TPA?". The *heart thump* . . . oh wow. I really don't know where to go with this. Basically it means "be touched". I think I'll just leave it at that. "Is that TPA?" was pretty much the phrase of the week. Whether it was talking about movies or hugs that lasted longer than three seconds, or odd small group games, there seemed to be often a reason to stop and ask, "is that TPA?".

Ultimate Frisbee
You can't have TeenPact without Ultimate Frisbee. I myself am a TeenPacter that does not play Ultimate, but now that I understand it, I do enjoy watching it. There was an Ultimate tournament this week, where teams from different states got together in the most intense competition next to elections. The championship game on Friday between the Bee's Knees and Red Hot Chili Peppers was absolutely crazy. The Red Hot Chili Peppers won a landslide victory, but not before there were epic moves all around and an intense Interns vs Students game during half-time.

Elections
Most of you know that I ran for Representative at NC. Unfortunately, I did not make it out of party elections, but you can bet your homeschooled self that I will be running next year. Elections were the most intense competition of the week. Campaign posters were plastered everywhere, people were wearing t-shirts compelling you to vote for their favorite candidate, and many got up and 5:30 am so that they could be the first to vote on Thursday morning. Several people I knew got elected to Congress, and I thoroughly enjoyed this aspect of the week.

Bonjour
Every morning before morning session, they sent us out to have a "bonjour" time with God. I looked forward to this just me and God time every morning. They had little guides for us and I definitely learned a lot and grew closer to God in this time every morning. I plan on doing a little bonjour time every morning now.

Rendezvous
Rendezvous was a little time every evening where everyone would gather in their own individual rooms and talk about the day. We girls were cool and rated our days before discussing them. This was definitely another favorite part of my day, and I really loved getting to know all the girls in my room better. My room leaders (Anna and Amy) were sooo amazing, and one evening during rendezvous, when I began crying because of the overwhelming nature of the day and from the healing I was getting (more on that later), Anna was instantly at my side, hugging me and telling me it was going to be okay, and encouraging me to keep going. Later we stepped out of the room and she prayed for me. Anna and Amy, you were the best room leaders ever, thank you for everything you did this week whether we were laughing or crying.

Emotions
You can't put 400+ teens together for a week and not have emotions. It is impossible. Whether laughing at some random joke, smiling at an amazing day or at God's amazing love, or crying with joy and conviction every emotion was a joy and such a blessing to me, and I thank God that I can feel emotion.

Coffeehouse
Coffeehouse was a short time after evening session and before rendezvous and bedtime where everyone had snacks and mingled so as to wind down the day. It was a lot of fun wandering around, making new friends, and enjoying just being around everyone. It also (for me, at least) held a bit of sadness, because it made me realize that another day was almost over, and that was one less day left that I had there.

Healing
God did some amazing work in my heart this week. The past several years have been hard for me. I've been trying to heal, rise above it all, and my heart had been piecing back together before this week. But it was this week that God put the last piece of my heart together. I realized I hadn't been letting God be my only passion, and wasn't really letting Him carry my burdens or fully heal me. I also realized that a major part of the healing process was forgiveness. And this leads me to explain Thursday night worship. We started out worship with one song, then separated into prayer groups. Being a former military kid, and having so many friends and family in the military, I chose to go to the group praying for our military. After getting back, I was talking to the girl next to me (Serena<3) about prayer group, and she said, "I went to the one where we pray for our peers. I was wondering if there was anything I could pray with you about right now." I sat back, amazed at how God works, and nodded slowly. I told her a little bit of what I went through and how I was trying to heal, but that I was realizing how hard it was to forgive and that it was something I really needed to do. With tears streaming down both our faces, she took my hands in hers and prayed for me. Instantly, I began feeling the burdens fall away. Then, we started singing again. The worship leader began talking about how often we let idolatry take over our lives and don't let God be our only passion. We need to let God be our only passion. He said if we needed to pray, just fall to our knees and start praying. If we saw someone praying, comfort them, pray for them. Almost instantly, everyone in my group began falling to our knees, shaking and crying. We all put our arms around each other, we gathered together in a lasting embrace, crying and praying in a worship session that lasted over an hour. That night, I forgave. I forgave everyone who has made my life a struggle the past several years. When everyone began standing up again, I felt ten times lighter than when I had knelt down. Praying together with my friends, not knowing what each others burdens were, but knowing we had them was one of the most amazing, God-breathed things I have ever done. It makes me so excited for Heaven. Some people think that when we get to Heaven, we won't remember the people we loved and knew on earth. I don't believe that. I believe that not only are we going to be hugely blessed to be able to do worship God in person, but we are going to be able to do it surrounded by the people we love. Because on Thursday night, God blessed me with being able to do just that. Worship Him with people I love. And it was one of the biggest blessings I have ever gotten.

Thanks for reading! If you would like to see my photos from this amazing week, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=64190&id=1346584511&l=0a7718702e (you'll have to copy and paste it into your browser)

What Concerns Me the Most: On the Road

Before I begin, I want to establish something. I am not perfect. Never have, and will not be until I reach Heaven. I have areas I need to work on, there are things I don't do right. I am as much a sinner as anyone else reading this. One of the worst excuses I have heard when expressing my concern to someone (and I've heard it from many) is, "Well, you did such and such, so I don't have to listen to you." NO. If everyone worked that way, improvements would never be made, and nothing would get done. The issues I will be addressing in this entry and the next few following it are things that have been popping up quite a bit in many areas of my life. They are things of great concern to me. Please keep in mind that I will be "preaching" to myself as well. When I speak about these issues, I mean it in no malice to anyone. I am approaching my fellow Christians, those redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ as I have been, as a concerned sister in Christ. If you are not saved, I am approaching you as a concerned friend. To avoid any accusations of "finger-pointing", I will not mention any names.

The age group most of my friends fall into is from 15-17 years old. For those in this age group, we have reached an exciting time. You get your permit, learn to drive, and by sixteen, sixteen and a half, most of us have our licenses. This is a time of achieving new independence with the ability to drive. The first time I held my brand-new driver's license in my hands, I felt a new sense of power and independence. No longer would I have to ask my parents to take me places. I could just hop into the car and go! I could take my friends places and we could hang out . . . wait. My mind stopped right there. In the state of Washington, one must wait six months after achieving one's license before driving alone with anyone under 21 who is not family. My excitement went down a couple notches. Then, my mind began to plan. I had heard many of my peers say that the six month law was dumb. What was the point to it? They just don't want us to have any fun! Many of my peers boasted that they weren't going to be waiting! As long as you don't get caught, it doesn't matter . . . right? Wrong. A law is a law is a law is a law. Sin is sin is sin is sin. Something I came to realize those agonizing six months was that even if I didn't get pulled over, even if my parents forgot about the law (which did happen occasionally), no matter what, God would know. Even though those six months (especially the last couple of weeks) were grueling, the wait was worth it. I can get into my car with a couple of friends and know that I am legal from all sides. I don't have to worry about being caught doing something I'm not supposed to be doing. I am doing something that is now perfectly legal for me. The last thing I want to see is one of my friends getting smacked with a fine because they chose to disobey a law they thought dumb or unnecessary. There are reasons for these restrictive laws. All the lawmakers and police officers want for teenagers is what's best, and what's best is our safety. They want you to enjoy your new-found freedom, but they also want you to be safe.

Another concern I have in the area of driving is speeding. Many drivers-and not just teens-find the speed limits signs simply suggestions. They are not. Rather, they are the law. Most police officers give a plus 5 mph cushion from the speeds written on the signs. This is because all speedometers are different and it ensures that (for the most part) a drive will not be ticketed unfairly. Note I said most; not all. But a driver should not take advantage of this cushion. Did you really get to where you were going faster just because you were going 55 or 60 instead of 50 mph? Nope. Actually, you were putting yourself and other drivers at more risk for no reason at all. The reason for the speed limits is, once again, safety. If speeds were not regulated on all roads, can you imagine the chaos that would ensue? The amount of accidents would shoot through the roof! It would be nearly impossible to drive down the road without being road-raged. The victims of most car accidents are in my age group. This is because teens are more easily distracted and are more prone to dangerous behavior because they are showing off or running late. When you follow the speed limits and other rules of the road, you show respect for fellow drivers, police officers, and our lawmakers. You show that you are concerned for your own safety and the safety of others. Most importantly, you show respect and obedience to God, who has placed authorities over us to keep us safe and to help learn right from wrong.

Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God (and other updates)

Last week for my American Literature class I read Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God". WOW. It is an awesome sermon. I recommend it to everyone--Christian or not. Something I really drew from it was the surprise of God's love for us. I always knew that His love was unusual, and loaded with grace and mercy, but I guess I never really thought about the full extent of His love. Every single one of us is wicked and sinful, and truthfully, we've all disappointed Him greatly. God has no obligation or anything that binds Him to loving us. He just. . .does. For no reason other than because He cares for us. He didn't have to send Jesus to die for us. He didn't even have to let us continue living after the Fall. He could have just snuffed us out and started over. But HE DIDN'T. He offers us everything we don't deserve: grace, mercy, redemption, salvation. And He doesn't even have to. He could throw any one of us into Hell whenever He pleases. But He's given us a chance at new life. Just reading that sermon made me so thankful that I have taken this free, wonderful, undeserved gift.

In other happenings, life's been going good. I've been sick this week, but am almost completely recovered! I'm really pumped for TeenPact National Convention in late May, partially because I'm running for Representative!!!!! This summer is going to be filled with work, friends, trips, job shadows, 4-H, etc, etc, etc. Can't wait! There's not too much new besides all that stuff.

I think I'll be using this blog mostly for my random philosophical thoughts and opinions on stuff. I guess that's mostly why I started it, because Facebook statuses don't allow that much character-wise, and posting a new note everyday gets dry. Anywho, stay tuned for more!


Wore my glasses today. . .just thought I'd share lol.

Easter

For those of you who live where I live, you'll remember that it snowed on Friday, and even a little bit yesterday (well, it did in my neck of the woods). When I woke up on Friday morning to snow, it really put me down. I was thinking, "Come on!! SNOW? In APRIL??" Later in the day though, a thought crossed my mind. This was Good Friday. The day (by tradition) that Jesus was crucified. The snow began to make sense to me. The day Jesus was crucified, many people thought all hope was lost. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, the disciples, and many others were deeply broken by His death. The days following were days of darkness for these people. The snow seemed to reflect the sorrow that was felt by these men and women so many years ago.

But what we know and what they forgot was that Jesus wasn't going to stay dead forever. Three days later, when Mary Magdalene came to dress Jesus' body with spices, she found the door to the tomb empty, with nothing inside but the grave clothes he had been wrapped in. Sure that the Roman soldiers had taken Jesus' body away, Mary began to weep. But she soon discovered that Jesus was not dead--but alive!!! Can you imagine the joy she must've felt when she looked once again upon the face of her Savior? Just three days ago, she thought she would never see Him again, yet there He was, alive and standing before her. He had conquered death, hell, and the grave so that she could be free. So that all people could be free. He suffered and died to pay for our sins, and then arose again three days later; all for us! We are all horrible sinners and deserve nothing more than an eternity in hell. But Jesus loved us so much that He has given us an opportunity to spend eternity with Him in Heaven!!!

So when this Easter morning dawned bright and beautiful, I felt in my heart the same hope Mary Magdalene must've felt when she saw her Savior was alive. Memories came flooding back from 4 and a half years ago when I finally chose to believe and accept Christ's eternal gift. That was by far the best day of my life. If you have not accepted Christ's perfect gift, I encourage and compel you to do so! It will be the best choice you ever made!!!!