Resurrection Thoughts

This is my favorite Sunday of the year.  I loved it when I was a little girl because it usually meant candy and a new dress, and when I was VERY little, a new hat.  Why did that fall by the wayside??  Hats are so much fun, and what's wrong with having ONE SUNDAY a year when you go all-out??  Maybe one of my fashionista friends (Sandi Nieto) can get that started again because I'm definitely not a fashion trend-setter.  Someone once told me that I dressed like I was heading for a Gap ad, which I took as a compliment :)  It took me a few blonde-moments to realize that she was dissing my khakis and cotton tees.  Whatever.  Now you know not to look to me for fashion advice.

But back to Resurrection Sunday thoughts.  I've decided to stop referring to this day as Easter because, in my mind, Easter has come to mean bunnies, candy and plastic eggs... a FAR CRY from what the day is really all about.  Referring to this day as Resurrection Sunday is IMPOSSIBLE to mistake, so maybe this is the way I can make my mark as a trend-setter.

Part of the reason this day has been so great is that I'm still on cloud nine from my trip to Israel.  It's been a couple of weeks since I returned, and this year was really special.  There were MANY hurdles, LARGE stressful ones that had to be overcome for this trip to happen; and the Lord was faithful and saw it to fruition.  We had a wonderful group of pilgrims this year, and we formed an amazing bond during our time together.  When we first began to plan for this trip, I made a list of things I prayed for regularly:  logistics, safe travel, good weather, easy-going attitudes, cooperative spirits, safety & good health while we were there, etc. and one of the biggest requests was that the Lord would allow relationships to form that would last far beyond our week together.  He answered all of those requests IN SPADES.

I'm always amazed at how the body of Christ forms this unexplainable "bond."  We did some things before the trip so that people could become acquainted beforehand, but it was precious to watch people chat and get to know each other the first night at dinner.  We then spent some time in the lobby relaxing and listening to our musical friends sing and play guitars, and the next morning as we boarded the bus and began to tour Galilee, it was as if we had become an easy, relaxed community.

This is such a whirlwind trip and there is SO MUCH to process that at times it feels like you're trying to drink from a fire hydrant!!  A few of us had been there before, and for my part it was much more enjoyable.  My first year I took notes like a court reporter and didn't really feel like I actually SAW everything.  This year I SAW it all.  It helped that I did a bunch of research before we left, but I took it all IN this year and really reflected on some of the things that His coming to earth accomplished.  One of the thoughts I had was how His presence among us changed the course of history for ALL mankind.

Someday I'd like to take a class or read a book about the influence of Christianity on western civilization because it HAS to be significant.  When our nation was formed, it was founded on Christian principles.  Then as the Lord blessed our nation and we rose to be a world superpower, the rest of the world watched our successes (and failures) and instituted cultural, economic and political policies based on the things that worked for us.  Many of the things we've done in America have been good and right and have brought abundant blessings around the world, but it's because we've had a moral compass that is founded on biblical principles and guidelines.

In my 40+ years of living I've watched those principles and guidelines begin to blur, and it scares me.  The old saying, "If you don't stand for SOMEthing, you'll fall for ANYthing" is true.  Once we lose sight of what is right and wrong, we lose the vision for our future.  Some will argue that you can't legislate morality, but since legislation = making laws, those laws have to be based on SOMETHING -- and guess what that is??  Morals!!  What is right and wrong!!

So as I think about what is right and wrong in our nation, and there is plenty of each, I am praying that the conscience and morality of our nation will be resurrected. We have decisions to make that can change the course of our nation, and they MUST be founded on something solid and lasting.  There is a spiritual hunger and thirst in our nation, one that can only be satisfied by faith in Jesus Christ.  Everything else brings about change for a time,  but HE brings about change for eternity.

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may know you have eternal life."  John 20:31 (NIV)

Happy Resurrection Sunday!!