Golly! Here it is Easter Monday already! I never got around to writing yesterday on Easter Sunday, because it was just such a busy day from morning 'til night! But it was all SO good!! What a joyous day it was!! Let's start at the very beginning and journey through the day together, shall we?
The first thing I noticed was that the stone had been rolled away from the tomb! And all of "nature" was in awe of the great event that had taken place there...the tomb was empty!!!
And so I rushed outside to see...and even the cross had been changed...and I thought I could hear the angels singing..."Alleluia! Jesus Lives!!!"...for after all..."With God, all things are possible!"...
What a glorious morning! We rejoiced to say, "Christ is Risen! He is Risen Indeed!"
So then we got ready to go to church...and here is the "message" for the day...our choir sang the cantata "I Will Embrace the Cross". If you wish to listen to the whole thing, I think you'll enjoy it. This prerecorded last week at our rehearsal. If you go all the way to 26:26, you will find a bit of a surprise as I sing a solo. The only thing I will say is that I give God the glory and thanks for getting me through this. My voice was about gone that night. But thankfully Sunday morning God refreshed me and my voice and I believe it sounded a lot better...at least my hubby said so. LOL. I am just thankful to be able to sing for the glory of God and I pray that the message of the whole cantata was a blessing to those who listened and participated.
After church we came home and the family gathered here for dinner. Thankfully Rose had baked the ham and made the deviled eggs. I did the scalloped potatoes, but I will confess they were the quickie variety from a box...but I added extra cheese to make them extra good. Yes, I much would prefer to have my homemade scalloped potatoes, but on Easter Sunday morning with all the other stuff I had going on this weekend, there was just no time for slicing potatoes, etc. Anyway, they were very good. We also had "Amish Fruit Salad", and broccoli, and a tossed salad and Hawaiian Rolls. All in all it was a feast.
I thought my new "Dollar Tree" plates for spring looked really pretty, don't you? They are so inexpensive, and it was fun to have something different to use.
John found his! (we wrap them in grocery bags so that no little critters or cats or dogs might find them first).
Rose found hers:
And Benton was the last one to find his! He was perturbed because he had been so close to it several times and didn't see it! LOL. It's always a fun time and a happy tradition that our big kids look forward to even at their great ages! LOL.
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(of course we couldn't bring Blackie inside to join us, or there would've been a turf war between the dogs and the cat!)
Oh, but Lily Grace and Bailey joined in the fun, and there was even a new little puppy in a basket for them to play with and enjoy!
However, I was reminded by a few people that Easter Lilies are highly toxic to cats, and so last night we took it outside and put it in a wooded area of our fenced lot where Blackie never goes, so that hopefully he will not come in contact with it. It was pretty while it lasted in the house, I but we didn't want to take any chances on the pollen dust falling on Blackie and making him sick!
So all in all, it was a wonderful Easter Day, and we rejoice in knowing that because Christ arose from the dead, we too shall live!!
I was SO happy that our church sang this wonderful old hymn yesterday. "Christ Arose". No, this isn't our church, but maybe you'll want to sing along with this church from FBC Atlanta.
Low in the grave He lay—
Jesus my Savior!
Waiting the coming day—
Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
2
Vainly they watch His bed—
Jesus, my Savior!
Vainly they seal the dead—
Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
3
Death cannot keep his prey—
Jesus, my Savior!
He tore the bars away—
Jesus my Lord!
Up from the grave He arose,
With a mighty triumph o’er His foes
He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
And He lives forever with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose!
Hallelujah! Christ arose!
What a wonderful day you had! I love that some baskets came for you and John too. Your dinner looks delicious.
ReplyDeleteI rolled the stone away early because our kids were over the day before. :)
We sang Low in the Grave at church too. I love that, reminds me of my childhood church.
I wonder what the granddaughters thought about the empty tomb. Especially the youngest one! And yes, singing that hymn brought back sweet memories for me too. To me, it just isn't Easter without singing it!
DeleteI love the tradition of hide the basket, we all need fun things to do even as we age. The plates are beautiful and I read today that colors in dishes make us feel different
ReplyDeletehere is what it said
Use cool tones (blues, soft greens) to create a sense of calm.
Eating from blue dishes or in a blue room can help you slow down and avoid rushed overeating.
Love the family photo, its really special
How about that? I didn't know that about dishes, but blues and greens are in all my dishes! I'm not sure it helped me to stay very calm or kept me from overeating...but I did enjoy my meal and most of all the company! Happy Easter to you and your sweet little family there.
DeleteYou set a beautiful table for your family--much love!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cindy. I hope you had a blessed Easter/Resurrection Sunday as well. (((HUGS)))
DeleteYou had quite the feast for Easter, Pamela, and I do love those spring dishes you found at the Dollar Store. What a deal! I think it's so cute that you still "hide" baskets for each other, too. Alleluia! He is risen!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Martha. We did have a joyous day. Our family loves traditions. I hope they will carry them on even after we are gone...but there are no more grandchildren in this group to do that with, and Noah doesn't appear to be in a hurry to bring any more members into the family. So this may be the last generation to enjoy them. The important thing is that we celebrate the Risen Christ together, and one day we will all be together with HIM, celebrating in heaven for eternity! That's what matters most!
DeleteWe also sang Low In the Grave yesterday morning! Such a wonderful song and loved from childhood when my dad would lead it in church!
ReplyDeleteOh how wonderful to have that special memory of your dad leading the music. My dad also sang in church...in the choir and in men's quartets, etc., and I have so many sweet memories of the old songs they sang. This song in particular speaks EASTER to me!! Hallelujah! Christ Arose!!!
DeleteWhat a magnificent Easter Day you had.
ReplyDeleteI loved every minute of your Cantata and your solo was beautiful. You all are mighty singers for the Lord even though your numbers are small.
Love your traditions of the Easter baskets. We used to do much the same thing. Happy Easter Monday.
Sue
Oh, thank you Sue. I appreciate that you took the time to listen to it. I do thank the Lord for giving me another opportunity to sing for His glory, but I am realizing that my days of being a soloist are numbered. Still, I can sing for the joy of singing for the Lord, and that's what it's all about. He knows my heart. I'm glad you enjoyed our Easter basket tradition. This tradition goes back to my childhood, and we've carried it on. My parents were big on tradition and doing special fun things together as a family, but all to make the memories of Easter and Christmas even stronger and more memorable. They made sure we understood the true meaning of those days, but they also made them fun, which I will always appreciate. Happy Easter Monday to you as well. (((HUGS))) across the continent!!!
DeleteWhat a wonderful Easter you had, celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus! We had a busy morning with early service, making and serving breakfast at church and then the main service. We were exhausted and came home and collapsed. We ate leftover pizza for lunch and relaxed the rest of the day. Mandy and her little family were at her in-laws for dinner and we're used to being alone for holidays although we would much rather be with our kids.
ReplyDeleteBlessings and hugs,
Betsy
Hi Pamela, I enjoyed reading your post today. I enjoyed the video too. Reminds me of my choir days at the Methodist church I went to when I was young. We always sang Christ the Lord has Risen Today. That is nice that you pass out Easter baskets. Your food looks good too. We did go to two different church services. Today is a rest day. Enjoy your week!
ReplyDeleteI loved having the tomb displayed in my house this year! Thank you (and Benton) for such a meaningful and lovely gift! Our Easter baskets were always hidden when we were kids. Such fun. It's so great that you guys still do that, and that everyone still enjoys it!! Love you all! Christ is risen, indeed!! xo
ReplyDeleteHello Pamela,
ReplyDeleteYOU LOOKED BEAUTIFUL. I love your dress. I hope you are doing well. I have missed seeing you on my blog. Looks like you had a beautiful easter. Lovely pictures. Blessings.
Oh, what a delight-full day you shared with us! Your table setting looks delightful; I don't recall having seen that pattern at $Tree before.
ReplyDeleteWell, again this year I totally spaced making Easter baskets .. what on earth is happening to my head?! So, inquiring mind need to know, where on earth did you find to hide such big baskets?
That your for sharing your joy with us ... and being such a careful, loving 'mama' to Blackie.
Sweet Pam,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your visit and comment recently. No pressure at all. I was just worried something may be wrong. I am so glad it isn't and I will be praying for you and your appointments. :) Blessings.
Thanks, Pam, for sharing your family celebration. It looks like a fun time was had with the Easter basket hunt and delicious food too.
ReplyDeleteDear Pamela, what an amazing time you all had. Beautiful photos, lovely smiles and delicious food 😋
ReplyDeleteYour dinner sounds delicious. The table looks beautiful and how awesome to make all those Easter baskets.
ReplyDeleteA great hunt...My kids must have passed by their Easter gift a dozen times before finally locating them. Lots of fun to watch them hunt no matter how old they get. Delicious looking Easter dinner Pam. I enjoyed seeing all the smiles coming from the faces of your loves. Easter was a beautiful day around her, filled with much sunshine, after having a rainy day on Saturday. I'm here waving at you from my back porch today...sending good vibes and big hugs..
ReplyDeleteYou always set such a pretty holiday table, and I love the basket hunt for everyone! I may need to start that here one day! And I listened to your solo and you sounded lovely! Reminded me of seeing the Mursch family members singing at Grandma and Grandpa’s church!
ReplyDeleteWell, this has to be my niece Sandy! Thank you so much for commenting. You made my day! I read this right before falling into bed last night, and I was so happy to see this comment. Thank you so much for your kind words and sweet memories of "The Mursch Family Singers" singing at Grandma and Grandpa's church. Those were indeed special times when your family came down to their house for Easter. And yes, you really should start the Easter Basket hunt tradition in your family! Perhaps someday you will have little grandchildren running around looking for their Easter baskets! Thank you for visiting here. Always so nice to hear from family that I love!!
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