The True Meaning of Easter

Me and my Peeps!

Okay, so Peeps are not the true meaning of Easter but it is a perk!:) This easter weekend was one of the best weekends ever. Nothing extraordinary happened...just a time of rejoicing and reflection of my life. These last few weeks, I have told Austin that in this phase of my life, I am overwhelmed with all the blessings that surround me and feeling so much joy and purpose in my life. Easter is a reminder of the change that came to my life once I decided to follow Christ. Austin and I got a lot of quality time with Maddy and Andrew and we laughed a lot!:) If you haven't noticed from all the blog postings/videos....Maddy has lots of moments throughout the day that puts a smile on our face.
For example, we were excited to be part of Kate's baptism today. In the middle of the baptism, the priest was sharing about baptism and how it symbolizes a cleansing of sin and transforming to a new life (which was so meaningful since she was being baptised on Easter). Well, the priest shared a verse from John 21:20 "the disciple whom Jesus loved was following Jesus". He said the disciple that Jesus loved could be applied to anyone and "Today, it's Kate the disciple whom Jesus loved". And at this moment Maddy was next to me and she shouted "And Maddy. Jesus loves Maddy, too". I could hear her words echo across the room and I could feel my face turn a crimson red. But the priest was so quick to respond to Maddy's outburst in saying that that is exactly what he hopes....that Kate grows up knowing (just like Maddy does) that Jesus loves her all the days of her life. Those were beautiful words that I hope will be true for my kids and all the kids we are around. I am blessed to be Kate's god mother. In the same way that I am called to play the role of Godmother for Kate, I desire to share Christ to Kate, my kids, our nieces, nephews and children we are around because I know how it changed my life and I know what it has done for me. I don't want them to miss out on having the sense of true joy and contentment that I received once I chose my life for Christ. It was a beautiful weekend.
I had too many pictures from this weekend so, I put together a slideshow (shown below) of our Easter weekend. The music played in this video is one of my favorite songs because of the words. It was perfect for the Easter weekend. Here are the lyrics and the video. Enjoy!

In Christ Alone
In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.