Christ has Risen, He has Risen Indeed! I pray all reading this have had a blessed Easter.

I really enjoyed the service today. The pastor that preached is a former student of mine and shared a very strong message. One new thought he shared was about the rolling away of the stone.

He pointed out that the angel didn't roll the stone away to let Jesus out, Jesus had already risen. Instead the angel rolled the stone away so that the women could see for themselves that Jesus had risen.

I love the idea that after the angel rolled the stone away he then sat down on the stone and chatted with the women. He must have loved that moment. Not only was he probably thrilled to share the news with them, he also knew that by sharing the news first with them he was raising the level of women for all time to come. He even went on to tell them, the women, that they should go and report the news to the disciples. They were to tell the men! How revolutionary! To top it off, Jesus appeared to the women before he appeared to the men. Those women must have loved the honor and cherished those moments for the rest of their lives!

Another part of the service I really enjoyed today was how every time someone prayed, or before the gospel text or announcements were read, someone would begin a chorus of praise and everyone would join in...sometimes even with echoes or harmony! It was beautiful! Two lines that really jumped out for me were these...

"Jesus is Alive!...Though I may be tempted, there is no turning back!"

"You are more than people can conceive!"

Easter is a time of joy and I praise God for his great sacrifice for all of us!

My kids have had fun today too. Until this year we never had Easter Egg hunts, but my home church sent us an Easter care package some time ago and we managed to hold on to eight plastic eggs. First I hid them with some sweets inside for Annette and Daniel, then they hid them for me, then we hid them for their Aunt Kauna, Aunt Keziah and Uncle Pwakatti. After that we hid for Nat and Ephrim. Then they hid for Jide and David. It has been fun seeing them share the fun over and over again. We even had a few Swiss chocolates to hide that Pastor Musa, who works for the Lutheran World Federation in Switzerland brought last week. (The kids used to think he worked for a chocolate factory because he always brings chocolate when he comes to visit!)

I pray that your Easter has also been filled with moments of Easter Joy and that you too might rediscover the Joy of God's love for us over and over again.

Easter Blessings!

Dorthea