Celebrate!

What an amazing, awesome, marvelous day it has been! What a tremendous celebration of the resurrection and God's wonders!

As we were getting ready for church, Margo and I looked out our bedroom window to watch a couple of deer lazily making their way through the woods. I love their gentle spirit, and I love watching the wildlife around our home.

Worship at Hope this morning was especially wonderful. We made some changes to the way the sound system is set up, and we set the mix a little differently. The result was a much cleaner, richer sound that really enhanced the incredible talents and spirit of our Worship Team. From the moment we began, it was a tremendous celebration. I was especially thrilled that the band performed some special music at my request. It's not often that we can do a 1990 rock ballad as part of the sermon!

I really enjoyed sharing the message today. I had this amazing sense of God's presence and leading, and it was a joy to lay out the reasons for the death and resurrection of Christ so clearly.

The auditorium was packed today despite many of our families being out of town on vacation this weekend (Spring Break and all...). And, as far as I can tell, every one of our visitors joined us today and the invitation of someone at Hope. I'm loving the sense of outreach and enthusiasm that God is stirring in our midst.

After church, Ben went over to a friend's for a day of fun building stuff in the woods in anticipation of a big Air-Soft war they're planning. Margo, the girls, and I zipped down to Culpeper for lunch at Chili's. We ate way to much food, from appetizers and chocolate milkshakes to burgers and fries. But we had a blast!

This afternoon, Margo and I pulled out the hammock and launched the fair weather season with a long nap at the edge of the woods. It was a bit chilly so we brought blankets with us, but it was wonderful laying there with the warmth of the sun on our faces, feeling the cool breeze, listening to all the different birds' songs in the trees around us, watching the dog run and explore in the back yard. It was an experience I'll cherish for a long time, and my soul feels so utterly refreshed.

Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of worshiping you and celebrating. Thank you for such a tremendous church family. Thank you for my wife and kids and the adventure of sharing life together. Thank you for our wonderful home in such an awesome, beautiful setting. Thanks for a great Spring day, for the fresh air, for the life budding all around us. And thank you most of all for the extraordinary gift of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and for the resurrection which guarantees new life forever and the eternal joy in your presence.