Lucky Charms and more from a controlling mama bear. . . .

yes, i admit it.

i can be just a wee bit controlling sometimes.
like every good mama bear,
sometimes a bit of meddling/controlling is what's needed:)

but in a good way, of course.

so what have i done now?

well, as i mentioned before, my daughter will most likely be

moving to Chicago in the next year.

and like any good mama,

i'm checking out neighborhoods, safety, weather. . . . .

and churches!

it helps that there is a good Bible college in the city,

with church recommendations.

it helps a LOT!!!!!

2 of the recommendations sound very promising. . . . .

everything i would love for her to have in a church.

but one in particular jumped out at me right away.

Willow Creek Community Church Chicago.

yesterday i received an email re: today's sermon topic, "Simplify"

here are the questions they will be asking. . . . .

Question. What's the most important thing in your life? 

Follow-up question. What would the people who know you say?

 and here is a bit of the rest of the message from Pastor John. . . . . 
"Sadly, I find in my own life that these answers can sometimes be different. I really wish they were the same. I wish that the thing I most longed to have preeminence in my life was obvious to everyone else, but that's not always true. I may be alone in that, but I doubt it. 
 So if the answer was the same, and the most important thing in your life was obvious to you and others, what would that look like? If your answer is your family, how would others know that to be true? If your answer is God, what attributes would be present to show it?
 This Sunday we will be teaching about how we simplify one key area of our lives, while also showing how important God is to us."

i love simple, biblical messages that give you something practical to take into your week.
i can't wait for us to try Willow Creek Church!
sometimes, being a meddling mama is a good thing:)

don't forget that another episode of The Bible is airing tonight!

today on CBS Sunday,
they interviewed Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, 
the creators/producers of the series.

GREAT interview if you can catch it again somewhere.
but when asked if the idea for the mini series was hers,

Roma Downey said "not mine.  God placed the idea in my heart".  

well said!
When asked why they made it,
Mark said he believed that even if someone doesn't go to church
or isn't particularly religious,
everyone should hear the stories of the Bible.
i like that too!

*********************************** and no, i haven't forgotten that today is St. Patrick's Day.
to those of you who are Irish. . . .Happy St. Patrick's Day!
we don't do anything to celebrate it, although when my girls were younger,
we might color our food green and stuff like that.
but some things even i can't resist.
like a good excuse to have a nice big bowl of
Lucky Charms.

aaaahhh. . . . . i love me some marshmallows in my cereal!!:)

the Grand Ol' Opry sent this photo out today with the message

"Hope you're wearing your John Deere green!"

(you might need to like country to get that:)

Happy Sunday!
xoxo
Suzanne

pain, grief, heartache...and a message of HOPE from Hawaii...

Aloha!

we had such an INCREDIBLE week in Hawaii.

you wouldn't know it from the title, would you?

but i had to do something to get you to

 READ ALL THE WAY TO THE END...

it was a beautiful Easter morning...

Easter sunrise service at Waimea Bay Beach,

put on by the North Shore Christian Fellowship.

how PERFECT!

what a blessing to see that big tent on the beach, 

on a beautiful Easter morning,

filled up with people of all ages and races.
Aloha i ke Akua = Loving God     

Aloha i kekahi i kekahi = Loving One Another 

greetings of  "Aloha...Happy Easter" and big smiles.

wonderful music,
a greeting by the youth pastor, who informed us there was 

an Easter breakfast after the service,

followed by a beach baptism...

followed by a paddle out to catch a few waves.

(hey...this IS the surfing capital of the world...

 AND, the surfing ministry here has reached many over the years so...:)

the minister stepping up to share the Easter message,

one of HOPE.

because with the Resurrection, we have hope...

and there comes a time in all of our lives

when we realize our Faith...and Hope...are what we need.

ALL we need.
in fact, all we HAVE.

when i say this man spoke from experience,

i really mean it!

he wanted to thank the people of the church for their prayer, support and for lifting him up when he needed it most over the past year.
he wanted to speak of HOPE, FAITH and God's LOVE.

 he went on to tell us what a year it had been. 

ever since last May/June...

you've probably heard the story.

while this man of God was spending time in California
attending a minister's conference,
he received a phone call from back home in Hawaii.
actually, the call came while he was at Disney Land with his wife and grandchildren.
there he was, in the "happiest place on earth",
when he got the call.

tell me, what is the WORST phone call you can think of getting?
is it that someone you love passed away?
i experienced that this past year and let me tell you,
it's plenty PAINFUL.
is it that your child has been in a car accident?
or is it that call saying the lump you found is cancer?

all of the above are pretty much the worst calls we can think of getting,
 i would bet.
but this man received one that might have us all beat.
you see, his call included
 death, senselessness, hopelessness, PAIN and the loss of a child.
the loss of a child as he knew it.

last May in Honolulu,
there was a 28 year old man who went on a random
shooting spree for 17 minutes,
injuring two and killing one.
causing PAIN to MANY...
including this pastor,
who was told that the shooter was his son.
and the woman he randomly shot and killed,
in front of her 16 year old daughter...
was also a much-loved mother of TEN.
he rammed cars, shot at police officers...
for no reason.
in addition to grieving for family members,
i've often wondered how a parent of one of the criminals must feel.
what they think...
what they must go through.
because he also lost a son.

of course, the news reports ALL over the world usually
 start with the shooter's name, age and the fact that he is the son of a local Pastor.
of course.
apparently, he was a troubled youth growing up.
sometimes carefree,
sometimes mischievous,
never cruel.
apparently.
he had been battling drugs and his parents were so hopeful.
FINALLY, at the age of 28,
their beautiful boy showed signs of settling down,
completing a treatment program.
getting his life together.
apparently.
until the phone call.
until they knew he had taken the lives of innocent, lovely people...
and he would pay dearly.
he SHOULD pay dearly.
that crazy guy, wandering down the freeway...
in beautiful Hawaii, of all places,
randomly shooting a gun,
was somebody's little boy.

we sat there under that tent on the beach,
STUNNED.
this was NOT the Easter message we were accustomed to hearing.
but it was by far the most powerful message we heard.
because on Easter Sunday, he spoke of hope.
the hope we all have because Jesus died on the cross and rose again,
to give us hope...and life.

some of the reports you may have read,
( and may soon hear, since the trial finally begins on June 12)
may have you thinking that his family wants him to be free of all guilt.
we don't always know the real story...or what attorneys plan for a client.
but let me tell you, that is not the case.
this man and his wife raised their children to know and love God.
the verse he always used to encourage his children was Jeremiah 29:11,
which happens to be a favorite verse in our home, too.

but as this minister said, the "plans" God has for his son now include jail...
most likely for the rest of his earthly life.
and he did not make excuses...or shy away from any part of the story.
after the shootings, after hearing it was his son,
he thought of the woman his son killed, and her beautiful BIG family.
and he reached out to them and other crime victims.
the church has had fundraisers to give money to the family.
there has been a lot of criticism to come their way, but they stay strong.
not even the family want to excuse the horrible things he did.
they have hope that God will use him in some way.
it all comes down to hope, doesn't it?
and they do love their son...but not what he did.
never what he did.

he asked us to please continue to pray for them,
all of them,
 especially as the trial starts.
particularly for the woman's family, who have to relive this horror.

i'm not sure what angle the press/ courts/attorneys will take.
maybe you will hear a completely different story.
but this is one man's story,
shared with us in a church service on the beach,
Easter Sunday morning.
i wish y'all could have been there.
about 30 people out of the few hundred who were there,
walked down the aisle to receive Christ that morning.
many would be baptized in the waters of the Pacific later that day.
it was something to see...to be a part of.
a real blessing!

even though i am not a writer, not a theology student...
i hope that by reading this, maybe you were blessed as we were...
or that no matter what you are going through...you know that there is HOPE.
please forgive me if there are little inaccuracies here and there.
i truly didn't intend that.
i just wanted to begin telling you about our little trip to Hawaii.
how a one week trip, with nothing special planned,
turned out to be one of the best, if not THE best, trips we have ever taken.

be blessed...
Suzanne

Easter Parade...

don't you love this time year?
spring, EASTER...
it's such a beautiful time.

I remember when i was a little girl,
it also meant something else.
it was a time to go shopping with my mom for
a new PRETTY Easter dress...
there was just something about it that i'll never forget.
every little girl at church paraded in on Easter Sunday with their
Easter Dress...and sometimes a new hat/bonnet,
new little purse or matching shoes.
for some reason, i remember we could actually wear white...
before labor day...
as in white patent leather mary janes and
white sandals.

the colors were all so pretty!
i remember my favorite dress EVER.
it was a pretty robin's egg blue and white...
kind of like a "Heidi" dress.
it looked a little like this...

awwww...it brings back such memories:)

and when my own girls were little, i dressed them up...

and they were always matching:)

but i also remember it seemed to end at an earlier age than when i was a kid..

now, i'm wondering...and HOPING...

that girls still dress up for church.

in particular, Easter Sunday.

cause if they don't, they're missing out on something special.

look at these sisters from way back...

makes me wish i had a photo like this:)

truly the good ol' days!

down here in casual Florida, 

pastels and sundresses seem to ALWAYS be in.

but up north, where i grew up,

it's just one more sign of spring.

nothing like an EASTER parade to get you in the springtime mood:)

Easter Parade by shabbychicks 

 i also remember how we went to Florida when i was young...

and they had an Easter Bonnet parade.

it was soooo much fun making up cute, quirky hats.

i could be wrong but i vaguely remember dressing up one of my nieces.

memories:)

look at some of the clever Easter Bonnets and dresses in these parades...

Sweet Southern Belles...

 ADORABLE little girls in their bonnets...

WOW...these are amazing:)

they're wearing a whole Easter basket on their head!

i hope this family won...

 

and maybe after the parade, or for Easter brunch,

how about some PRETTY 

Easter Bonnet cookies!

isn't this so much fun?

tell me, did you get a new Easter dress or 

make a bonnet when you were younger?

if so, what did your favorite look like?

Happy Sunday!

xoxoxo

Suzanne