My post is a little late. Monday instead of Sunday, but we had a big day at our house yesterday with our sons and their families here to enjoy the beautiful day of Easter. They came to church too. One family drove three hours and were only about five minutes late for services. Now that’s being a special gift to their mom and dad. The other family didn’t have to drive as far but it was good to see them fill up a pew at church too. In fact, our family filled up almost three pews and boosted attendance in our little church. A couple of the grandkids were away on trips and my daughter and her husband didn’t get to come, but the picture is of most of us. As you can see the grandkids are mostly all tall and making grandma the shortest in bunch. The preacher said I was wearing my coat of many colors. I definitely was wearing a smile with all that family around me.
It’s always good when families come worship together. Our little church was full of families like that when I first started going there after I married many years ago. I think I along with my husband and his family were the only ones there not related in some way to everybody else. Our church isn’t like that anymore. Children don’t stay as close to their parents’ homes when they grow up these days. They move off and find other churches. Nothing wrong with that, but it has made our church family different.
Different or not, some things never change. And that is the reason we get together to worship. We had a good Easter service with our preacher reminding us of why we celebrate the joy of this special time each year. We can rejoice in the love of Christ and his victory over death.
I hope you had a great Easter weekend with blessings chasing you everywhere you went. You know sometimes we stay so busy that we don’t always pay attention to the blessings around us. I might have been a little that way yesterday as I rushed around to get dinner on the table. And then my oven quit working Sunday morning. I didn’t realize that until I was trying to bake my rolls when I got home from church and they didn’t get done and didn’t get done. Finally I figured out the bottom unit of the oven wasn’t working. Sigh. I had heard a funny sound that morning while I was cooking before church, but didn’t realize it was oven deciding to blow up. So after church, I’m thinking all is well when it wasn’t. Eventually after an hour, the top of the rolls turned brown. By then, the starving family had said forget the rolls and let’s eat. I did flip the rolls over to brown the bottom too, and we had them as an after dinner snack. LOL.
Another blessing I’m always ready to remember is all of you who read my words and buy my books and are such an encouragement to me. Thank you so much.
What blessings could you count this weekend?
Maybe I should count the appliance repairman supposed to show up before I run out of my homemade bread and actually have to buy a loaf. 🙂
Comments 18
Oh, Ann, you have a beautiful family. I’m certain that the ones that couldn’t come are sorry they missed a beautiful time. Sorry to hear about the rolls not making it to the table on time, but I’m sure that there was so much food that they really weren’t missed all that much—but still disappointing! One of my mother’s favorite sayings was, “The best laid plans…..”
I’m amazed with your busy schedule you have time to make bread!
Happy belated Easter!
Author
Oh yes, those best laid plans can go awry for sure, Karen. I’ve been making bread for years. It’s sourdough bread that is super easy for me to do and I’ve gotten spoiled to how good it is. Not always that great for my waistline, but that’s why I walk my dogs every day. That plus my sweet tooth.
The rolls did all disappear as the day went by and I did get my oven repaired before I had to go find out where they sell the bread in the grocery store. LOL. Once when I was picking up a loaf of bread for my sister at WalMart, I had to ask someone where to find it.
My husband and I have befriended an Indian family (from the country of India) who attend our church. I tutored the son in reading and math and help both the son and daughter editing their English papers for school. Furthermore, I stay with the children on Saturdays until the single mother returns home from work in the early afternoon. To my husband and me, they are like grandchildren to us. It was a real blessing to see the son be baptized Sunday morning. While the baptism was in progress, the mother was Face Timing with her mother in India so that the grandmother could witness the baptism as well.
Author
Isn’t the internet amazing, Suzanne? How wonderful that she could face time with her mother in India. And how nice that you have the joy of being like grandparents to these kids.
You certainly had a special blessing for Easter.
What a beautiful photo of all of you!!! Of course your oven would conk out when you had a house full of family! I had Christmas at my house one year when my A/C went out and it was 90 degrees here in FL. Easter was weird this year as my grandson was visiting this week, was supposed to go back home Saturday, but was hit by a car on Friday and ended up in the hospital for the weekend. He needed surgery on his right foot, and they sent him to a hospital an hour away. I don’t have a car, but I do have a VERY good friend who drove me there Friday. Unfortunately they did not do the surgery until 5:00 PM on Saturday. I kept calling asking when he could come home, as I needed the ride. At 10:00 PM they decided to do a four hour antibiotic infusion, and said I could get him at 2:00 AM!!! I kept waiting for them to call, but no discharge paperwork until 11:00 AM on Sunday. I slept for a few hours in my clothes Saturday, because I was expecting to have to go at a moments notice! So I missed the sunrise beach service, missed the later service, missed the Good Friday service, too. The hight point of Easter Sunday was my afternoon nap!!!! He is ensconced on my sofabed for the next three weeks. But he is alive and no broken bones and I found a knee walker on Facebook for $25.00. Stuff happens.
Author
Oh my, Marjorie. That was quite a difference from what your grandson and you thought your week would be. I’m sorry he was hurt and had to have surgery, but glad it was not even more serious. As you say, he is alive and resting on your couch in a good place.
I’m guessing a sunrise beach service would be beautiful, but you were doing more important things and worshiping in a different way this year. Hope your grandson heals without any additional problems.
90 degrees with no air conditioner isn’t the best way to entertain. Missing a few rolls can’t compare to that. I just sliced some bread before the rolls finally got brown.
I could count the blessings of my church “mamas” checking in on my job search/general wellbeing, the beautiful trees blooming on my running route, and the energy rebuilding from extended times relaxing with a good book. Happy Easter Ann!
Author
Great reasons to feel blessing, Kayla. Thanks for sharing them. It is good to have those “church mamas” praying for you and wishing good things for you. Hope you had a great weekend.
That’s a great picture of your family, how nice it must have been for all of you to be together and share your meal.
How unfortunate for your stove to break down when you need it the most. Everyone will always remember the Easter dinner when the stove broke, ha!
When I first saw the picture above with the outfit you had on, I thought, she has on a coat of many colors. I guess the preacher thought so too. Then Dolly Parton’s song starts playing in my head.
My blessings for Sunday was the 2 inches of rain that came down. We are in a drought for this area and the rain helped out a lot, especially for the farmers.
Author
Guess it was a coat of many colors, Connie. Glad you got rain when you need it. I was glad for the sunshine here and still here. The school kids are out for spring break and so far they are having a great week weatherwise.
We did have fun together Easter. Four family members were off doing other things, but most of us were here. And they might remember the Easter they had to wait and wait to eat while Grandma tried to cook rolls that would not get done. Oven is fixed now. I can bake bread!
Lovely picture of your family. I am sure those rolls tasted great even as a snack once they got done. You certainly had a busy day and it was full of blessings.
My family and a couple of friends (adopted family) came to Easter dinner and for Easter egg hunts; we had an egg hunt for my only grandson then the adults had an Easter egg hunt. It was a lot of fun and I was thoroughly blessed by all of it! I had another birthday two day before and it too was full of blessings. I am still smiling today!
Author
Sounds as if you had a fun day, Pamela. I think the adult Easter egg hunt sounds fun. My husband says I’m silly to keep having the egg hunts for my teenage grandkids, but I think it’s fun and I put dollar bills in some of the eggs to keep them a little more interested. LOL. But I’d have fun finding candy if I was hunting the Easter eggs. I do have a sweet tooth.
And happy belated birthday. It’s wonderful to have special days to enjoy.
Your Easter Day sounds wonderful and full of blessings .
Several of my family filled a pew in church yesterday then we had my extended family over for an Easter gathering and 55 were in attendance.It was a very blessed and fun day.
I hope your oven gets fixed soon.
Author
Wow, you had a houseful, Lisa. I would have had to use our fellowship hall at church for a crowd like that or hope the weather was good for some outside gathering. The weather was good Sunday. So I’m sure you did have some outside fun too.
The oven is supposed to get fixed today. Fingers crossed. I was pro-active and made some bread ready to rise to test it out if it gets fixed. If not, I guess I can freeze the ready to bake bread.
What a lovely family photo! And what a blessing to have so many of your family attending the Easter worship service with you yesterday!
Yesterday’s date marked three months since my very best friend and sister in Christ was called to her heavenly Home. So the focus on Christ’s victory over the grave was a special blessing and comfort to my heart, as I realized that my friend was celebrating her first Easter in the very presence of our risen Lord Jesus. And I am also blessed by the knowledge that some day, I’ll be reunited with my special friend, and with other loved ones of like faith in Christ as Savior who have passed on.
Author
It is so sad to lose such a good friend, Roberta. I’m glad your heart was comforted in your grief as you thought about the Lord’s victory over the grave and His gift to all of us if we accept it. What love and what joy to have the promise of heaven.
I love your story and I LOVE your books. Thank you so much for your books.
Author
Aww, thank you so much, Linda. I hope you will enjoy the new showboat story too when it comes out in May.