Why

It was early. They walked quickly, in hushed tones. It was cool, having rained overnight. Everything was so rushed on the Preparation day, there wasn't time to properly anoint the body. The women all agreed to meet early the morning after the Sabbath, in order to anoint His body; as was fitting. They wondered aloud if the soldiers would help them with the heavy stone.

Passover was usually a time of rememberance but also of celebration. This time, however, there was no celebration. FOr the first time in their lives, all ritual seemed hollow. Afterall, their Deliverer was dead. For three years, they'd followed this man - the One. All they'd hoped for - gone - in one horrible afternoon. Why, Lord, why?

Mary Magdalene worried a little about how quiet it seemed - her experience with Romans was that they were loud - all the time. And yet, as they approached the tomb she did not hear anything - no voices, no heavy steps - just the quiet of the garden.

Then they saw it. The tomb was open. The guards were gone. What had happened? Surely no-one would have taken the Lord's body. Why, then was the stone rolled away? Why would the Roman soldiers have unsealed the tomb? Why?

Frightened, they ran to the tomb, but found nothing. Bewildered, they ran outside and were met by two men. How brightly their robes shined! And their voices rang - it was terrible and beautiful, at the same time.

"Why do you seek the living among the dead," one of the men said, "He is risen! Go and tell the others."

They immediately rushed to tell Peter. "Why don't you believe us? We've seen it for ourselves!" Mary's heart was heavy - she told herself she believed these men - surely they were messengers, sent to give them the good news. Why, then, couldn't she rejoice with the others? Why wouldn't they believe her?

Peter immediately ran for the tomb - going to inspect the now shed graveclothes with bewilderment.

Mary knelt in the cool grass a long time, eyes closed, just listening and praying. When she looked up, she saw a man standing near her. Grief-stricken, she cried, "They've taken the Lord away and I don't know where."

"Mary," said the man. It was only then she realized the man standing before her was Jesus. Alive!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jesus had to die. God's perfection demands a sacrifice for sin. It is a death sentence. From the very first rebellion in the garden, God knew we could never be redeemed unless He intervened. From the beginning, to the very last pages of Scripture, we read of God's plan to redeem us through the death, burial and resurrection of His Son. Jesus had  to die; or we would never truly live.

That's why.

Gone

I can't imagine the stunned shock of the disciples. Even though they'd been told this was coming, how many of them really understood? And now, He was gone. They'd watched their friend and teacher - the Savior - beaten, mocked and, finally, crucified.  They watched, with finality, as the Roman soldiers sealed the tomb with an enormous rock.

Judas had betrayed him to the priests and, now, he was dead. Peter, the Rock, had denied him - three times. Not one of the 12 had come to his aid.

And now, they were in hiding. Afraid for their very lives. I imagine the room where they gathered was as silent as the very grave itself.

They had to be exhausted from their grief and terror. It wouldn't be until later they would be filled with courage. Today, all was uncertain.

Soylent Green

Linky Linky to this VERY strange movie

I had an interesting epiphany this morning.  We do not know we are starving until we taste real food again.

For [fill in the blanks], we've been "too tired" to go to church. We've had too much to do. We've been over-extended/-committed/whatever. (and we were) We, legitimately, were running on fumes. Munchkin and I had Oliver! and Coach started soccer season. I had SO many work obligations I brought it home a lot of nights; against my personal commitment not to. Goals made at the new year still hang, unstarted (is that a word?) on the door.

Church was effectively shelved. A two hour commitment, once a week, was crossed off the list, in favor of a little more "rest."

What we didn't realize at the time was that we were also shelving two hours of concentrated family time; one of our family goals. Time to pray together - also a goal . A church where we could plug in - another goal. Two hours a week, dedicated to reminding us and reinforcing the kind of family we want to be: friendly, patient, kind, healthy, praying, and on and on. So, by eliminating that two hours a week, we effectivly hobbled our ability to meet almost every one of our family goals and many of our individual goals.  Yes, that two hours were freed up but we were starving our family of fellowship, community, encouragement from the outside, accountability to something bigger than ourselves and a group connection to our Savior.

[Enter the Soylent Green metaphor]

Soylent Green is a movie that came out in the 70s and, according to wikipedia: much of the population survives on processed food rations, including "soylent green". It's a weird post-apocalyptic movie that came out in the 70s. People don't eat real food anymore. They eat this soylent green stuff.  It tastes better than other food rations and is more nutritious.  After a VERY long story line (hello, 1970s, I know all the drugs slowed down your processing speed but it doesn't translate well to future viewers), Charlton Heston's character discovers this soylent green is made of PEOPLE.  When people die, their bodies become this processed "food." People don't even know what they're eating. At some point, Heston's character aquires some steak and it's like a treasure. It's so valuable, they hide it until they are ready to eat it.

[return to today]

This morning, for the first time in months, Coach and I went to worship service. At our church. When Brother Andy began to preach, any sense of lingering tiredness fell away and we were just caught up in this sweet fellowship with each other, with the others in the room and with God.

It was during this time I realized I'd been starving for real food. Making myself be content with processed and manufactured rest, over time, my spirit grew quiet as my flesh began to "forget" what real food tasted like. Not that my spirit went away or was less present - I think it just waited for my flesh to get. a. grip.

Suddenly, my attempts to free up our time seemed laughable. Like I could re-create this feeling without spending the time in the pew.  Like I really wanted to. My spirit laughed; not in a mean way, but in a joyful way. Making a joyful noise took on the proportions of the delighted oohs and aahs when Mom presents the family with the Thanksgiving turkey. We feasted on the scripture (Romans 8).

And, not for the first time, I said to God, "God, why did it take me so long to figure that out - the answer was right in front of me the whole time..." And I'm sure God just shrugged His shoulders and said, "I don't know, but I'm glad you're back."

It was good.

We rested in Him.

We were filled.

L-O-V-E

Listen
Overlook
Value
Encourage

• Listen means turning off the iPad and phone, disconnecting my brain from the temptation to work and really engaging in conversation - investing in friendship.
• Overlook means keeping the good stuff in focus and it worrying so much about the other stuff.
• Value means caring enough to be sensitive to needs.  I must communicate and model behavior I hope to see.
• Encourage is just that. I think I do can do a pretty good job at this but there is always room to improve.

 

Lord, thank you for renewed vision and a willing heart. 

I Believe! (Devotional)

Passage Romans 10:8-17
Prayer
Dear Father,May the word of Christ always be on my lips and in my heart. May I make known to everyone in every place that Jesus is Lord and that you have raised him from the dead. Remind me continually that I have no cause to be ashamed of my faith.Grant not only that I myself should believe but that I should also become partners with others in sending them to proclaim the Good News to the world.Thank you that Christ is preached. Thank you for the belief you have put into my heart. Thank you for the salvation that comes from this.In Jesus' name. Amen. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/hl-devos-pwp/~3/Bi0gG-F-nI8/pwp.pl #Bible http://j.mp/hSqMD9

It's been a really hectic few months and my blogging has slowed down to a crawl.

I need to blog about Annie, the recent show I was just in. I need to give an update on the never-ending adventure in parenting.  You get the picture.

For this morning, though, I really connected with this devotion and thought I'd share.

It is my prayer my words and actions would always reflect Christ. I know they don't but that is the sweet promise of the cross;  despite our countless failings, we can rest safe in the arms of Redemption.

Have a great day! Be blessed!

Random thoughts on Christ - a mom's perspective

I sometimes wonder what conversations with the boy Jesus would sound like if he were born into a normal, 21st century American household..  Maybe something like this:

"Jesus, I dont care if you are the Son of God, you are going to eat your spaghetti."

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOUNG MAN?!"

"I know you are the Son of God but you still have to do your math homework."

I wonder if Mary yelled at Jesus out of frustration, like every other mom in the history of the world has done or if she would be more restrained because she knew who He was.

I wonder if Jesus talked back as a little child.

I wonder if Jesus went through a biting phase.

Would Jesus share his toys with the other children from infancy or was he selfish; like all toddlers?

I try to imagine Jesus as a little child.  For some reason, it is hard for me to imagine the Savior with a runny nose. Or being potty trained. Or having a temper tantrum.

I think about how miraculous childbirth has been and how humbling and terrifying motherhood has been (and continues to be) and wonder how, on Earth, Mary was able to cope; knowing she was raising the Savior.

Am I the only one who thinks like this?

Sing, sing, sing

Laying in bed at the end of a hectic weekend. The dog is lapping up lake Michigan, in the kitchen, the girls are settled into dreamland, coach is putting final touches on coaching plan for tomorrow and I am laying here, reflecting on yet another of my good friend, Sarah's, posts (you are REALLY cooking' good stuff, mama).

She talks about a time when the only thing that got her out of bed some days was a commitment to her dance lessons.

I think of a few times in my life when I ran from singing because I thought my sorrow or anger ran too deep. I thought my song spoiled by my rage or heart-break. I always regretted it.

When Roy Finney died, I did not sing in the choir at his funeral but helped start Go Ye Now in Peace at his graveside.  I will never regret openly weeping as I sang, because I allowed myself to say goodbye in a real way, rather than allow my grief to steal that moment from me.

I did not sing most of my first marriage. My mother wrote a poem about she who could not sing for crying. There was so much hurt during that time, I could not see much to sing about.

I sang By My Side as Riley died inside my womb. The simple songs of praise in Godspell; the simple act of stepping outside myself and the earth-shattering loss I was dealing with truly acted as a lifeline.

I cannot downplay the importance of loved ones around me during times of crisis. It is not that only the song got through.  But it certainly helped.

I was an adult before I realized that, perhaps, God did not give me the gift of voice only to entertain but to praise Him and act as a beacon to others. It is an injustice to ignore this gift when I am hurting. It is precisely this gift that has lifted me out of the depths over and over.

Thank God He can see what we cannot.

The Proverbs 31 Woman

My friend Sarah blogged about raising girls and the social philosophies associated with the task.

I used to struggle with this idea too until I spent some very real time with God and Proverbs 31. The Prov 31 woman has a lot of business savvy, she is super-organized and runs the house. She is much more than "just" a wife and mom.

I think the "lady in waiting" ideal is another one of those goofy things that came out of the Dark Ages.  I guarantee you the mother of the Prov 31 woman didn't let her daughter sit around, looking pretty, waiting for her prince to come.  I'm sure she was expected to learn the necessary skills needed to be the CEO or the home.

While our economics has changed and staying home full-time may not be an option for every woman, as mothers, I think it is our responsibility, as mothers, to equip our daughters to manage the demands of running a household, and finding a balance between work and home.

Thanks, Sarah, for a great post - it really got me thinking!

Trepidation

Definition: noun. Fearful anxiety

I have strong mixed feelings about returning to work.

I hate the idea of putting Princess Crybaby in daycare during the most important time of her development.  I know this is what has to happen but I don't like it. 

At the same time, I want to get back so I can see what is waiting for me - good or bad.

Not standing on solid ground at work is maddening. I am tired of always feeling like I'm standing on the edge of a cliff.

I fail to grasp the reason I should constantly question my value to the team or whether I'm even part of the team anymore. It's tiresome.

During the time of instability, at least I knew where I stood. Knew I was needed. Hey, they came to me. Now, I'm not so sure.

I am not afraid of change and know I bring a lot to the table.  The question is, will I have an invite to the table when I get back?

Then there is the matter of wanting to be at home full-time but not knowing if that will ever be possible.  I can make the math work in theory but we all know reality is rarely as tidy as theory.

*sigh* 

More than bread

Despite the overwhelming success of our backpack program this year, I felt a lack of satisfaction.  A creeping sense of bitterness and cynicism linked to the effectivneness of what we'd done.  Certainly, we accomplished a great work.  We brought more partners on board than ever before; collected more donations than ever before and turned those donations and those willing hands into more backpacks than ever before. 

But did our backpacks teach anything?  Empower anyone?  Change anything?  These questions haunted me all summer because the answer was no. 

This morning, in small group, we read John 6.  It's the familiar story of the loaves and fish miracle.  Truly astounding, when you consider the number of people and limited resources.  Of course, when Jesus is over portion control, it all works out and everybody gets fed.  Beyond that first part, though, is the second part of the story.  The next day, after the storm, after the crowd meets back up with Jesus the following conversation happens:

²⁶Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. ²⁷Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

In that moment, something clicked.  In that statement, I heard the same lack of satisfaction by Jesus in the feeding of the 5000 - it was not enough that they were fed.  That wasn't what it was about.  He longed for them to realize what more he could offer; if they would just believe. 

While I would not dare compare my hopes to the filling satisfaction that is salvation, certainly there is something to be said for modeling my work/ministry after this voiced desire of Jesus? 

Yes, I believe there is a need to provide the backpacks; just as Jesus saw the need to feed the crowd.  But the true ministry is NOT the tangible thing.  It is the opportunity; the yearning to teach them something that lasts far longer than something like a nylon backpack, spiral notebooks or pencils.

I will take this next six weeks to pray and re-focus the heart of this ministry that is Partners in Education.  And, hopefully, when I return to the District in October, I will have an inspired idea. 

Now THAT is a satisfying feeling.

delays

After all these months of waiting, we are on the brink of three very cool things:

1. Munchkin will be home in 11 days (yes, I'm counting)


2. the new place is ready to move into


3. the Stowaway makes her grand entrance

I have a theory about all this waiting.  I know I've posted before that patience is not one of the virtues God gave me.  Well, I think He intends to prove otherwise and, by stacking three things about which I am overly excited all together, He gives me an opportunity to experience and practice patience (whether I really want to or not). 

God is so good about giving us what we need and He knows that patience is one of those things that all mothers need.  It is, after all, one of the fruit of the Spirit.  Colossians 1:10-12 says,  

And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.

So, instead of thrashing around because I wanted to pick up the keys yesterday and start moving things in today, I will thank God for an extra day to pack and grow new ideas about how I want the new house to look.  I will be thankful that the builder is being thorough and making sure all the inspections are finished and everything is ready for us to move in.  I will remain flexible if the timeline is pushed again. 

Instead of watching the clock for August 1, I will enjoy seeing the pictures of Munchkin and let the anticipation grow.  Her dad and soon-to-be-stepmom have been so sweet to send LOTS of pictures this summer - I am eager to hear all the stories that go with the pictures!

Instead of whining because I am tired of my belly feeling so stretched, my back hurting from the pain of carrying this all out in front little girl, the heartburn and braxton hicks and all the other discomforts that come at the end, I will marvel at this amazing work God has created inside me.  I will think of all the footie kisses I will very soon be giving her, I will imagine counting the red (hopefully) fuzz on her head.  I will continue to anticipate those first smiles, cries, yawns and all the other amazing little things that come with a brand new baby.

Instead of being impatient and grouchy, I have an opportunity to be thankful and amazed at all these blessings God has promised - very soon! 

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  1 Chronicles 16:34

The Benefits of Crying

You know, I used to have "rainy day" playlists.  I think we've all had them - the playlists you play on rainy days (either real or in your head) - they are slow and a little sad and encourage self-reflection or they nurse a droopy mood. 

Well, yesterday I put a new rainy day list together.  And while to the idle listener it might sound similiar to others I've made this was vastly different.  These songs, while beautiful, are meant to remind me where my focus should remain - in spite of sorrow. 

I thought I'd share that playlist:

Held - Natalie Grant
Our Hope Endures - Natalie Grant
With Hope - Steven Curtis Chapman (recorded after the death of his daughter)
If You Could See Me Now - Mandisa (a song about heaven)
The Giving - Michael W. Smith
The Journey - Steven Curtis Chapman
Be Still and Know - Steven Curtis Chapman

I know this time will pass and we'll move on.  Yes, I am terribly disappointed but I stand firm on God's promises for us. 

Hebrews 11:1 says, "Now Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see."  To this we cling.

A friend shared a picture of heaven where all the children who have been lost will be waiting for their parents.  I like that picture. 

*sigh*

weathering the storms

Jesus Calms the Storm (Matthew 8:23-28)

 ²³Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. ²⁴Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. ²⁵The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"

 ²⁶He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.

 ²⁷The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"

 

"Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" (Mark 4:38b)

You know, I was thinking about this story this morning.  Oftentimes, I think Jesus allows the waves to nearly overwhelm our fragile little boats, just to remind us 1. how powerful the world HE created is and 2. that we MUST have faith in his promises.  It seems perfectly apparent to us the waves are going to crash over the sides of our boat and we will drown in the world's problems, illnesses, financial problems, family crisis - you name it.  But, just like in this story, we are like the disciples who forget that the Creator of the Universe is in the boat with us. 

So, when those waves that occasionally rise up and threaten to crash our little boat perhaps, instead of freaking out and running to Jesus asking if he cares if we drown, we should stop and look for the learning opportunity - perhaps God has allowed this storm to come up because, in our pride, we've become overconfident and cocky in our approach to life.  Perhaps it is a way for God to get our attention and remind us we are not capable of steering the ship into anything but rocks (or a watery grave).  It's my hope that whether Jesus calms the wind and waves surrounding our little boat or not, He'll always be with us - with us as we weather the storm.  (Hebrews 11:1) 

 

Pushing Through

For several weeks, I have felt entrenched in busy - to the point that I feel flustered and useless.  Such helplessness is not in my nature and it is very frustrating.  I hate shuffling stacks of paper around but feel that's about as much as I've accomplished lately. 

Yesterday, refusing to be distracted by my own frustration, I pushed through and tackled a very big item on my to do list: ordering the awards for the employee banquet.  I slept a peaceful sleep last night.  I woke up, ready to get back at it - for the first time in more than a month. 

Today, for the first time in a while, I'm ready for the day - filled with clarity - I know what I want to accomplish today.  It's going to be a busy day but I'm determined to continue to push and make it a good one. 

Similarly, I've been experiencing a self-caused drought in my faith life.  I haven't wanted to pray, haven't wanted to read the Word, haven't desired that close worship with God.  But today, I woke up and felt that sweet tugging at my heart.  For the first time in a long time, I got down my Bible and read from Isaiah.  Isaiah 25:9-12 is where I stopped this morning and, boy, did it speak to me.  "God will bring down their pride despite the cleverness of their hands."  That's so true - I'm REALLY good at what I do but admit I've gotten cocky about work.  It took this time of total ineffectiveness to humble me and remember that under my own strength, my job deteriorates into chaos.  But you know the amazing thing?  At no time did God desert me in my own stupidity - He always had His hand on me. 

So, today my prayer is for clarity of thought and purpose.  More than serving children, I am there to serve the Kingdom.  As my pastor said this week, THIS is my mission field.  I remember a conversation I had with my mother once - it was right about the time End of the Spear came out.  I told her I was afraid to read it because I didn't want God to call me into the mission field.  To leave all I knew and go into the wild and be a light.  *shiver*  But, as my pastor pointed out, that's exactly what happened.  I didn't grow up where I am now.  I didn't go to school here - my school was the next town over but it was MILES apart in difference - still is, actually. 

I can choose to stand on the sidelines and shake my head b/c "they" don't look like me and they act in ways that baffle my sense of propriety and logic.  OR, I can roll up my sleeves and get in there with the other kindgom workers and see if we can't bring THE Light into such a dark place.  THIS IS MY MISSION FIELD.

You know what I've discovered so far?  I am so in love with my job.  I love serving these children - I'm in love with them.  I don't care what they look like - I want to make them smile.  I want to hold God's mirror up to them and show EVERY. SINGLE. ONE of them how precious they are. 

A lot recently, I've been thinking about Jonah.  (usually a sign that God's about to take me to the woodshed)The fact that Jonah's story isn't finished in scripture has ALWAYS bothered me.  That can't be a good thing.  There is no evidence that Jonah was restored to a place of trusting God's provision, that he was filled with a sense of grace and understanding and LOVE.  Two days ago, I was sitting there thinking, "what if I'm like Jonah?  What if I make the choice to close my heart against these people, just go in and do my job and leave?  Will my story be left incomplete and unsatisfying for those that follow me?" 

That's NOT going to be me.

What I Believe

I routinely surf and post on a certain forum and the debate came around about Penn & Teller's recent bit about the Bible.  I will leave it to your resourcefulness, should you choose, to find the full video.  It is filthy and profane and set forward to offend as many people as possible.  It is not from a genuine desire to understand or question like Thomas or the Ethiopian man on the road to Gaza so I feel no compunction to entertain it here. 

In reading various opinions, flippant responses, blatant untruths spread about the Bible, etc; a response began to form in my head.  So, I started typing.  Whether I actually post it on the forum is immaterial.  I believe this debate succeeded in inspiring that which I have failed to do on my own time and again: a statement of belief.  This is what I came up with....

----------------- 

Ok.  I'm going to throw my hat (and heart) in....  Standing on the sidelines was never really my style anyway.  Before I write that which is written in my heart (and it's going to be long), I will say that the only one responsible for my faith is me.  The same can be said of any person.  Now.....

I believe the bible is the divinely inspired word of the Almighty God.  I believe that He inspired the words, written by man for centuries, as a guide we could use to live by.  I believe the bible is literal truth and its core truth of salvation by grace through faith is woven through every story, conversation and character that makes up the bible.  

Whether a person believes what I believe does not remove or lessen their value as a divinely inspired creation.  Each person must decide for himself or herself what he/she believes about how they were created, their humanity and eternity.  

I believe the Bible is a true story of a Creator who wanted more than worshippers; he wanted relationships.  So he moved his hands over the coldness that was nothing and created the most perfect planet for his Beloved (us).  Then, with his own hands, he created a man and a woman and breathed his own breath into them.  In the beginning, the man and the woman walked with their Creator in the coolness of the garden.  It was a perfect relationship.  There was no cold ritual; there was no standing on tradition or theology - there was simply conversation.

It was not enough for this Creator to make a perfect world for these two people; he also gave them the gift of choice.  He knew that in order for the relationship to be TRUE, they MUST choose the relationship.  As anybody who has been in a relationship knows, there is always the risk of rejection.  

But I get ahead of myself....  

As with any relationship, the Creator set forth rules or boundaries for the relationship.  The man and the woman chose to violate those boundaries.  A saddened and angry Creator cast them out of the perfectness that was the relationship.  Did this mean that he stopped loving them?  Did this mean that he wasn't still totally invested in how the story turned out?  No.  It means that like any relationship, there are consequences for violating boundaries.  

I believe that at the moment God created us with free will, he knew what would happen.  He knew that it would only be a matter of time before the perfect gifts he had prepared for the man and woman would be rejected for their own selfish desire and willfulness.  I think at the moment of creation, he could already see the bigger picture and all of the stops and starts that would have to happen over a seemingly endless number of centuries before that relationship could be restored.  

I believe that the Old Testament is the first part of a story about grace.  It is a story of God's never-ending love for a people he created.  A people he called by name.  The beginning of a covenant relationship (the call of Abraham), the establishment of the boundaries in the relationship (the law), the establishment of those who would hold God's people accountable for staying on track (prophets) and the countless examples of God's people living out the same willful and selfish decisions that the man and woman made.  

Did God stop loving his people?  No.  The story continued.  God continued moving the pieces into place for the restoration of the relationship.  He promises to send someone who can restore the relationship between the Creator and his Beloved people.  And then, at some point in between the Old and New Testament, God falls silent...he is waiting.

Then, the new testament begins.  A new chapter in the story.  It begins with something so amazing as to stretch our capacity to imagine.  The story of a young couple and their infant child.  A divine child.  Both the Son of Man and the Son of God.  Someone that had been in on the big picture from the very beginning of the story.  God knew that sacrifices must be made in any broken covenant to restore the relationship.  He offered the first sacrifice - his very Son - Christ.  The Creator became the Created.  

I believe that there was one perfect, sinless human in all of existance and it is the man Jesus, earthly son of Joseph and Mary.  I believe Jesus was the Son of God.  I believe that Jesus came to be the sacrifice required to restore the broken covenant between the Creator and his beloved people.  

I believe that Jesus Christ died on a Roman Cross.  I believe his body lay in a borrowed tomb and on the third day, he rose from the dead.  I accept this as truth.  

What makes Jesus so revolutionary is that his message seems too simple.  Confess with your mouth and believe in your heart and you will be saved.  The relationship created at the beginning of time between the Creator and his beloved (us) will be restored.  That's too easy; isn't it?  There's no ritual.  There's no good behavior points.  No opportunity for piety.  Just a relationship.  Just as the relationship was created in the very beginning.  

I believe that the story isn't over.  One day, we will be reunited with our Creator and we will once again walk with him in the coolness of the garden.  That's the end of the story, given in a glimpse to the apostle John.  

I believe that, like any story, it is often counter productive to the bigger themes and story to stop at one specific verse, word or chapter and pull it out and summarize the entire story.  Only when you look at the entire story can you see the over-arching theme of restoration of the relationship.  

That is what I believe.  Nobody made me believe these things - my relationship with my Creator is a sweet relationship, based on love and a continual renewing of that grace that, like a single scarlet thread, is woven throughout the fabric of the entire human existence.