the best easter yet!

happy resurrection sunday! :)

by the way...this morning we sang this song at church....beautiful.

well, for some reason, a reason i now know, God moved me to persuade drew to go to the branch for church this morning. i haven't felt quite right spiritually, as is usually the case when you're church hunting. we thought we'd found one, the village church, but for some reason something is holding me back. it could be the massive size, it could be the worship time (which is so loud! but kinda fun), or just the fact that we were at the branch so long and actually know people there. whatever it is, my uneasiness (is that a word?) drove me to ask drew if we could go to the branch this morning for service.

when we got there, chris announced that they were taking money from today's offering and giving it to people in need. we were instructed to write down the name of someone we know in need, put it in the collection plate, and at the end of service they'd draw some names. it was bizarre. part of me was saying, "really, a raffle? this is how you're trying to get people to come back next week?" but another part of me was saying, "how great that so many people are going to be blessed by this church financially!"

well, i guess you can tell what happened...my name was the last one called. they had drawn my card. and at first i was just smiling, because i do tend to have freak luck when it comes to winning stuff. but then it hit me what had just transpired. God had wanted me right there so we could help someone in need. and that's when i lost it and just started sobbing. it's such a beautiful way for God to let me know that he sees ME! and he hears my prayers every night (trust me, i pray for this same person every night!!) what a blessing to me and what an incredible way for God to be able to speak directly to me! and i'm pretty stinkin excited that someone is going to be blessed financially by this too! Thank you, Jesus!

so, i was a mess. and i've been off an on a mess today. we still had a good time showing lana her easter basket and letting her try sweettart jelly beans for the first time. but this easter i will ALWAYS remember as the Easter when God let me know how much he loves and hears me!

Lana in her pretty dress

lana and daddy ready for church

opening her basket

playing with the plastic eggs

lana just bein' lana :)

hope you were all moved this Easter--by more than just too much sugar! :) and i pray that he speaks to you in ways that display his never-ending love for you!

please be in prayer for my mom tomorrow morning. she's having some tests run.

THANK YOU!!!