Easter 2013

We celebrated Easter this year with a variety of kid-friendly traditions and fun events -- it's so sweet to watch Joshua grow in understanding of some of these traditions and take part with such enthusiasm!

Just to start things off on a cute note: here's my favorite of the "official" Easter photos I took of Joshua and Sophia.  :)


The kids and I have been part of a wonderful playgroup of Christian families with kids all around the same age for the last several months -- Joshua looks forward to going to Elliot's house every Thursday now!  So the Thursday before Easter, we spent time decorating eggs with the kids and talking about ways we can teach our children about the resurrection.  I always come away from these playdates with much food for thoughts -- which is seriously impressive, given the amount of crowd control and distraction that comes with wrangling all these small children!  :)

It was Joshua's first time decorating eggs, and he was fascinated by the process.  The moms did the dying part in the middle of the dining table (out of reach of curious little hands!), and then the kids used markers, stickers, and stamps to decorate the eggs.  Of course, Joshua kept turning to me every few minutes to ask me to wipe his hands... I have no idea where he gets this fastidious bent.  ;)






Then on Easter Sunday, after a lovely morning service at Westerly, we had a potluck dinner with our Sunday small group.  And we had a little Easter egg hunt for the toddler boys.  :)








The baby girls were a little less enthusiastic about the egg hunt...



...but still incredibly cute.  :)

We had a really lovely dinner together -- it's funny how we all collectively pull out all the stops whenever there's a food event!







And we managed to get one decent group shot of all of us!  (Including special guests Tae and Jeff, in town for a visit!)


We're so thankful for the wonderful community we have here in Princeton, and all the beautiful ways we were able to celebrate the resurrection with our family and friends.  He is risen indeed!

Easter with our small group!

Just one more Easter catch-up post!

We had a lovely Easter dinner with friends from our Sunday night small group.  Good food, good friends, good times...  :)  The majority of my photos from the evening are of the kiddos -- they're just such fun models!










Hope you all had as lovely of an Easter as we did!

A family Easter photo

One of the many reasons why I was looking forward to this year's Easter activities was because I was determined to get a halfway decent photo of the three of us all together.  As you may recall, this was the one and only Easter family photo we got last year:


While, of course, we all look fabulous, it does leave a little something to be desired...  :)  Just for the record, Joshua was looking super cute last year in his Easter outfit:


Look at how tiny he was!!

He was definitely just as cute, and even more dapper, this year:


(In shorts later in the day, since it got so warm!)

So I was aiming for a photo of the three of us, and just hoping to have all of us at least kind of looking at the camera.  And also hoping that none of us would be eating bagels at the time.  I set my expectations super low this year.  :)

We handed the camera off to Dan H., and asked him just to snap a few shots while Joshua was in a relatively good mood.  But as soon as we started trying to get him to look at the camera, a swarm of students surrounded Dan and did all manner of hilarious ridiculousness in an attempt to coax a smile out of our little guy.  He was a little bemused at first, I think, but then he decided it was the funniest thing ever and GRINNED his heart out at all his silly friends.


What a sweet moment!!  We're so thankful for all the wonderful friends Joshua has in the students -- he clearly loves all of you.  :)  Thank you all for this wonderful family photo!

Good Friday / Easter 2011

On the evening of Good Friday, we had our annual interfellowship service of readings and music -- always a beautiful night of worshiping together and refocusing on the Cross.  I'm always moved by the music, challenged by the scripture and message, and refreshed by the fellowship.  (A big thanks to Bonnie and Andrew for watching Joshua and enabling both me and David to be at the service this year!)












Then on Easter Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection with a sunrise service on Frist south lawn.  Sunrise was a bit too early for Joshua this year -- now that he's on a dependable morning schedule, we wouldn't dream of waking him to take him out earlier than usual!  So I have no photos of the sunrise service... I hear it was beautiful this year, though.  Easter being so late in the year, it actually wasn't as cold and wet as it usually is for the sunrise service!

The service is followed by breakfast in Dillon Gym, and then a service of Christian baptism down in Dillon pool.  This year, five women were baptized, each giving testimony to the work God has been doing in their lives.  What a wonderful time of remembering God's grace in our own lives, and standing alongside those making a public declaration of faith!












Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Good Friday and Easter services

Good Friday Service

"What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered was all for sinners' gain;
Mine, mine was the transgression, but Thine the deadly pain.
Lo, here I fall my Savior! 'Tis I deserve Thy place;
Look on me with Thy favor; vouchsafe to me Thy grace."

My favorite service of the year is always the interfellowship Good Friday service -- hundreds of students and townies gather together for a wonderful service of music and Scripture readings commemorating Christ's death on the cross.

I always come away from this service blessed by the music and recentered on God's grace. Though every day should be marked by reflection upon Christ's death and resurrection and its impact on my life, I'm still thankful for the times we set aside specifically to remember Jesus' sacrifice for us.

The homily this year was given by Chuck Hetzler, who focused on Romans 5:1-2 ("Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God."). One thing that really stuck with me from his message is the fact that we have peace with God both objectively and subjectively -- whether we feel it or not, the objective truth is that we have been reconciled to God through Jesus' propitiation for us on the cross. But God has also given us the Holy Spirit to confirm that truth subjectively in our lives. There are definitely times in my life when I need to be reminded of one or the other of these truths -- it's not just about "feeling it," but feeling it is also a vital aspect of my walk with God. I'm afraid I'm not really doing justice to Chuck's message, but it was a good word to us gathered there last Friday.

And what amazingly beautiful music! As a general rule, I love Jamie Rankin's arrangements -- but I particularly loved them this year. One of the solos was a contemplative version of Sovereign Grace's "Glories of Calvary" -- which, in the original, is a very upbeat contemporary praise chorus. The solo, as sung by Margaret Byron and accompanied simply by Jamie on the piano, was deeply moving. I wish I'd gotten an audio recording of it!

But I suppose photos will have to suffice...


Part of the crowd before the service began


Steve singing a solo


Dion and Griffin leading the congregational singing


Karis and John doing a Scripture reading


Chuck's homily

Easter Sunrise Service

"Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Dying once He all doth save: Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!"

Bright and early on Easter Sunday morning, we had our annual interfellowship Easter sunrise service. And it was the warmest sunrise service we've had in all the years I've gone to this service! Which is to say -- still pretty chilly at the beginning, but nice and warm and golden by the end.

During this service, we have Scripture readings outlining the events of that first morning after the resurrection, acappella congregational singing, and communion. It's a wonderful way to celebrate the fact that Christ is risen!


It was a little early for Joshua...


About half of the crowd in the early dawn light


Bill giving a brief message prior to serving communion


Singing as the sun rose over the horizon

Breakfast and Baptism Service

"'Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace my fears relieved
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed."

Immediately after the sunrise service, we all headed over to Dillon Gym for a bagel breakfast prior to the baptism service. One of the (many) things I love about these interfellowship events is getting to hang out with friends who are more involved in other groups, whom I don't get to see as often. It's wonderful when the larger body of Christ on campus comes together in fellowship!


How parents of a newborn manage to eat breakfast...
And the baptism service was such a beautiful time of encouragement. Five students were baptized this year, and each of them shared about the work God had done in their lives. I always love being at this service, hearing new believers make a public profession of their faith. Congratulations again, Ben, Carola, Natalie, Jinju and Victoria!


Ben Farkas '10, sharing his testimony


Carola Hernandez-Cappas '11, being baptized by Chuck Hetzler


Natalie Kim '11, sharing her testimony


Jinju Pottenger '10, being baptized by Blake Altman


Victoria Tan '11, being baptized by Bill Boyce
When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
-- 1 Corinthians 15:54-57